Fortuitous

DIscuss anything relating to non-standard cycles and their equipment.
User avatar
[XAP]Bob
Posts: 19793
Joined: 26 Sep 2008, 4:12pm

Fortuitous

Post by [XAP]Bob »

I was visiting my parents in Cornwall, and had a couple of things I was a bit concerned about on my trike.
The main one of these was the replacement idler bolt I had fitted, having snapped the original by being a gorilla...

Dropped the trike off at ICE and left them to it, had a call the next day saying it was ready and I had a reasonable bill to pay (no issue with that, plenty of work had gone into it).

I arrived to collect the trike - and as Neil walked me through the work he'd done he went 'Ooh' and looked a bit closer just under the suspension bushing at the rear...
Hairline fracture along the weld... how much is that frame segment says I. We'll replace that under warranty (This is a 6.5 year old trike now), but it'll take a while.

http://imgur.com/a/E8G3w

Replaced the rear frame section (including the CFT hinge), but retained the rear 'fork'. Since we couldn't drift out the pin for the rack Inhave a new rack plate section... The rack boss also doesn't have grub screw holes, so we've popped a bolt into each end of the pin to hold it in place.

Removing the rear frame section took 8 people - it was rather firmly stuck in there. Drum sander has now been through the tube, and frame saver liberally applied - there is also a drain hole (which is now standard, but wasn't when I bought mine).

New headset bearings both sides, new idler (somewhat worn), new brake outers* (and one set of pads), tyres, replaced a spoke on my motorised rear wheel, hanger straightened, new rear shifter and cable, new seat cushion (mine was rather sad). Bit of fiddling to attach a frame lock to the V Bosses at the rear...

SO happy Neil spotted the imminent failure of the weld, that would have been difficult to deal with anywhere else...

Also reminds me that I really ought to do a little more preventive maintenance - various bits were rather difficult to remove (The word ICE used was that the trike had been 'hammered')

Collection took about 3.5 hours (oops) - but time very well spent.
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
Geoff.D
Posts: 1982
Joined: 12 Mar 2010, 9:20pm

Re: Fortuitous

Post by Geoff.D »

Good news story
:D
User avatar
[XAP]Bob
Posts: 19793
Joined: 26 Sep 2008, 4:12pm

Re: Fortuitous

Post by [XAP]Bob »

Yes, incredible service from ICE (and I already thought their service was pretty insane)
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
Discamper90
Posts: 13
Joined: 1 Apr 2017, 1:46pm
Location: Durham
Contact:

Re: Fortuitous

Post by Discamper90 »

I've just got myself an ICE Sprint so it's good to know I'm in good hands :)
User avatar
[XAP]Bob
Posts: 19793
Joined: 26 Sep 2008, 4:12pm

Re: Fortuitous

Post by [XAP]Bob »

Excellent hands. Everything they replaced was with stuff that had had the design improved - but the bits still fit together despite the years...

No gratuitous changes of main tube diameter or anything like that.

Service is something they do *really* well.


Which sprint did you go for?
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
User avatar
squeaker
Posts: 4112
Joined: 12 Jan 2007, 11:43pm
Location: Sussex

Re: Fortuitous

Post by squeaker »

[XAP]Bob wrote:I was visiting my parents in Cornwall, and...
Fortuitous that your parents live in Cornwall too! Well done mum & dad 8)
"42"
Discamper90
Posts: 13
Joined: 1 Apr 2017, 1:46pm
Location: Durham
Contact:

Re: Fortuitous

Post by Discamper90 »

[XAP]Bob wrote:Excellent hands. Everything they replaced was with stuff that had had the design improved - but the bits still fit together despite the years...

No gratuitous changes of main tube diameter or anything like that.

Service is something they do *really* well.


Which sprint did you go for?

ICE Sprint with a 26 inch rear wheel and no suspension. I'm not sure exactly what you would call that? The ICE Sprint 26? Has 27 gears (Three ring at the front and 9 at the rear), disk brakes on the front and all that jazz. Having the ICE pannier rack fitted next month when it's in for it's service. I'm brand new to cycling in general but I've loved the trike over the last week. It's been my main vehicle for work and I hope it stays that way!
User avatar
[XAP]Bob
Posts: 19793
Joined: 26 Sep 2008, 4:12pm

Re: Fortuitous

Post by [XAP]Bob »

Not sure I'd give it a name per se, but I know what you have now :)

The new pannier racks are pretty nifty, much less complex than the one I have.

Keep smiling
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
User avatar
Cunobelin
Posts: 10801
Joined: 6 Feb 2007, 7:22pm

Re: Fortuitous

Post by Cunobelin »

Call that a crack?

This is a crack.....


Image


Similar story from HP Velotechnik and BikeFix - no questions asked, new frame and rebuild
User avatar
[XAP]Bob
Posts: 19793
Joined: 26 Sep 2008, 4:12pm

Re: Fortuitous

Post by [XAP]Bob »

I think I called mine a hairline fracture - no doubt it would have ended up like that at some point...
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
nigelnightmare
Posts: 709
Joined: 19 Sep 2016, 10:33pm

Re: Fortuitous

Post by nigelnightmare »

Cunobelin wrote:Call that a crack?

This is a crack.....


Image


Similar story from HP Velotechnik and BikeFix - no questions asked, new frame and rebuild


That's not a crack!
That's weld failure due to lack of penetration :shock: .
If I had one of those bikes I'd get it X-ray inspected and if faulty get the bike firm to replace it and refund the cost of the inspection.
Mind you the bike firm should be testing each batch of frames (both destructive and Non destructive) as should the manufacturer and if there's a failure the whole batch should be refused and marked for destruction as substandard.

Somebody's not doing their job. :roll:
Discamper90
Posts: 13
Joined: 1 Apr 2017, 1:46pm
Location: Durham
Contact:

Re: Fortuitous

Post by Discamper90 »

nigelnightmare wrote:
Cunobelin wrote:
That's not a crack!
That's weld failure due to lack of penetration :shock: .
If I had one of those bikes I'd get it X-ray inspected and if faulty get the bike firm to replace it and refund the cost of the inspection.
Mind you the bike firm should be testing each batch of frames (both destructive and Non destructive) as should the manufacturer and if there's a failure the whole batch should be refused and marked for destruction as substandard.

Somebody's not doing their job. :roll:


Do we have a fellow Quality Technician/Engineer in the room? I'd definitely want to have the other welds on the frame checked out. I'd imagine
these are robot welded so the welds should be pretty consistent. That could be consistently bad or good. Stay safe out there!
User avatar
[XAP]Bob
Posts: 19793
Joined: 26 Sep 2008, 4:12pm

Re: Fortuitous

Post by [XAP]Bob »

They could of course be consistently different between different welds on the same frame.
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
nigelnightmare
Posts: 709
Joined: 19 Sep 2016, 10:33pm

Re: Fortuitous

Post by nigelnightmare »

Discamper90 wrote:
nigelnightmare wrote:
Cunobelin wrote:
That's not a crack!
That's weld failure due to lack of penetration :shock: .
If I had one of those bikes I'd get it X-ray inspected and if faulty get the bike firm to replace it and refund the cost of the inspection.
Mind you the bike firm should be testing each batch of frames (both destructive and Non destructive) as should the manufacturer and if there's a failure the whole batch should be refused and marked for destruction as substandard.

Somebody's not doing their job. :roll:


Do we have a fellow Quality Technician/Engineer in the room? I'd definitely want to have the other welds on the frame checked out. I'd imagine
these are robot welded so the welds should be pretty consistent. That could be consistently bad or good. Stay safe out there!


No, just an ex-welder who does things right. My Dad was though, he is also a tinkerer who likes to take things apart to see how they work and to see if he can improve them.
My old teacher had a saying "Do it right. Do it once", I do my best to live that way.

Going back to the broken weld.
A "good" weld will not break! The surrounding material will give way first, usually right next to it.
User avatar
NUKe
Posts: 4161
Joined: 23 Apr 2007, 11:07pm
Location: Suffolk

Re: Fortuitous

Post by NUKe »

nigelnightmare wrote:That's not a crack!
That's weld failure due to lack of penetration :shock: .
If I had one of those bikes I'd get it X-ray inspected and if faulty get the bike firm to replace it and refund the cost of the inspection.
Mind you the bike firm should be testing each batch of frames (both destructive and Non destructive) as should the manufacturer and if there's a failure the whole batch should be refused and marked for destruction as substandard.

Somebody's not doing their job. :roll:

I think you are mistaking recumbent building which is virtually bespoke with Industrial manufacturing. These companies are relatively small and produce 10 to hundreds of machines not tens of thousands.and as you can see are only too happy to help.
NUKe
_____________________________________
Post Reply