It's dejavu all over again.

Kevlarr

Kevlarr

New Member
Well my frame broke again, this time the downtube cracked right at the motor mount. Now before anyone says it was because I drilled my frame and put screws in my motor mount strap, the frame cracked from the top down. I think it may have been cracked when I did the rear suspension I just didn't notice it. The bottom of the crack near the screw is all bright metal and everywhere else is dull.

A little bit of serendipity though, when it cracked the frame spread about 3" and now the bike sits at a much more comfortable height so I'm piecing in a section of tube with sleeves. Couldn't do any more work tonight because I need a second person to sit on the bike so I can get the sleeves in and the patch tube. laff
 

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Yeeeeeiiiiikes!
I am glad that you did not list injuries to go along with this bad news.
(I hope there were none.)
At least you will have a more comfortable ride when this dance is done!
 
Well I was at a stop waiting for traffic to clear, pulled out onto the road, two pumps of the pedals, POP and the engine dies. At first I'd though something went wrong with the forks. Tried getting the engine started and nothing, looked down and noticed the big ol' gap in the frame. The bullet connectors on the ignition wires acted like an instant kill switch. :D

You haven't even heard the worst part, I was about 15 miles from home when it happened and the Mrs. was not happy when she came to get me. laff
 
No, the top of the motor mount is right where the crack is, my homebuilt strap will go across the weld and I'm thinking of welding that directly to the frame as well.

Kind of bummed that this screwed up my paint job and I don't have the patience to tear the bike down and paint it again now so until this winter the repair is just going to be coated in primer.
 
y'know, sometimes you just gotta give up, Kevlarr. throw that piece of crap away and buy a new frame. :)
 
Be very careful about what you are doing....check the other welds and joints in the frame. If it popped and you were on it, I bet you stressed some other welds/joints, inspect them closely.
 
I'm not one to discourage the DIYer... but I am also concerned that that bike's frame may well be fatigued or simply an inferior alloy as it's broken not once, but twice & in two completely different places and load areas...

It's a similar concern with car frame repair - rust, NP... but cracks & breaks are a sure sign of fatigue and most reputable shops won't touch 'em because no matter how nice the repair work it'll just break somewhere else.

Ya prolly know alla this & it's your hide so ofc ya can do w/e you wish... I jus' figured I'd mention my worry ;)
 
Kev,
Not just saying this to concur with the other mods but I'd be wary of the frame too. Do a good exam of the rest of the frame after your repair and before you ride.
As for color match, you could probably find something very close or the same in the Dupli Color line. They have a good selection of automotive colors to choose from; it'd look better than primer...unless you're going for the rat rod look :)
Tom
 
Checked the entire frame today in the daylight and the only other crack I can find is a real fine one in the seat tube right at the water bottle lug. That's where it gave to let the frame open up. Going to cut the lug off and weld up the hole.

Problem is Tom it's anodizing paint over gold (think candy color) and if I paint just the repair the overlap areas will be darker. I'm just going to strip the frame down to bare metal and repaint it over the winter. I think I'm going to try and find an actual candy paint because the anodizing paint (even though it's pretty as heck) is kinda soft, even zip-ties leave impressions in it.
 
Is that a Cranbrook ? I drilled my frame too. Think Im in for trouble ? Has any Cranbrook owner drilled their frame and it didnt break ?
 
yeah, i'm just saying. frames ain't that expensive.

or, with all the experience you have with re-welding a frame, you could just build one up from scratch...
 
I didn't actually drill the frame, I secured the motor mount strap to the frame with self drilling screws. Although the crack went through one of the holes that was where the crack ended up not where it started.

With the downtube opened I checked it out pretty well with my mini snake LED light and I couldn't see any other cracks.

I got the patch welded in today (slow day at work :D ) and it looks pretty good so far. I still have to weld the motor mount strap across the repair and it should be set to ride.

Like I said earlier I have a feeling the crack was there all along, If I'd stripped the entire frame down to bare metal when I did the rear suspension I probably would have found it instead of thinking it was just worn paint from the motor mount.

I wish I'd bookmarked the site I came across a few weeks ago, they had every individual part that I'd salvaged off the suspension bike because if I do end up building a new frame it'll just have to be the front half. It'd be nice to have all new parts instead of having to re-salvage the pivots, etc. off this frame.
 
It Lives!!!!

Got everything buttoned up and put back together this afternoon and I took a couple quick spins around the neighborhood in between rain showers. I made sure NOT to avoid any pothole I found. laff
Tonight I made a lay back seatpost and took her out for proper 13 mile run and I cut through the subdivision that goes though the golf course so I could hit the combination speed humps/cart crossings. The bike actually rides better now then it ever has. I can't believe the little change in geometry made all this difference but it's almost like the thing floats down the road now.
 

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