Snapped off top tube cable guide
 

Yesterday I got an old bike that was chromed but has no head badge nor any markings beyond a "54" on the seat tube and a"4" on the steerer tube. On further inspection I discovered it was originally blue but was stripped down to the bare chrome at some point. It is is a well made frame with groups of stars located on the seat stays and other places. Unworthy1 posted he thought it was a Giovanni Losa.

The only issue now is that the center cable guide was snapped off. I think I will contact the local frame builder and see how much grief a replacement would cause. If it can be done with minimal damage, I'd replace the cable guide and if replacement isn't chrome I'd simply paint that carefully. It polishes up so well I can't photo in the sun and will photo tonight in the house but i think you can see the damaged cable guide in the 2nd photo

Can anybody advise if replacing a cable guide on a chrome frame would be a good idea or would brazing damage the chrome?

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...09f70717e5.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...fcf7f2bceb.jpg

zip tie or find old clamp on cable guides , chrome has to be removed to do much else,

it's toxic when burned. and discolors when heated ..

you can re immerse the whole frame in the plating bath and remove most all the chrome
by reversing the current .

but I doubt you budget would like those costs ..






...

Thank you. I definitely am budget conscious on this because it doesn't fit. I might try a single screw on clamp. Still not 100% sure if i will build it back up or keep the parts and move the frame on.

Why not dremel off the other two guides and switch to cable clamps? Silver / chrome plated ones would look great on a chromed frame.

Braze ons are not supplied with a finish already on them before attaching to the frame. FB is correct concerning chrome and welding levels of heat. However silver brazing onto a chromed surface is possible without chrome damage (or brain cell damage either:)) Do know that the braze on will only be as well attached as the chrome is, or isn't.

Frame repairs involving torch work on chrome generally don't work out well without some real skills and experience. Even then some cosmetic damage is to be expected. Since the braze on won't be chromed some sort of protective finish will be wanted anyway. Andy

Thank you all.

I am still not sure where I will go with this.

It's a really nice frame that doesn't fit so I am torn between moving it now or building it back up. I don't want to dremel off the other two guides, simply because once I do that there is no going back. I like the other two ideas a) a single screw on clamp and first very gently dremeling the broken guide and b) silver brazing a new clamp. This post was sort of a last ditch effort because I just assumed that a guide couldn't be replaced without destroying the chrome and now I know better. There is a local builder (Joker Hand Built Bicycles) who did some work for me before and I didn't have to ship it so if I do go the brazing route I can at least ask his thoughts.

Wesley

If you can find (or machine) a suitable insert for the remaining two cable guides, you could turn them into cable stops and do away with the housing in between.

Assuming they are strong enough too.

If I were you I'd talk to the framebuilder about brazing on a stainless steel cable stop from Nova Cycle Supply. They have a divers helmet stop that might not look too bad but the hole would need to be drilled out to a larger size. Or, a standard stainless split stop that has been cut down to a length similar to the other two stops and then polished would closely match. The cutting and polishing of something that small wouldn't be much fun but it could be done.
The frame was chromed after the cable guide was brazed on in the first place so there is some bare steel there to work with. The framebuilder wouldn't have to remove much, if any, to get the new guide to stick as long as he is careful as Andy mentioned above.

For a SS cable tunnel/guide try K&S tubing available in many hobby shops and elsewhere. I recently made 15 light wire clips form this stuff. The .028" wall makes for fairly lightweight pieces and the tubing is made to fit the ID or OD of adjacent sized tubes. Andy

Reminder; about Chromium : ... it's toxic when burned.

and you cannot braze anything on without reaching . that temperature...

Why not use a clamp on cable clamp in place of the broken one?