There...I fixed it!

[dave303e]

This is me and my own personal bike.

 

I have a Chinese Tioga Spyder clone saddle. They have no foam padding but have great amounts of flex in the shell. Close to 1-2cm at places on the saddle. I find it pretty comfy. After 3 years it eventually cracked and broke a few weeks back.

 

Step 1: Heat a nail with a blowtorch and melt a few anchor holes in the plastic shell.

 

saddle1.jpg

 

Step 2: Take fishing line and stitch it, 3 "winds", and knot it under the saddle. The knots were then glued with superglue. The cracks were also glued before the knots were finalized. After the glue dried, a single layer of duct tape.

 

saddle2.jpg

 

Step 3: Ride 'yo bike! Fix was done a few weeks back. In the meantime, plenty training, 2 short races plus 1x Trans Baviaans. No problems.

 

saddle3.jpg

 

Yeah, these saddles sell for about R150 or less from China, but why replace when repair will let it last for a few years still.

 

It's all fun and games untill the repair fails and you realise you should have just replaced it before the next event. Like someone I know who glued a bicycle headlamp back together before a very big race, needless to say on the 2nd cycle the glue failed and he rode the rest of the cycle legs right next to me with no proper light, stupid to put a race result at risk especially when you paying big entry fees...

[TheJ]

solution for you RE you sentimentality over the old saddle.

 

Buy a new R150 one, and keep the old repaired saddle .... this opens the door to build a whole new bike around it!

 

WIN, WIN

 

I foresee one problem with your proposed plan.

 

"WIFE".

 

I actually got a new one, a mate in Aus bought a few and sent me one when his folks flew back to SA last week.

 

But guess I'm weird... I enjoying repairing stuff and giving them new life and then carry on using them. Visuals don't bother me too much.

 

A week or two back my helmet's rear buckle broke a bit. There was a very thin piece of plastic that gets pulled into the buckle at the back of the helmet when you turn the knob. So, you couldn't tighten the helmet at all and the retention system was useless.

 

 

Fix... superglue the two ends (very small, about 2mm by 2mm). When it dried, cut a 1cm strip of duct tape (again) and roll it around the repaired area. Superglue was then allowed to seep into the tape where it lifted a bit. Solid. Added 2 grams to the helmet if that much and the buckle works again. Couple of hundred bucks, or thousand plus, saved.

[TheJ]

It's all fun and games untill the repair fails and you realise you should have just replaced it before the next event. Like someone I know who glued a bicycle headlamp back together before a very big race, needless to say on the 2nd cycle the glue failed and he rode the rest of the cycle legs right next to me with no proper light, stupid to put a race result at risk especially when you paying big entry fees...

 

I actually rode with it while broken for 2 weeks. So I know if the repair fails it will still be rideable.

[Icycling]

This is more an attempt by myself and some good men from a company called Collaborate try to fix the road opposite Steenberg wine estate Tokai last week. Need the City to come and remove the mound of sand next to the road all it will just over flow again over time. Anyone has contacts for this?

[Eddy Gordo]

No need. The saddle came out with nothing on. The flex makes up for the lack of sponge and covering.

Just a suggestion should it crack further

[lechatnoir]

There might be a bit of sticktion going on here, but I can't be sure

[Hairy]

There might be a bit of sticktion going on here, but I can't be sure

nothing a file and Q20 can't solve in a jiffy and as good as new

[Warren_G]

[Sepia]

Classic!

[fanievb]

[Warren_G]

[KingZA]

 

Nooooooooooo. Who would do such a thing? 

[Breezer]

This takes the cake, I knew there were stupid people in the world, but this next level.

[Halfdoesyn]

WOW. Just wow.

[Warren_G]

Cable ties save the day 

[Amberdrake]

That's a messed up rim fracture!