Colin McPhee Posted November 30, 2014 Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 Anyone know or have experience of having a frame repaired ? I have a frame which requires welding at the rear seat stays I would like to resurrect the bike as an extra commuting bike for the winter  Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Richard Posted November 30, 2014 Members Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 What's the frame in question made from, Colin? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin McPhee Posted November 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 It's aluminium. Was given the name of a few spot welder a but they were all difficult to pin down on whether or not they could do it I've been putting it off for a bit but my main winter bike is in for some adjuatments to headset  Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2023 Subscriptions P McDonald Posted November 30, 2014 2023 Subscriptions Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 Colin If not already done so, perhaps ask Alan at Thomsons if he has a contact? P Colin McPhee 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest George Posted November 30, 2014 Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 Buy a fancy new carbon one-life's for living! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavieB Posted November 30, 2014 Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 Colin, Â George probably made his suggestion in jest but tbh you could probably pick up a cheap alu winter frame for hee haw compared to the hassle of finding somebody to repair your frame. Â D Colin McPhee 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin McPhee Posted November 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 Good point Davie the components are all fine so this might be the best bet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Richard Posted November 30, 2014 Members Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 I was under the impression that aluminium frames are very difficult to repair safely, Colin. You need scrupulously clean conditions to TIG weld for a start. That's not the only problem, though.  When aluminium tubes are welded together, the metal in the resulting frame is not uniformly hard. Manufacturers put their frames through a specialist heat treatment process to get them to a rideable condition. When you make a repair to a frame, you heat the metal around the repair site and change its hardness, destroying the effects of the heat treatment when it was manufactured.  Would I trust a non-specialist welder to make a repair? Not a chance. You'd be betting your life on their expertise.  I don't think I'd let anyone attempt a repair on an alloy frame. There are companies online who say they can do it, but for me the risk you'd be taking, trusting them to get it right, seems completely disproportionate to any saving you'd make over buying a new frame.  I did a quick search on Google and the first two or three companies in the search results say that a typical repair costs about 100-130 quid. You could get a brand new Ribble for that. For £200 you could get a Kinesis. I'd buy a new frame, personally. Colin McPhee 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EPCC Posted November 30, 2014 Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 Richard Hardness is not so important a property for an element such as a bike frame how it performs under load is more important Re welding aluminium has a oxide surface which has a higher melting point than pure aluminium which along with no visible change in colour when heated makes it more difficult to weld but not impracticable Any decent coach builders would be able to weld and grind flush your frame but like before you can pick up frame minus fork for 75/100 £ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavieB Posted November 30, 2014 Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 TWI members alert?  Doubt you would get anybody decent to strike an arc for the price of a functional winter trainer style frame - one on Plant X right now for about £60 no idea about the sizes.  Weld prep, preheat, filler wire selection and heat input would in my humble opinion be critical to avoid weld cracking. Can we start another threads-worth of argument about weld procedures? EN or ASME? Groovy. KennyS 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EPCC Posted November 30, 2014 Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 Aluminium weld only likely to get a small crater crack at the end of the weld easily avoided  I know ex multi coded welder , welding inspector and studied metallurgy for a while in a past life Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EPCC Posted November 30, 2014 Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 Loyds of London a monkey can weld up to ASME 9 R Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin McPhee Posted December 1, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2014 Thanks for help guys - definitely looking at a new frame and a build rather than welding option now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavieB Posted December 1, 2014 Report Share Posted December 1, 2014 Billy,  Not disagreeing but us mere RWC / CSWIP types have to kid on it is complicated otherwise why would anybody listen to us?  I know a few who are sub-primate as well  Must be lack of that prehensile fifth digit.  Colin - unless you know a welder who will do it for you frame repair is the preserve of high end rides for all the above reasons.  D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EPCC Posted December 1, 2014 Report Share Posted December 1, 2014 True DB true Can a member of the post police remove my post so the dark secrets of welding and testing stay hidden DavieB 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2023 Subscriptions charlie p Posted December 1, 2014 2023 Subscriptions Report Share Posted December 1, 2014 From barneys on main bunch forum to welding lessons. I think I could claim CPD for reading these posts DavieB 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richie Cross Posted December 1, 2014 Report Share Posted December 1, 2014 Billy's just reading stuff off Google anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EPCC Posted December 1, 2014 Report Share Posted December 1, 2014 Caught It's a fair cop guv, can I give a dog and bone to my brief Richie Cross 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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