Aluminium frame repair?

[Jaws677]

Forums will always be doom and gloom. Giving public advice sensible people will always er on the side of caution.

 

Just weld that crack and ride your bike.

[MudLark]

Mudlark -- Thanks for the thoughts and very reasonable points. It's a tough one for me. I am not working currently and my budget is tight. I began mountain biking when I arrived in Swaziland and am hooked. I don't want to give up but a new bike (even a "new" used bike) exceeds my budget. So I am trying the repair route to see if I can get the bike going again. My only other option is to try to borrow a bike locally which is fine but will limit how often I can ride. I am not disagreeing with what you wrote at all, just explaining my choice.

 

Your point about the medical bills is not lost on me. I guess I'm rolling the dice!

 

I hear you..

Edited December 30, 2020 by MudLark

[Prince Albert Cycles]

Thanks for the info!  I did reach out to Trek (in the USA)  and the rep I spoke with said they couldn't source a rear triangle for me. Perhaps I should try again and see if a different rep delivers a different result. Thanks again.

I approached TREK SA . 

[Hairy]

I have a customer with a Gary Fischer and same problem . TREK was extremely helpful and supplied a new rear triangle . The bike is 12 years old and had my customer kept the invoice of purchase TREK would have replaced it for free . So if you bought this new and have the invoice try them.

Life lesson here when purchasing a big ticket item.

 

Scan in your origional receipt and email this to yourself on a Gmail addy or similar. A receipt can also fade in time and make things hard to read. A good many years ago I had to claim on a Scott frame and the origional receipt had faded badly, fortunately I had a good relationship with the LBS and they went through their POS systems to find a copy for me.

 

#RIP_BowmannsCycles

[greatwhite]

I'm in the process of looking a replacement frame. Mine failed just behind the BB - classic cyclic fatigue crack.

 

I did quite a bit of investigation before making the decision not to repair (I have my own TIG welding facilities as well access to specialist welders, which already better positions me to repair than most and still chose not to). In a nut shell, though, it come heat treatment process. If you can't get this done right in any high stress area of the frame, repeat failure will come again fairly soon. The welding is relatively easy. On the the other hand, finding someone that can do heat treatment and also jigging so the frame stays straight etc. becomes a time consuming and expensive task

 

Most modern aluminum frames are made with either 6061 or 7005 then heat treated. The heat treatment processes are different for both with 7005 being less onerous. Information the required processes is on the web and not a great secret, but will take a little time to scratch out. There are many folks who have broken frames and these questions have been answered many times before (even on this site a few times although answers elsewhere were, IMO, more comprehensive).

 

Where the OPs frame has broken, maybe it was a defect in the casting and can be fixed and hold for a while, but personally I wouldn't try my luck.

 

Another thought for the OP: It would appear the 2 parts have now been bent away from each other and taken on a 'permanent set'. When you pull them back to each other and weld them, you will be locking in that force - the 2 parts will always be trying to spring away from each other, but the weld is restraining them. This means there is stress in there even before you get on the bike. A pre-stressed component is not ideal as this makes cyclic fatigue failure easier to happen (again you can google this if you are interested). Heat treatment processes can be used to fix this to a degree or even fully, but then you are back to doing those processes.

 

I know this isn't pleasant news, but still better than next failure which a catastrophic and you take a tumble that easily costs you more on pain, suffering and medical bills than replacing the frame now

[MrJacques]

Life lesson here when purchasing a big ticket item.

 

Scan in your origional receipt and email this to yourself on a Gmail addy or similar. A receipt can also fade in time and make things hard to read. A good many years ago I had to claim on a Scott frame and the origional receipt had faded badly, fortunately I had a good relationship with the LBS and they went through their POS systems to find a copy for me.

 

#RIP_BowmannsCycles

 

Some companies require you to register your bike as well for the warranty. I assume you'll need to enter the frame serial number, etc.

 

Also a good idea to take photos of your bike, including all serial numbers and store it somewhere safe for insurance purposes.

[afoose]

I approached TREK SA . 

Thanks! I will call them and see if they can help.

[Eugene]

Doesn't Trek offer lifetime guarantee on their frames?

[afoose]

Thanks! I will call them and see if they can help.

I just called Trek SA and the rep I spoke with, Josh, was not confident of finding a rear triangle. Roughly when did you reach out to Trek? Any chance you have any contact info for the person who helped you/your customer? Any assistance you can give will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[MudLark]

Doesn't Trek offer lifetime guarantee on their frames?

Yes but to the original owner only.

[MrJacques]

Subsequent owners get 2 years for Trek I think. Nice that at least companies are now allowing the transfer of warranties, even if it's not for the lifetime.

Edited December 30, 2020 by MrJacques

[MudLark]

Subsequent owners get 2 years for Trek I think. Nice that at least companies are now allowing the transfer of warranties, even if it's not for the lifetime.

To my considerable surprise you are right. But see the rider at the end.

 

https://www.trekbikes.com/za/en_ZA/warranty_policy/

 

"Subsequent Ownership

Subsequent owners (second or later) are entitled to a three-year warranty from the date of original purchase from the retailer. Proof of original purchase is required to validate the coverage period."

[Christie]

I agree with the shark: If you dont come right with the warranty, the probability of a lasting repair by welding is low. The welding process weakens the surrounding alu, and I dont think local welders have the equipment to heat treat the weld to full strength. I guess that the cast aluminium is a similar alloy to the frame, and would probably be even more difficult to weld.

That said, it is fairly cheap to get a weld done - you could decide to risk it once.

[Prince Albert Cycles]

I just called Trek SA and the rep I spoke with, Josh, was not confident of finding a rear triangle. Roughly when did you reach out to Trek? Any chance you have any contact info for the person who helped you/your customer? Any assistance you can give will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Here you go.

Shaun Mileson at the time. info_TrekSa@trekbikes.com.

Shaun did point out they would not be able to supply me directly they will only do through TREK dealers and we did it through TREK Durbanville.

[afoose]

Here you go.

Shaun Mileson at the time. info_TrekSa@trekbikes.com.

Shaun did point out they would not be able to supply me directly they will only do through TREK dealers and we did it through TREK Durbanville.

Thanks a ton! You've been great. All the best for 2021.

[Jaws677]

I must be super luckily. I've Tigged up two bike frames myself as an amateur welder. No post or pre heat treatment. Just a super clean surface. I sommer used the filler rods from the local adendorff.

 

Yes is looked propper *** because welding aluminium is really hard. But I make sure it's strong. Both frames still in service although as holiday bikes.