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Bottom Bracket frame failure
I just bought a vintage Torpado Superlight frame from about 1985.
This frame is made of Columbus SLX tubing and was their top of the line frame from that time. The frame is in very nice condition with no rust and a clean bottom bracket shell. The bottom bracket shell is an english threaded Cinelli. Torpado cut a decorative "T" in the bottom bracket shell that measures about 2cm X 2cm. When my LBS professional looked the frame over, he was critical of the cutout. He told me that Torpado went out of business because of bottom bracket frame failures. He felt that the cutout in the bottom of the shell might cause failure if standing on the pedals. Does anyone have any experience with this issue? Especially with Torpadoes? Another employee felt that this issue diminished with the use of a modern cartridge bottom bracket. Any opinions from the group would be appreciated. Thanks in advance. |
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#2
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wrote:
I just bought a vintage Torpado Superlight frame from about 1985. This frame is made of Columbus SLX tubing and was their top of the line frame from that time. The frame is in very nice condition with no rust and a clean bottom bracket shell. The bottom bracket shell is an english threaded Cinelli. Torpado cut a decorative "T" in the bottom bracket shell that measures about 2cm X 2cm. When my LBS professional looked the frame over, he was critical of the cutout. He told me that Torpado went out of business because of bottom bracket frame failures. He felt that the cutout in the bottom of the shell might cause failure if standing on the pedals. Does anyone have any experience with this issue? Especially with Torpadoes? Another employee felt that this issue diminished with the use of a modern cartridge bottom bracket. Any opinions from the group would be appreciated. Thanks in advance. Your lbs staff are full of horse-hockey (http://tinyurl.com/6ywxo). Most water comes in the top and drains down to the bottom bracket area, where it often sits. At least your bottom bracket shell is ventilated. http://www.classicrendezvous.com/Ita...rpado_main.htm http://www.classicrendezvous.com/Ita...do_sl_full.htm If you're using a traditional bottom bracket, you must make sure that the plastic accordion sleeve is in place to protect your bearings. If you're using a cart. bb, no worries, I guess (? - comments?). HOWEVER, you never mentioned what the mechanic actually saw regarding the condition of the bottom bracket area. You never mentioned the overall condition of the bike either. If it hasn't rusted yet (only 20 years?), do you think it's going to disintegrate soon? If you're really concerned, just make sure you drain the bike after a rainy ride and let it dry. Stand bike on rear wheel and watch the water run out the vent holes in the chain stays! Jobst insists that grease in and around the seat post/seat tube junction will stop it but it hasn't been my experience that this is foolproof. It does help though. You have to be fastidious about it. Maybe spray a little oil in the bottom bracket area once or twice a year (remove bb)? Robin Hubert |
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Robin Hubert wrote:
HOWEVER, you never mentioned what the mechanic actually saw regarding the condition of the bottom bracket area. You never mentioned the overall condition of the bike either. If it hasn't rusted yet (only 20 years?), do you think it's going to disintegrate soon? If you're really concerned, just make sure you drain the bike after a rainy ride and let it dry. Stand bike on rear wheel and watch the water run out the vent holes in the chain stays! Jobst insists that grease in and around the seat post/seat tube junction will stop it but it hasn't been my experience that this is foolproof. It does help though. You have to be fastidious about it. Maybe spray a little oil in the bottom bracket area once or twice a year (remove bb)? If it's got a big "T" cut in the bottom of the shell, I suspect that drainage isn't a problem. |
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RonSonic wrote:
On 10 Apr 2005 07:47:49 -0700, wrote: I just bought a vintage Torpado Superlight frame from about 1985. This frame is made of Columbus SLX tubing and was their top of the line frame from that time. The frame is in very nice condition with no rust and a clean bottom bracket shell. The bottom bracket shell is an english threaded Cinelli. Torpado cut a decorative "T" in the bottom bracket shell that measures about 2cm X 2cm. When my LBS professional looked the frame over, he was critical of the cutout. He told me that Torpado went out of business because of bottom bracket frame failures. He felt that the cutout in the bottom of the shell might cause failure if standing on the pedals. Does anyone have any experience with this issue? Especially with Torpadoes? Another employee felt that this issue diminished with the use of a modern cartridge bottom bracket. Any opinions from the group would be appreciated. Thanks in advance. Just for comparison, here are some bottom bracket designs including some extreme cutouts. Just go to the first one and the keep hitting next. http://www2.inforyoma.or.jp/~tadokoro/bb/bbindex.html I really don't think your Torp has a problem. Ron I hate to be the dissenter here, but nobody here has described WHY it's not an issue. Can anybody here do a quick FBD and describe why the BB shell itself is not a high stress point? I'm asking because I don't know and I'm curious myself, plus I'm putting off doing homework currently. -- Phil, Squid-in-Training |
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On Tue, 12 Apr 2005 05:47:17 GMT, "Phil, Squid-in-Training"
wrote: RonSonic wrote: On 10 Apr 2005 07:47:49 -0700, wrote: I just bought a vintage Torpado Superlight frame from about 1985. This frame is made of Columbus SLX tubing and was their top of the line frame from that time. The frame is in very nice condition with no rust and a clean bottom bracket shell. The bottom bracket shell is an english threaded Cinelli. Torpado cut a decorative "T" in the bottom bracket shell that measures about 2cm X 2cm. When my LBS professional looked the frame over, he was critical of the cutout. He told me that Torpado went out of business because of bottom bracket frame failures. He felt that the cutout in the bottom of the shell might cause failure if standing on the pedals. Does anyone have any experience with this issue? Especially with Torpadoes? Another employee felt that this issue diminished with the use of a modern cartridge bottom bracket. Any opinions from the group would be appreciated. Thanks in advance. Just for comparison, here are some bottom bracket designs including some extreme cutouts. Just go to the first one and the keep hitting next. http://www2.inforyoma.or.jp/~tadokoro/bb/bbindex.html I really don't think your Torp has a problem. Ron I hate to be the dissenter here, but nobody here has described WHY it's not an issue. Can anybody here do a quick FBD and describe why the BB shell itself is not a high stress point? I'm asking because I don't know and I'm curious myself, plus I'm putting off doing homework currently. And if you're anything like me you'll stay up all night calculating what you want to in order to avoid homework. I'd be interested to see the numbers myself, but consider it a pretty well settled matter from a practical angle. Ron |
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