Is it Dead?

I was trying to beat the big wind storm home today, was riding uphill, felt
a "clink" and dropped my chain. It felt weird but I couldn't find any of
the usual suspects loose or broken. I put the chain back on and tried to
ride. Checking more closely revealed that the seat tube was completely
disconnected from where it meets the bottom bracket.

It is a 14 year old REI brand touring bike that has about 30K miles on it.
Is it something that is worth having fixed or should I schedule a memorial
service?

Frank Drackman wrote:

ride. Checking more closely revealed that the seat tube was completely
disconnected from where it meets the bottom bracket.

It is a 14 year old REI brand touring bike that has about 30K miles on it.
Is it something that is worth having fixed or should I schedule a memorial
service?

It was probably tig welded to begin with, if it's steel, It could be
re-welded, but that is not likely to be a very strong joint -- it
probably failed because it wasn't welded properly to begin with, and
there is corrosion to deal with.

In addition to the cost of welding it back together, which will be $100
or so if you want to pay someone who really knows what he is doing, you
will have to re-paint the bike, which will cost another $100-$200 to
have a decent job done. And when you are done you still will have a
14-year-old bike with worn, low-end components.

If it is aluminum, there isn't even a chance of finding someone to
re-weld it. A decent job there would cost much more than it is worth,
and the chances of doing a decent job with the old materials is small.

Save the shiny bits, and toss the rest. Buy another bike. You got your
$500 or so of use out of this one.

--

David L. Johnson

The lottery is a tax on those who fail to understand mathematics.

On Oct 19, 10:09 am, "David L. Johnson"
wrote:
Frank Drackman wrote:
ride. Checking more closely revealed that the seat tube was completely
disconnected from where it meets the bottom bracket.

It is a 14 year old REI brand touring bike that has about 30K miles on it.
Is it something that is worth having fixed or should I schedule a memorial
service?

It was probably tig welded to begin with, if it's steel, It could be
re-welded, but that is not likely to be a very strong joint -- it
probably failed because it wasn't welded properly to begin with, and
there is corrosion to deal with.

In addition to the cost of welding it back together, which will be $100
or so if you want to pay someone who really knows what he is doing, you
will have to re-paint the bike, which will cost another $100-$200 to
have a decent job done. And when you are done you still will have a
14-year-old bike with worn, low-end components.

If it is aluminum, there isn't even a chance of finding someone to
re-weld it. A decent job there would cost much more than it is worth,
and the chances of doing a decent job with the old materials is small.

Save the shiny bits, and toss the rest. Buy another bike. You got your
$500 or so of use out of this one.

--

David L. Johnson

The lottery is a tax on those who fail to understand mathematics.

So you're saying crazy glue just wont do the trick?

"tiborg" wrote:
On Oct 19, 10:09 am, "David L. Johnson"
wrote:
Frank Drackman wrote:
ride. Checking more closely revealed that the seat tube was completely
disconnected from where it meets the bottom bracket.
It is a 14 year old REI brand touring bike that has about 30K miles on it.
Is it something that is worth having fixed or should I schedule a memorial
service?
It was probably tig welded to begin with, if it's steel, It could be
re-welded, but that is not likely to be a very strong joint -- it
probably failed because it wasn't welded properly to begin with, and
there is corrosion to deal with.

In addition to the cost of welding it back together, which will be $100
or so if you want to pay someone who really knows what he is doing, you
will have to re-paint the bike, which will cost another $100-$200 to
have a decent job done. And when you are done you still will have a
14-year-old bike with worn, low-end components.

If it is aluminum, there isn't even a chance of finding someone to
re-weld it. A decent job there would cost much more than it is worth,
and the chances of doing a decent job with the old materials is small.

Save the shiny bits, and toss the rest. Buy another bike. You got your
$500 or so of use out of this one.

--

David L. Johnson

The lottery is a tax on those who fail to understand mathematics.

So you're saying crazy glue just wont do the trick?

Maybe JB Weld and U-bolts?

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
Beer - It's not just for breakfast anymore!

http://www.icw-net.com/aa_SiteObject...tway-burns.jpg

"David L. Johnson" wrote in message
...
Frank Drackman wrote:

ride. Checking more closely revealed that the seat tube was completely
disconnected from where it meets the bottom bracket.

It is a 14 year old REI brand touring bike that has about 30K miles on
it. Is it something that is worth having fixed or should I schedule a
memorial service?

It was probably tig welded to begin with, if it's steel, It could be
re-welded, but that is not likely to be a very strong joint -- it probably
failed because it wasn't welded properly to begin with, and there is
corrosion to deal with.

In addition to the cost of welding it back together, which will be $100 or
so if you want to pay someone who really knows what he is doing, you will
have to re-paint the bike, which will cost another $100-$200 to have a
decent job done. And when you are done you still will have a 14-year-old
bike with worn, low-end components.

If it is aluminum, there isn't even a chance of finding someone to re-weld
it. A decent job there would cost much more than it is worth, and the
chances of doing a decent job with the old materials is small.

Save the shiny bits, and toss the rest. Buy another bike. You got your
$500 or so of use out of this one.


Thanks. I should have included that it is steel in the OP. The only things
original to the bike are the frame and seatpost, the components are in
pretty good shape, but boy did I love that frame.

Because of a mix-up at REI I only paid $224 at the time of purchase. My
local store found a 2 year old bike at another location and said that they
would sell it to me for $189 if I was willing to pay $35 to have it shipped
to the store. I said sure but when I went to pick it up it was missing. It
turns out that an employee purchased it when they saw the $189 price. The
store manager made good by giving me the current year bike for the agreed
upon price. I will probably have to budget more than $225 this time.

On Oct 18, 10:34 pm, "Frank Drackman" wrote:
"David L. Johnson" wrote in et...



Frank Drackman wrote:

ride. Checking more closely revealed that the seat tube was completely
disconnected from where it meets the bottom bracket.

It is a 14 year old REI brand touring bike that has about 30K miles on
it. Is it something that is worth having fixed or should I schedule a
memorial service?

It was probably tig welded to begin with, if it's steel, It could be
re-welded, but that is not likely to be a very strong joint -- it probably
failed because it wasn't welded properly to begin with, and there is
corrosion to deal with.

Frank, & list:

This is not a particularly difficult repair. A framebuilder could do
it in 15 minutes brazing it up and grinding the braze joint out
nicely. Yes, it would spoil the paint for about 4" each side of the
break. And once you put bronze on the joint, you would never be able
to weld again near the joint.

It's a job I would do for well under $100, including cleanup and a
shot of rattlecan primer. I'm sure yopu could find a framebuilder in
your area who will help you out.

jn

"Thursday"

In article
.com
,
tiborg wrote:

On Oct 19, 10:09 am, "David L. Johnson"
wrote:
Frank Drackman wrote:
ride. Checking more closely revealed that the seat tube was completely
disconnected from where it meets the bottom bracket.

It is a 14 year old REI brand touring bike that has about 30K miles on it.
Is it something that is worth having fixed or should I schedule a memorial
service?

It was probably tig welded to begin with, if it's steel, It could be
re-welded, but that is not likely to be a very strong joint -- it
probably failed because it wasn't welded properly to begin with, and
there is corrosion to deal with.

In addition to the cost of welding it back together, which will be $100
or so if you want to pay someone who really knows what he is doing, you
will have to re-paint the bike, which will cost another $100-$200 to
have a decent job done. And when you are done you still will have a
14-year-old bike with worn, low-end components.

If it is aluminum, there isn't even a chance of finding someone to
re-weld it. A decent job there would cost much more than it is worth,
and the chances of doing a decent job with the old materials is small.

Save the shiny bits, and toss the rest. Buy another bike. You got your
$500 or so of use out of this one.

The lottery is a tax on those who fail to understand mathematics.

So you're saying crazy glue just wont do the trick?

Scab on some sheet steel and J.B. Weld that sucker.

--
Michael Press

Michael Press wrote:
In article
.com
,
tiborg wrote:

On Oct 19, 10:09 am, "David L. Johnson"
wrote:
Frank Drackman wrote:
ride. Checking more closely revealed that the seat tube was completely
disconnected from where it meets the bottom bracket.
It is a 14 year old REI brand touring bike that has about 30K miles on it.
Is it something that is worth having fixed or should I schedule a memorial
service?
It was probably tig welded to begin with, if it's steel, It could be
re-welded, but that is not likely to be a very strong joint -- it
probably failed because it wasn't welded properly to begin with, and
there is corrosion to deal with.

In addition to the cost of welding it back together, which will be $100
or so if you want to pay someone who really knows what he is doing, you
will have to re-paint the bike, which will cost another $100-$200 to
have a decent job done. And when you are done you still will have a
14-year-old bike with worn, low-end components.

If it is aluminum, there isn't even a chance of finding someone to
re-weld it. A decent job there would cost much more than it is worth,
and the chances of doing a decent job with the old materials is small.

Save the shiny bits, and toss the rest. Buy another bike. You got your
$500 or so of use out of this one.

The lottery is a tax on those who fail to understand mathematics.
So you're saying crazy glue just wont do the trick?

Scab on some sheet steel and J.B. Weld that sucker.


wow, you really /want/ that darwin award, don't you!

Frank Drackman wrote:
I was trying to beat the big wind storm home today, was riding uphill, felt
a "clink" and dropped my chain. It felt weird but I couldn't find any of
the usual suspects loose or broken. I put the chain back on and tried to
ride. Checking more closely revealed that the seat tube was completely
disconnected from where it meets the bottom bracket.

It is a 14 year old REI brand touring bike that has about 30K miles on it.
Is it something that is worth having fixed or should I schedule a memorial
service?



if tig, it's now uneconomic to repair. plenty of cheap reliable frames
at nashbar though.