Cycling UK Forum

thatsnotmyname wrote:

NATURAL ANKLING wrote:Well it is an aluminium frame isn't it

Steel, aluminium, carbon fibre, titanium - it's possible for any frame material to fail.

Very true indeed!

NATURAL ANKLING wrote:Hi,
Steel ring, That's what I thought I read first I read Bruceys post, Then I re-read the post for a reply and I couldn't see the steel for a reason
after getting my car spring upside down twice, then struggling to read the writing on a spring on a rear bike suspension unit, I measured off two cables for the gear changing, a long one and a short one, fitted the short one but then trimmed it off, fitted the long one and it was too short
Funny how all those mistakes come in one go.
The bikes a pile of junk really but I managed to get it all together And found out you could adjust the rear suspension, that's moving the mounting point, and this would raise or lower the rear end, This would then affect the steering quite dramatically.
I fancy this would be useful for tuning the handling somewhat, as I intend to use the thing as a plaything off the road, maybe it was a bad thing all round after falling off in the garden, mind you I wasn't wearing my lid either
I have many more frames and parts to build up for other bikes, I'm not so worried about using secondhand parts they cost peanuts anyway, most of the bikes I buy are between five and £10 even two or £3 sometimes, I have an abundance of cash at the moment but my interest getting things to work as opposed to just buying something brand-new.

I don't want to sound rube, but you should expect nothing more from a frame of that price.
To suggest that the frame cracked because is aluminium is pointless, a steel frame would have fatigued anyway and got so stretched that the headset would rattle in.
Given the limited life cycle of the material used in that frame, any repair would be pointless because another failure will happen soon. those frames are done to be ridden by kids for a 100 miles then go to landfill. Get a clue by the names they are given: "barracuda" "warrior" "troian" "rockfighter" and so on. It's just a commercial thing that's not meant to last in the very first place.
Cut it to pieces and recycle it, you have not lost any money anyway

Hi,
I don't expect it to be perfect but I have other aluminium frames with equally stupid names that I ride regularly and they'll weighted as well and neither of them have broken yet.
And yes I have noticed that many broken frames on these posts are aluminium, or very old steel.
As I said up post I like to sort things out and fix things, my interest mostly lies solving problems and refurbishing things et cetera et cetera.
I don't agree with your steel aluminium thing /comparison at all, this frame isn't probably particularly well built, the headstock tube is thin granted.
But if you need a frame that didn't crack you probably go after a lugged steel frame, And as you said a steel frame might stretch But that's more likely with poor bearing drifting, but they are less likely to crack, even if they do they can be brazed / welded and then carry on for many years, Aluminium can be welded but as Brucey he has said it destroys the properties of the material.

I did not expect quality at all, my only mistake was not spotting it earlier, and yes it's probably a poor design.
You certainly wouldn't choose carbon fibre for a world tour would you?
If it failed you would truly be stuffed.
Has anyone done a world tour on a carbon fibre bike self supported?

I realise any repair will never be 100% and I might still give up anyway, I don't have the equipment and probably not the experience in welding but Brucey does not recommend it anyway .
Stainless steel and steel yes I do have experience there, brazing and braze welding with gas, Tig Mig Arc Gas welding et cetera yes.

Do you see any lifetime guarantee stickers on aluminium frames?
Do you carbon fibre frames come with any guarantee?
I have a 90s cheap mig welded steel frame Halfords bike And I'm sure that came with a 15 year guarantee.
I know in the early days Cannondale I think American, used to temper their aluminium frames after manufacture?

I'm pretty sure Decathlon offer a lifetime guarantee on their alloy bike frames

Hi
Trek and Spesh both offer a lifetime warranty to the original owner
Juliana Buhring got the record for cycling around the world, alone, continuously and in the same direction on a CF frame in 152 days in 2012
Regards
tim-b

Hi,

tim-b wrote:Hi
Trek and Spesh both offer a lifetime warranty to the original owner
Juliana Buhring got the record for cycling around the world, alone, continuously and in the same direction on a CF frame in 152 days in 2012
Regards
tim-b

I stand corrected!

Would I do it (no chance ) on a cf frame...no thanks.

Warranty I went to trek " failure of material / workmanship" not covered "wear and tear" so I suppose dent the frame and that will not fit?

Edited- Decathlon ....same sort of wear and tear.

Hi,
Got the tyres on the second build...............after truing the wheels and forgetting the dish on the front
All done and with out the brakes noticed the headset was loose .................but it tightened up ok