Cycling UK Forum

I know basically nothing about repairing frames as I've never had to before, so I don't know if this frame is:

1. Toast/It's Dead Jim/Deader than the deadest of dead parrots - but at least it'll clean up nicely into a piece of wall art.

2. Repairable, but it'll be forever weaker than before and it'll relegate the bike from tourer to pootling around town bike.

3. Repairable and ready to hit Europe fully loaded.

It's a Dawes Galaxy from 1997 so it's Reynolds 531 steel according to the sticker on the downtube. I've had it for 17 years and have averaged approx 1,000 miles a year on it as a mix of touring and day rides, but mainly as a commuter through many slushy and gritty British winters.

The crack sprung itself on me at a nice sedate pace and I did approx half a mile or so on it after that as I put it down to the drivetrain needing a clean/lube/adjustment before I stopped for a second time to check just what the noise was as it was louder than expected - somewhat embarrassing to not have spotted it at first, but I guess you don't always see what you're not looking for. Obviously I then walked it the mile back home.

Crash history - I did have a low speed drop on a converted bike path on Sunday with the bike landing on its right on tarmac, though this was only at 5 or 6 mph. The main culprit for me is back in November (but only 3 rides ago for this bike) when I didn't see a pothole and absolutely walloped into it with a loaded pannier on the same side of the rack. I suspect that put a crack into it, and since then I've done a couple of 20 milers on Sunday & last night as the only other rides before it failed today.

However, it could also be largely general long term wear and tear too as I'm a tall and hefty bloke so it's had 17-20st of me sat on it for pretty much all the time I've had it.

So, my question is basically is it totally game over for this frame, or is something salvageable here? Happy to take different pictures if they'd help.

Though even if it is fixable I think I'm looking for a new tourer as I'm heading to the Alps in the summer and unless there's a resounding chorus of it'll fix back to 99% strength I would be super wary of it.

A bit of a shame that I've just bought a dynamo rim brake wheel from Spa for my summer trip, but as it looks likely any replacement will be disc brake I'll hopefully be able to sell it on.

https://imgur.com/7OLSiKZ https://imgur.com/zdC3kKY

1 it’s a chainstay
2 it could be fixed with time and money
3 would I then go touring in the Alps with it? I think not. A perfect time for a new bike with some lower gearing

It looks like the drop out has broken. It normally has a protruding stub which slots into the chainstay and is then brazed up. Yours looks like the dropout stub has broken and the chainstay is intact. It's worth checking to see if the stub in the chainstay is free which could indicate inadequate brazing when the frame was built. It's certainly repairable but it may be cost effective to replace the frame and swap all your bits over. Repaired it should be as good as new.
Dawes at one time offered a lifetime guarantee on their frames. May be worth checking, you would have to produce the original receipt probably.
I managed to get my Dawes tandem repaired when the seat stay parted company from the seat tube, and a full respray included . It was over 9 years old and had done over 30,000 miles.
Someone else with a warranty claim. https://www.fixya.com/support/t8764678- ... time_frame

It is very hard to discern just where the crack is due to the colour of the frame and general grime. Possibly it might be the marks where the dropout joins the seat stay. In any case - it is repairable. I do not mean giving it to some garage mechanic to splash a bit of arcy sparky welding, I mean giving it to a frame builder to replace the drop out and/or the seatstay as needed. The joint to the chainstay is not exactly elegant either. This would restore the frame to full strength, but you have to ask if it is worth it both financially and bearing in mind the frame is 25 years old. Cost - rear drop out and/or seat stay £100-£200, plus repaint at anything from a splash of Hammerite to a couple of hundred pounds.

EDIT - new photograph clearly shows it is the chainstay not the seatstay. Same general comments apply.

Paulatic -

1. Oh damnit you're right - I knew something didn't look right after previewing but couldn't work out what - I'll see if I can edit the title, thank you.
2. That's good to know. Got quite the attachment to this bike so it'll be good if I can still use it for popping round to visit friends.
3. Well, I have just about enough time to get a Disc Trucker with a couple of customisations made by Spa before my ferry leaves in mid-May, so it's very tempting. Especially as I'm 6'5" and a few other options I seem to be right at the top end of the size charts and I don't really fancy risking a bike that might be a fraction too small.

Just edited my post. You may have a warranty claim there.

Tatanab -

Thank you too. Sorry for the low quality pic and grime! Would you believe that I was going to give it all a huge clean before fitting the dynamo wheel this weekend?...

A new bike seems to be the thing for touring.

But, it's good to know it's actually repairable to some degree. While I take your point on cost effectiveness, I have quite the attachment to this bike and had also been thinking of getting it fully stripped and resprayed silver, though had been a bit wary that that could look eminently more stealable locked up outside the shops than the current patchy original coat. So I think I may well go for the repair and silver respray afterall, but only use it for popping round to friends or trips to the cafe in the park.

RJB -

I'm not the original owner sadly, so no receipt.

Also, as gutting as the break is, I was just starting to look at replacing a load of parts ahead of my trip anyway as a lot of the drivetrain is somewhat worn now so I'm not sure how much I'd want to move across apart from the wheels. I'll have a bit of a google around the dropout though.

As RJB says, it’s the dropout that has fractured. Dawes did indeed offer a lifetime warrantee on their frames for many years. Can you tell us the date of manufacture to ascertain if yours was covered? My brother made a successful claim in the mid eighties and he was not the original owner of his frame but that was a manufacturing fault not a wear and tear issue which your problem could be put down to. Nevertheless, it worth trying to claim. I believe Dawes have been continuously trading since then so there is a chance that the warrantee still stands.

All Things Must Pass.
(A touch ironic, as George Harrison's first post Beatles album was recorded onto 3 long playing records and went on - and on, and on and on...)

Simoneaston -

I like it!

Peetee -

It's a 97 frame. But I bought it second hand in around about New Year 05 and definitely don't have a receipt even from that.

simonineaston wrote: ↑11 Jan 2022, 9:39pm All Things Must Pass.
(A touch ironic, as George Harrison's first post Beatles album was recorded onto 3 long playing records and went on - and on, and on and on...).

I still remember thisTV ad. Although on TV it was split into different ads but inventive, particularly for its age. Still works today (in my opinion)


Ian

Yeah, the dropout is cracked right through.
This is invariably fatigue, not a crash. There has been long-term stress on the dropout, there are several possibilities;
Riding with a bent axle
riding with a broken axle only held together by the Q/R (in the days of screw-on blocks)
riding with the dropout improperly aligned, eg after spreading the dropouts to accommodate more sprockets. (or even from new)

if you want to use the bike as a hack, I would just get the existing dropout brazed up.

In my opinion don't even consider using it for touring. If its 1997 531 I'm guessing its the old standard size tubing, thats inch top tube and inch and eighth seat and down tubes. For somebody 6'5" and close to 20 stone a modern frame with oversize tubing will ride so much better, particularly loaded.
(The Trucker is said to be "famously stable" .....its actually famously stiff, they use huge tubes, even in the smaller sizes. Those huge tubes are right in big sizes, because a long tube flexes so much more than a short tube.)
My advice.....phone Spa, to find out what test bikes they have in your size, and book a test session. They may not have a Trucker to ride, but they will have some of their own bikes, which are better value and better designed.
(statement of interest; i designed the Spa bikes, with a couple of exceptions.)

You got the vibe there, psamathe.
A lot going on in that telly ad. - soundtrack nods to Kraftwerk & game music and there's an M.C. Escher thing going on in the seemingly endless stream of characters coming down the steps... Fanciful viewers may even spot something of New Order's wonderful video for their 1987 single True Faith. Nice!
Telly ad.s aren't what they used to be. Bet it cost Ariston a lot, as I think it's a lot longer than typical slots.