Bad Weld/ Frame Replacement Claim...Valid?

A welder friend of mine spotted this hole in the weld on my frame, I'm
about to take it to the Trek dealer to get it evaluated. Is this a valid
claim?

http://www.userealsugar.com/lemond_weld/

That's not a high-stress part of that joint, so it looks more cosmetic
to me -- but I'm no expert.

I wouldn't want to be without my bike for such a minor issue while they
warranty it. It would involve completely disassembling the bike to move
the components to the new frame, and that's an operation that I
wouldn't be excited to have done on a new bike. More opportunities for
scratches and possible minor adjustment issues.

I'd probably put some painter's caulk on my thumb, press it into the
hole, then wipe it all off. If it didn't look ok with a tiny dot of
white after it dried, I'd paint it with some Testor's model paint from
WallyMart using a tiny brush.

-Mike

Mike Reed wrote:
That's not a high-stress part of that joint, so it looks more cosmetic
to me -- but I'm no expert.

I wouldn't want to be without my bike for such a minor issue while they
warranty it. It would involve completely disassembling the bike to move
the components to the new frame, and that's an operation that I
wouldn't be excited to have done on a new bike. More opportunities for
scratches and possible minor adjustment issues.

I'd probably put some painter's caulk on my thumb, press it into the
hole, then wipe it all off. If it didn't look ok with a tiny dot of
white after it dried, I'd paint it with some Testor's model paint from
WallyMart using a tiny brush.

-Mike


It's a 2001, but low mileage due to a car wreck just after I bought it.
I'm just now able to start riding again. My hope, honestly, is that it's
enough that they'll replace it due to a crash I got into yesterday, See
my post above "BIG guy crashes".

I don't mind downtime as I have other bikes. I'm concerned because I'm a
large guy who's going to put more stress than average. I'm 215 lbs and
the frame is a 61 cm.

"Franz Bestuchev" wrote in message
...
A welder friend of mine spotted this hole in the weld on my frame, I'm about to
take it to the Trek dealer to get it evaluated. Is this a valid claim?

http://www.userealsugar.com/lemond_weld/


I was a welder about twenty years ago and I don't think that the strength of the
weld is in any way compromised by the small hole. This happens frequently in
welding and is usually ignored. Normally the paint will fill the hole.

Franz Bestuchev wrote:
I don't mind downtime as I have other bikes. I'm concerned because I'm a
large guy who's going to put more stress than average. I'm 215 lbs and
the frame is a 61 cm.

Yeah, if you want to get a new frame under you, you might pursue it.
I'll bet that they'll call it a cosmetic issue and not warranty it.

At 215 lbs, you're not outside the fray for frame stress, especially at
the top of that joint. Also, since this is a well-made steel frame,
it's going to be really strong. I think you could drill a 1/4" hole in
the joint, using that weld as a pilot, and the frame would still be
fine. Even if your crash somehow messed up the frame alignment
slightly, it's unlikely to have done any structural damage. Steel
frames can be bent back in to shape and not suffer any weakening.

Regarding your weight, you're not /that/ big. When I decided to "get
back into" cycling, I was 6'4" and had balooned to 220 lbs, riding on a
62cm frame. I've since ridden myself down to 182 lbs.

I can't seem to shake the 6'4" though.

-Mike

"Franz Bestuchev" wrote in message
...
A welder friend of mine spotted this hole in the weld on my frame, I'm
about to take it to the Trek dealer to get it evaluated. Is this a valid
claim?

http://www.userealsugar.com/lemond_weld/

Don't know but those sure are some crappy looking welds compared to the ones
on my Soma.

Greg

Franz Bestuchev wrote:
A welder friend of mine spotted this hole in the weld on my frame, I'm
about to take it to the Trek dealer to get it evaluated. Is this a valid
claim?

http://www.userealsugar.com/lemond_weld/

I had a 5 year old bonded alum Trek frame break under normal use. Trek
didn't care much. Rep said the frame must have been crashed for a bond
to break, he could not find any evidence in the paint job to support
his crash theory though... Might as well try, the worst they could say
is "no". Good luck.

-nate

No offense, but asking them to warranty this on a five year old frame
which you crashed is unreasonable. I defer to the experts here
regarding the structural integrity, but they seem to agree it's OK. I
have the same vintage steel Lemond frame, but the cyclocrosss version
(Poprad), and it has the same crappy welds. I have abused the hell out
of it for five years and it has held up to cross racing and being used
as a XC MTB. You should be fine for road riding.

Franz Bestuchev wrote:
A welder friend of mine spotted this hole in the weld on my frame, I'm
about to take it to the Trek dealer to get it evaluated. Is this a valid
claim?

http://www.userealsugar.com/lemond_weld/

Jeez, use some common sense. It's a tiny pin hole. It should have been
filled before paint. You can do it-get some spot putty at the auto
parts store. fill it and touch it up. It will affect the frame not one
whit.
Phil Brown

A welder friend of mine spotted this hole in the weld on my frame, I'm
about to take it to the Trek dealer to get it evaluated. Is this a valid
claim?

http://www.userealsugar.com/lemond_weld/

In my opinion that's not a warranty issue, and certainly not something that
looks like it would in some way weaken the frame. In most cases that pinhole
would be filled in with paint, but for some reason this one wasn't. In our
shop, it might earn a $25 "blem" credit, but most people wouldn't be
bothered with it.

If it's bothersome to look at, you can simply put a small amount of paint
there (as should have been the case originally) and nobody will ever know.

One of the technical reasons for the relative ugliness of some welds is that
they no longer weld all the way around the tube at once, but rather do one
quarter of the weld, then move on to another tube junction. Doing this helps
reduce built-in stresses, but also means you have four start/stop points for
each weld (which is visually noticeable).

LeMond warrants cosmetic issues for one year, and if push came to shove,
within that year period of time could probably be talked into repainting the
frame. But... had such a bike come into my shop, I would have suggested that
a small cosmetic "blem" credit might be appropriate, but that it really
wasn't worthwhile to repaint the entire bike for such a small thing,
especially since it could be touched up easily and the bike would be out of
commission for 4 weeks if it was sent back.

That's practical bicycle retailer thinking; your mileage may vary.

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA