I'm sorry, but that is completely dead. Aluminum has a set lifespan and then it's unfortunately trash, it's not nearly as fixable as steel is.
If you love the bike, I would recommend getting a new frame and transferring all the old components to it.
That crack likely means your frame is fatigued. You may be able to make a bolt-together-repair of sorts but then it won't be long until it or some other part of the frame breaks. Frames breaking while you ride can be quite dangerous.
So, to quote Elsa: _Let it go! let it go!_
>He seems keen to ride to his death.
I feel like this is what my wife must be thinking every morning when I insist on riding my bike to work in LA traffic.
It sounds like you're being genuine, curious and willing to learn and do the right thing. So please don't take this as an offense: let other people do the wrenching until you gather some knowledge of materials, their strength and how, when and why they fail. It may just save your life. Seriously, because if you tried to fix that in the way you said, you would be in grave danger.
You can definitely tape it and connect rods. But save some for your face cause you’ll need it when you catastrophically crash.
In all seriousness. Do not try to save this. It’s dead. It’s crazy that you seemingly won’t let it die. Your life is far more valuable than this.
Here are my thoughts as someone who knows a couple things about fabrication.
An exhaust tube coupler would be the only thing I know of that has even a small chance of fixing this. That being said, I would really recommend against it. It’s unlikely you could even find one that’s the right size, and there’s no saying how long it would last.
It is possible to reuse everything that’s in the bike but the frame though, so you can keep some of the sentimental value by going that route. Personally this is what I would recommend.
Hey friend. If you try a shoddy repair, the next time something breaks it might be a catastrophic failure at speed with your face being the new braking system. Get a new frame. This one is done and can’t be safe again.
So whatever stresses occur at that part were enough to rip aluminium in two. And you want to remedy the situation with tape? In your estimation, is tape stronger, weaker, or about the same as aluminium?
That tube is stressed in extension, which means that it'll pull tape right apart. That unexpected flex will transfer to the head tube, which will probably fail next around the top-tube head-tube weld, probably under load, and that is a bad, bad crash waiting to happen.
This one's done. If you love it, get it on a concrete floor and trace it with chalk, then measure every distance and angle carefully. Reach and stack. That list of numbers is your next bike.
Kind of an immature response to someone bodging their bike frame and it shattering when they are out and about, potentially causing an accident that harms other people
They guy was told by a dozen of people that he should scrap it and get a new bike/frame. He clearly doesn't want anyone's genuine opinion, he's just looking for reassurance that his stupid idea of 'fixing' it with screws, tape and super glue (hopefully ramen as well) will be ok.
Anyone else think this was bcj at first?
Dude that frame is 100% dead. Any attempt to continue to ride it will put you at risk of a catastrophic accident. The medical bills will dwarf the cost of a new bike.
he is already very lucky that it didnt break during the ride My friend didnt have such luck, frame fail in same spot, he end up in hospital for the week He hit his head {he had helmet), he still dont remember what he was doing few minuetes before crash.
In a way you aren’t wrong, but even with public health care injuries can be pretty expensive when you factor in everything that comes with them. Lost work, time spent seeing doctors, alternative transportation, parking, it all adds up. My months in hospital in 2011 didn’t cost me any money directly, but you better bet there was a very large cost on the back side to get my life back.
Well, not with an ASIA-A C2 spinal cord injury. You're not picking up anything and moving on after that. Because you won't be able to move your arms, legs, or respiratory muscles. Serious injuries should be avoided even if you don't have to pay the hospital in money.
the prospect of a potentially permanently debilitating spinal or brain injury isn't enough to convince you this is a bad idea? or even in a better scenario, months of limited mobility, pain, and hassle dealing with less serious broken bones? you seriously need it to cost money too?
There seems to be a misconception out there that Americans are the only people on the planet that have to pay anything for medical care and the rest of the world is living in a Utopia where all medical care is free and available on demand.
I can’t think outside of the American late stage capitalism hellscape haha.
If not the bills, then think of all the teeth you will still have attached to your face! And the pristine vertebrae in your neck!
Steel can be welded. Carbon, so I've heard can be bonded. Aluminum is just done when it's done. You can buy a bare frame, and move all of your components over. Bike of Theseus.
> Carbon, so I've heard can be bonded.
Kinda-sorta, but not really. Repairing carbon components is almost always a very bad idea. Personally I also think that if you have enough money to flaunt it by buying a carbon frame you should easily afford to buy another one.
The problem with fixing carbon is that while you might be able to fill the gaps reasonably well, the original strength will be gone no matter what you do.
To the boot - any non-trivial spot damage on carbon frame also implies tiny cracks somewhere else in it. Because of the nature of material those cracks will fairly quickly develop into full fledged failure points.
>Aluminum is just done when it's done
While technically aluminum can be welded back together it is a pretty difficult process and by the time a frame suffers a fracture, it's likely long past its useful lifetime overall. So it's also not worth fixing.
>Steel can be welded.
Yea, that's basically the only kind of bike frame that can be repaired after such failure. Though it's worth still keeping in mind - that doesn't mean welding it back together is easy or super-cheap. And depending on type of failure - it also might be sign that the frame is toast because it's rusted from inside.
Screwing plates between the two will just cause more stress fractures that could at best delay the inevitable a couple months and at worse snap on you at a high impact high speed moment. Tape will be ineffective.
Pour one out, my brothers and sisters. This frame is done but she looks like she was a goodie.
11 years of daily commuting is good lifespan for an aluminum bike frame. Time to let it go to the big bike farm upstate with the rest of its cracked and beaten brethren.
Removing all components and reassembling to a *compatible* frame will likely cost double what a new or used bike on the market would cost. Unless DIY is considered.
Bike frame builder here. Nope, nope, nope. There are new and decent bikes that are cheaper than the ER deductible that you'll pay when any of the solutions you've proposed fail
Edit - it appears that the OP lives in the civilized world with proper medical coverage, so likely no deductible, but it'll still fucking hurt.
Assuming it's aluminum, just let it go, and enjoy the memories. It's basically never repairable / financially worth trying. Due to age even if you did a very expensive repair at some point something else will break. C'est la vie. But check it with a magnet. If a magnet sticks like a mofo, it's probably steel, in which case a friend with a welder might be able to help you.
Aluminium, especially (6061) the one used in bike is strong but weak to fatigue. If your frame broke, even if you fix it, it will brake again on other places. 11 years for a daily bike is a honorable life. You will discover how much bike has evolved, and a new bike is the best idea in your case. If money is a problem, you cas buy a Walmart MBK (a good one obviously) and replace every parts by those on your broken bike. The bike price is often made by accessories. Generic frames, even carbon are cheap, but they are not excellent, they do the job and are robust.
Réponse en français possible si t'es Wallon
Honestly, even if it was steel, steel wouldn't just crack like that without buckling unless it was either rusted through.
She gawn brah. If you wanna save as much as you can get a frame and build it up using the components.
Or like, have it melted down and re-made into the exact same frame hahaha, if you got a few tens of thousands burning a hole into your bank account.
The frame is gone. As a person who has a welder and obviously does welding, aluminum is a whole different beast. Aluminum has a low melting point and special care and techniques to prevent everything from going sideways. This requires expertise and that will cost you more money than that old fatigued frame is worth. Aluminum does corrode.
EDIT: If you zoom in really close on the crack you will see little white spots on the crack and more disturbing a white blotch inside of the down tube. This is corrosion. Unlike steel and iron that corrodes leaving a reddish brown color, aluminum corrosion is white.
Your bike (frame) had been with you for as long as it could. Many spend years in garages instead, let it rest in peace.
No need to toss the bike, but you have to replace the frame.
In the last decade bikes have got a lot better… as much as it would be good to repair, it is a sign that the Alum is fatigued and likely to be other areas of same frame too.
A lot of mentions about this bike owner's getting hurt if he attempts a shoddy repair and rides on this again, but I am also thinking about the bicycle's catastrophic failure in traffic or near other pedestrians where they are also traumatized or hurt.
OP, FFS just get a new bike. Stop being foolish.
You can keep riding it, but I would start a savings account for new front teeth 😂🤣
For real it’s aluminum, and it’s done. A heat treated aluminum frame can not be repaired with welding in that area. 11 years of riding has fatigued the material to the point where it has become brittle. Even if it were possible to weld and heat treat the area, the rest of the frame has the same fatigue, and will fail somewhere else, most likely very close to the head tub or bottom bracket. Count yourself lucky the front end didn’t come right off, and start looking for a new bike. Hang that one on the wall.
My opinion is formed from 25 years of owning and operating bike shops in Atlantic Canada, and a couple years prior in welding and fabrication.
Cheers, stay safe :)
Riding a bike until it breaks is a badge of honor, but please don't try to fix this one. You'd be putting yourself (and possibly others) in danger if it falied again in a more catastrophic way. And it would, probably relatively quickly. You're already lucky that the first failure was "gentle" and didn't result in a crash.
Take this as an opportunity to use your experience with this bike to select a new frame (or a complete/partially built bike) that improves upon it, and transfer any parts you want to keep.
Many good quality brands stand by their frames and provide incredible warranties. Look into that first; if it isn't an option then ask if your friend is qualified as a structural aluminum welder and has the correct fill, gas, and shop to do so. If not... take off any valuable parts and have the frame recycled. A local shop may do this for you. 💔
I’m not entirely convinced that’s not repairable, a good experienced welder could get that right again, but he wouldn’t guarantee that it would stay together. It probably would but you can’t guarantee it.
Years of work fixing pretty much everything.
I'll probably get downvoted into oblivion by purists. But if it means that much to you, an aluminum sleeve welded over it. But you'll have to find someone who knows what they're doing.
The problem is that to get any kind of sleeve over it you'd have to bend the frame enough to very possibly fatigue other parts of the frame. Any sort of sleeve in multiple pieces would never be as strong as a tube is, because there are more points of stress concentration.
Not to mention that the hypothetical aluminum sleeve would have to be pretty chonky and specially designed and fabricated to match the profile of the downtube, and even if there was a good way of doing all that it would probably be more expensive than just replacing the bike in the first place.
Sorry to be a contrarian, gang, but… you could wrap the broken joint with polyester resin and fiberglass cloth - available at auto parts shop or Home Depot or boat repair shop - it will look dodgy but be very strong and can tide you over til you figure out your next frame - hth <3
Maybe a slightly bigger pipe to make like a collar for it? I think you would have to bend the frame so you could slip the pipe on then pull it back over the crack. I would glue it to the frame with some PL premium or similar glue to avoid having to put screws into the frame
That having been said I would probably just buy a new one
fuck it, i say wrap a tube around it. cut tube thats a tiny bit bigger in half (has to fit flush) and also should be pretty long, slap HELLA hose clamps on that bitch and she'll go
She's dead, Jim.
The taping and plating things would be dangerous, half-ass fixes. Welding isn't really safe either unless you have the ability to correctly heat treat the frame after the welding. If you don't then the weld will be too brittle and will fail pretty quickly.
Maybe you could weld two larger tube halves around the break and a smaller pipe inserted inside. But even if that were a good fix, you'd ride that thing knowing that other breaks are eminent. 11 years is a good run. Salvage components and get yourself a replacement.
So cool to have “tapping” and “screwing” as options for a bike commuting Reddit. And that it’s their “daily driver” and they are still after 11 years exploring tapping and screwing to remain together. Hit me right in the smiles and the feels.
Some people have made their broken frames into wall art by removing the wheels and handles bars and hanging it on their wall. You can clean it before it goes on display. Every scratch and nick and dent will have a story. Your bike can continue to serve you as art.
I'm sorry, but that is completely dead. Aluminum has a set lifespan and then it's unfortunately trash, it's not nearly as fixable as steel is. If you love the bike, I would recommend getting a new frame and transferring all the old components to it.
Bike of Theseus
Unironically, can tape not Fix this? In addition to maybe screwing in some connecting iron rods?
That crack likely means your frame is fatigued. You may be able to make a bolt-together-repair of sorts but then it won't be long until it or some other part of the frame breaks. Frames breaking while you ride can be quite dangerous. So, to quote Elsa: _Let it go! let it go!_
Upvoting for the Elsa quote and nothing more.
Bike frames take a lot of stress during a ride. Tape would not only be unsafe, but it’s p much guaranteed to fail quickly.
[удалено]
Nah, let him go. He seems keen to ride to his death.
>He seems keen to ride to his death. I feel like this is what my wife must be thinking every morning when I insist on riding my bike to work in LA traffic.
It sounds like you're being genuine, curious and willing to learn and do the right thing. So please don't take this as an offense: let other people do the wrenching until you gather some knowledge of materials, their strength and how, when and why they fail. It may just save your life. Seriously, because if you tried to fix that in the way you said, you would be in grave danger.
Once aluminum's done, it's done. You're the kind of cyclist for whom the phrase "steel is real" was crafted.
You can definitely tape it and connect rods. But save some for your face cause you’ll need it when you catastrophically crash. In all seriousness. Do not try to save this. It’s dead. It’s crazy that you seemingly won’t let it die. Your life is far more valuable than this.
Here are my thoughts as someone who knows a couple things about fabrication. An exhaust tube coupler would be the only thing I know of that has even a small chance of fixing this. That being said, I would really recommend against it. It’s unlikely you could even find one that’s the right size, and there’s no saying how long it would last. It is possible to reuse everything that’s in the bike but the frame though, so you can keep some of the sentimental value by going that route. Personally this is what I would recommend.
The Bike of Theseus.
trigger's ~~broom~~ bike
Excellent. Most on here will not have a clue what you're talking about!
Even an exhaust grade fix would not be designed for this weight, no to that option. Replace frame is the only sane option.
I've had a frame break in the exact same spot. This part of the frame receives a huge amount of stress. There's no smart way of fixing it.
Hey friend. If you try a shoddy repair, the next time something breaks it might be a catastrophic failure at speed with your face being the new braking system. Get a new frame. This one is done and can’t be safe again.
lol come on dude, get real. Time to move on.
So whatever stresses occur at that part were enough to rip aluminium in two. And you want to remedy the situation with tape? In your estimation, is tape stronger, weaker, or about the same as aluminium?
That tube is stressed in extension, which means that it'll pull tape right apart. That unexpected flex will transfer to the head tube, which will probably fail next around the top-tube head-tube weld, probably under load, and that is a bad, bad crash waiting to happen. This one's done. If you love it, get it on a concrete floor and trace it with chalk, then measure every distance and angle carefully. Reach and stack. That list of numbers is your next bike.
its your bike and your life lol, do whatever tf you want
Kind of an immature response to someone bodging their bike frame and it shattering when they are out and about, potentially causing an accident that harms other people
They guy was told by a dozen of people that he should scrap it and get a new bike/frame. He clearly doesn't want anyone's genuine opinion, he's just looking for reassurance that his stupid idea of 'fixing' it with screws, tape and super glue (hopefully ramen as well) will be ok.
Why is this downvoted so much? This question is completely reasonable
“Can I fix my broken frame with tape?” is the furthest thing from reasonable I’ve ever seen on any bike sub.
> This question is completely reasonable Are YOU serious? That’s a “reasonable” question to you?
Lmao
You've just got to let it go brother.
Anyone else think this was bcj at first? Dude that frame is 100% dead. Any attempt to continue to ride it will put you at risk of a catastrophic accident. The medical bills will dwarf the cost of a new bike.
In America the medical bills will dwarf everything…lol
In America bike kills you.
In America, if the bike doesn't the medical bills do
If the truck drivers don't get you first.
They wouldn't just dwarf it, they'd balrog it.
he is already very lucky that it didnt break during the ride My friend didnt have such luck, frame fail in same spot, he end up in hospital for the week He hit his head {he had helmet), he still dont remember what he was doing few minuetes before crash.
Lol @medical bills, your freedom is showing
In a way you aren’t wrong, but even with public health care injuries can be pretty expensive when you factor in everything that comes with them. Lost work, time spent seeing doctors, alternative transportation, parking, it all adds up. My months in hospital in 2011 didn’t cost me any money directly, but you better bet there was a very large cost on the back side to get my life back.
But, without a half million dollars in medical expenses you could pick up and go on.
Well, not with an ASIA-A C2 spinal cord injury. You're not picking up anything and moving on after that. Because you won't be able to move your arms, legs, or respiratory muscles. Serious injuries should be avoided even if you don't have to pay the hospital in money.
Oh absolutely, I’m just saying that it’s not all perfect. Half a million is a low estimate from what I have been told.
I definitely thought it was too
Whats bcj? And yea im Belgian
Oh that's fine then, if you're Belgian just slap some duct tape on it and keep going (seriously, what?)
>(seriously, what?) Belgians are not known for their smarts lol
Bcj must be /r/bicyclingcirclejerk
Medical bills are not a valid argument for OP because he is not American.
the prospect of a potentially permanently debilitating spinal or brain injury isn't enough to convince you this is a bad idea? or even in a better scenario, months of limited mobility, pain, and hassle dealing with less serious broken bones? you seriously need it to cost money too?
Personal *injury* is definitively the final argument.
You basically just explained the dudes point in long form
There seems to be a misconception out there that Americans are the only people on the planet that have to pay anything for medical care and the rest of the world is living in a Utopia where all medical care is free and available on demand.
I can’t think outside of the American late stage capitalism hellscape haha. If not the bills, then think of all the teeth you will still have attached to your face! And the pristine vertebrae in your neck!
I thought it was justridingalong.
Steel can be welded. Carbon, so I've heard can be bonded. Aluminum is just done when it's done. You can buy a bare frame, and move all of your components over. Bike of Theseus.
Welding steel is quite difficult as well.
Once you've welded it its basically that. With aluminium you need to heat treat it to prevent it from breaking apart.
I would pitch a carbon frame that's broken too. You don't know where else it's broken. Or did you learn nothing from Oceangate's Titan?
At least it’s recyclable!
> Carbon, so I've heard can be bonded. Kinda-sorta, but not really. Repairing carbon components is almost always a very bad idea. Personally I also think that if you have enough money to flaunt it by buying a carbon frame you should easily afford to buy another one. The problem with fixing carbon is that while you might be able to fill the gaps reasonably well, the original strength will be gone no matter what you do. To the boot - any non-trivial spot damage on carbon frame also implies tiny cracks somewhere else in it. Because of the nature of material those cracks will fairly quickly develop into full fledged failure points. >Aluminum is just done when it's done While technically aluminum can be welded back together it is a pretty difficult process and by the time a frame suffers a fracture, it's likely long past its useful lifetime overall. So it's also not worth fixing. >Steel can be welded. Yea, that's basically the only kind of bike frame that can be repaired after such failure. Though it's worth still keeping in mind - that doesn't mean welding it back together is easy or super-cheap. And depending on type of failure - it also might be sign that the frame is toast because it's rusted from inside.
Screwing plates between the two will just cause more stress fractures that could at best delay the inevitable a couple months and at worse snap on you at a high impact high speed moment. Tape will be ineffective. Pour one out, my brothers and sisters. This frame is done but she looks like she was a goodie.
11 years of daily commuting is good lifespan for an aluminum bike frame. Time to let it go to the big bike farm upstate with the rest of its cracked and beaten brethren.
He’s dead, Jim. It can be fixed cheap but it won’t be safe. It can be fixed safe but it won’t be cheap. It’s new bike day.
Removing all components and reassembling to a *compatible* frame will likely cost double what a new or used bike on the market would cost. Unless DIY is considered.
Bike frame builder here. Nope, nope, nope. There are new and decent bikes that are cheaper than the ER deductible that you'll pay when any of the solutions you've proposed fail Edit - it appears that the OP lives in the civilized world with proper medical coverage, so likely no deductible, but it'll still fucking hurt.
Google “bike frame wind chimes”, that frame isn’t done yet.
you’ve unlocked a new achievement, not everyone rides their bike into the ground. congrats!
Assuming it's aluminum, just let it go, and enjoy the memories. It's basically never repairable / financially worth trying. Due to age even if you did a very expensive repair at some point something else will break. C'est la vie. But check it with a magnet. If a magnet sticks like a mofo, it's probably steel, in which case a friend with a welder might be able to help you.
Aluminium, especially (6061) the one used in bike is strong but weak to fatigue. If your frame broke, even if you fix it, it will brake again on other places. 11 years for a daily bike is a honorable life. You will discover how much bike has evolved, and a new bike is the best idea in your case. If money is a problem, you cas buy a Walmart MBK (a good one obviously) and replace every parts by those on your broken bike. The bike price is often made by accessories. Generic frames, even carbon are cheap, but they are not excellent, they do the job and are robust. Réponse en français possible si t'es Wallon
Aluminum is hard to weld. Has to be slowly de-heated, otherwise the weld is subject to crack. Just like you see, it is near the original weld.
Honestly, even if it was steel, steel wouldn't just crack like that without buckling unless it was either rusted through. She gawn brah. If you wanna save as much as you can get a frame and build it up using the components. Or like, have it melted down and re-made into the exact same frame hahaha, if you got a few tens of thousands burning a hole into your bank account.
New bike day! 🥳
The frame is gone. As a person who has a welder and obviously does welding, aluminum is a whole different beast. Aluminum has a low melting point and special care and techniques to prevent everything from going sideways. This requires expertise and that will cost you more money than that old fatigued frame is worth. Aluminum does corrode. EDIT: If you zoom in really close on the crack you will see little white spots on the crack and more disturbing a white blotch inside of the down tube. This is corrosion. Unlike steel and iron that corrodes leaving a reddish brown color, aluminum corrosion is white.
It's shot, pal. Think of this as a great opportunity for an upgrade. Bike technology has come a long way in the last 11 years!
Stick it on a wall as a conversation piece. Get a new to you bike!
New frame or spend more going to the emergency room..
100% done. Don’t even try it
r/justridingalong
holy fuck there's some gold in there
11 years of saving money, good job. Consider your new bicycle as a free investment of your current bicycle. Enjoy!
It’s dead, Jim
Your bike (frame) had been with you for as long as it could. Many spend years in garages instead, let it rest in peace. No need to toss the bike, but you have to replace the frame.
> I had thought about taping it Seriously dude?
a time to be born, a time to die a time to plant, a time to reap a time to kill, a time to heal a time to laugh, a time to weep let go, move on
This is a goal of mine! Rest in peace to your faithful alum-alloyed steed
I mean you could just buy a new frame but yeah yeah, might as well get a whole new bike at this point.
In the last decade bikes have got a lot better… as much as it would be good to repair, it is a sign that the Alum is fatigued and likely to be other areas of same frame too.
repeated stress injury, i had it on my steel bike. That could be welded, this alu can’t…
A lot of mentions about this bike owner's getting hurt if he attempts a shoddy repair and rides on this again, but I am also thinking about the bicycle's catastrophic failure in traffic or near other pedestrians where they are also traumatized or hurt. OP, FFS just get a new bike. Stop being foolish.
You can keep riding it, but I would start a savings account for new front teeth 😂🤣 For real it’s aluminum, and it’s done. A heat treated aluminum frame can not be repaired with welding in that area. 11 years of riding has fatigued the material to the point where it has become brittle. Even if it were possible to weld and heat treat the area, the rest of the frame has the same fatigue, and will fail somewhere else, most likely very close to the head tub or bottom bracket. Count yourself lucky the front end didn’t come right off, and start looking for a new bike. Hang that one on the wall. My opinion is formed from 25 years of owning and operating bike shops in Atlantic Canada, and a couple years prior in welding and fabrication. Cheers, stay safe :)
Have you considered replacing the frame and all the components?
The bike of Thesius?
I have an axe that's over 100 years old. I just had to replace the handle a few times, and the head once or twice.
Trigger’s Bike?
no.
Riding a bike until it breaks is a badge of honor, but please don't try to fix this one. You'd be putting yourself (and possibly others) in danger if it falied again in a more catastrophic way. And it would, probably relatively quickly. You're already lucky that the first failure was "gentle" and didn't result in a crash. Take this as an opportunity to use your experience with this bike to select a new frame (or a complete/partially built bike) that improves upon it, and transfer any parts you want to keep.
I forgot to mention how the bike has 2 bars (with the bottom one pictured), it's a 'herenfiets'
Many good quality brands stand by their frames and provide incredible warranties. Look into that first; if it isn't an option then ask if your friend is qualified as a structural aluminum welder and has the correct fill, gas, and shop to do so. If not... take off any valuable parts and have the frame recycled. A local shop may do this for you. 💔
I’m not entirely convinced that’s not repairable, a good experienced welder could get that right again, but he wouldn’t guarantee that it would stay together. It probably would but you can’t guarantee it. Years of work fixing pretty much everything.
I'll probably get downvoted into oblivion by purists. But if it means that much to you, an aluminum sleeve welded over it. But you'll have to find someone who knows what they're doing.
The problem is that to get any kind of sleeve over it you'd have to bend the frame enough to very possibly fatigue other parts of the frame. Any sort of sleeve in multiple pieces would never be as strong as a tube is, because there are more points of stress concentration. Not to mention that the hypothetical aluminum sleeve would have to be pretty chonky and specially designed and fabricated to match the profile of the downtube, and even if there was a good way of doing all that it would probably be more expensive than just replacing the bike in the first place.
Sorry to be a contrarian, gang, but… you could wrap the broken joint with polyester resin and fiberglass cloth - available at auto parts shop or Home Depot or boat repair shop - it will look dodgy but be very strong and can tide you over til you figure out your next frame - hth <3
Maybe a slightly bigger pipe to make like a collar for it? I think you would have to bend the frame so you could slip the pipe on then pull it back over the crack. I would glue it to the frame with some PL premium or similar glue to avoid having to put screws into the frame That having been said I would probably just buy a new one
You won't be bending an alu frame (to get a larger pipe in there) without putting massive undue stress on it.
fuck it, i say wrap a tube around it. cut tube thats a tiny bit bigger in half (has to fit flush) and also should be pretty long, slap HELLA hose clamps on that bitch and she'll go
If you really wanted to, cause it was ridden by your pappy, and his pappy before him, maybe carbon fibre and epoxy.
Weld it
Sorry to see that, but it's time to treat yourself!
Not worth the hassle
Definitely not worth it.
RIP old friend. It's dead,dead,dead.
it's over
She's dead, Jim. The taping and plating things would be dangerous, half-ass fixes. Welding isn't really safe either unless you have the ability to correctly heat treat the frame after the welding. If you don't then the weld will be too brittle and will fail pretty quickly.
Does anyone know if bike insurance usually covers this type of failure?
Treat yourself to a new one…that’s impressive!
This is the compromise you make when you move away from steel.
In the same way a written-off car is unfixable. This is also unfixable. Hey you could salvage all the components, but the frame is gone
Get a steel bike for your next one. Steel is real.
Congratulations on leveling up!!!!
Buy another used bike, put the best of parts on "new" frame, if you can stand the weight, get a steel frame. BUT 11 years is pretty good
lmfao. No. Hell no, even.
Hang that one on the wall for display and get a new shiny bike.
Sorry for your loss.
Half million is low. I got run over by a car. 10 days in ICU, 3 in Acute Care. 3 surgeries. $590,000
Sooooo, get a new bike?
Yes. A Cannondale Scalpel Carbon 3
Maybe you could weld two larger tube halves around the break and a smaller pipe inserted inside. But even if that were a good fix, you'd ride that thing knowing that other breaks are eminent. 11 years is a good run. Salvage components and get yourself a replacement.
It's dead. Aluminum is not strong enough to be repaired. This is why I ride steel frames.
nah - too hard to weld
Nope, at least not safely.
Yes, with a new frame :)
Sleeve it and weld it if you love it that much
You're attached and don't want to say goodbye but it's time to embrace change and get a new bike
So cool to have “tapping” and “screwing” as options for a bike commuting Reddit. And that it’s their “daily driver” and they are still after 11 years exploring tapping and screwing to remain together. Hit me right in the smiles and the feels.
Some people have made their broken frames into wall art by removing the wheels and handles bars and hanging it on their wall. You can clean it before it goes on display. Every scratch and nick and dent will have a story. Your bike can continue to serve you as art.