georges1

What steel was Salsa using for its frames ??

Eric F 

Repair of any frame - regardless of material - requires a specialist (as you have already acknowledged about titanium). CF frame repair people are out there. A guy I ride with occasionally had his BMC Teammachine damaged in a crash on a group ride. He was able to get it repaired by a local specialist.

As far as I'm aware, because of the heat-treating, aluminum frames are not repairable in the same way as steel or ti. The advantage of aluminum is that you can toss it in the recycling bin - LOL.

georges1

I am getting my Daccordi Fly aluminium frame repaired through a framebuilder who repairs aluminium frames since a very long time. I will post a photo of the repair once it is done.

Eric F 

Hmmm...interesting. I learned something new today.

georges1

just curious was this break due to frame fatigue ??? I know that with some aluminium series on mountain bikes, they have a tendancy not to age well. What is aluminium tubing of the frame ??

big john

It was 10 years old when it broke. I mostly ride road so it did sit a lot. I do tend to break things, however.

It was some custom 6000 series aluminum but I don't remember anything else about that.

Darth Lefty 

"Kung Fu triple butted chromoly" in the 2nd generation

That wasn't the problem. They had an extreme crimp in a high strain area to do a short wheelbase with big clearance. If you compare it to a Timberjack (its aluminum replacement) or a current Karate Monkey (steel, also QBP) you can see how the plate yoke and 1x and Boost now obviates the problem

pic from mtbr user "frito_mosquito"

Atlas Shrugged

You obviously did not read post #42 clearly showing how to repair carbon frames. Best part is you can do it yourself in the comfort of your own home.

The idea that you can just take a metal frame and replace tube’s easily and for a reasonable cost is a complete myth. It quickly becomes more cost effective just to purchase a new frame. Especially when dealing with TIG welded or aluminum. As for replacing tubes in a stainless frame good luck with that process.

In another post you were in the process of repairing a aluminum frame. The welds need to ground flush tube replaced and frame needs to be heat treated afterwards it would be cheaper and easier just to buy a new frame.

Lastly, if you don’t want to repair your carbon frame yourself, there are numerous carbon repair businesses. In fact, probably easier to find than a steel repair.

79pmooney

15 and 12 years and 19 miles here. No cracks yet.

Steel forks for both. One did crack but that was the fault of the combined poor decisions of three people, myself, the builder and the plater. Lesson - mind your metallurgy, especially on the better steels. Short summary - I chose a minimalist investment cast fork crown with no scallops thinking 531 steel. Builder found some sweet Columbus SL blades. We decided to have the fork nickle plated and shot blasted to look good with the brushed ti frame. Plater never mentioned that the required heat treat after nickle plating high strength steel cost an additional $60. Not knowing, we didn't pay and the fork never saw the heat treat. 8000 miles later, both blades cracked just below the crown, one for 2/3rds of the circumference, the other for 1/3. The builder took the fork to a metallurgy professor who specialized in metal forensics. Word back - hydrogen embrittlement. The heat treat is to drive out those hydrogen atoms (that fit in the grain structure of the steel like gravel in the mortar of your brick house.

But once the fork was replaced with good ol' Reynolds 531, a deeply scalloped crown and good ol' paint (me being a little superstitious - I've lost on the fork game once and paid dearly) all with both these forks and frames has been excellent.

GhostRider62

Where did you read that?

Please correct them.

Carbon is cheaper and quicker to repair than steel, by far.

georges1

Interesting, was it a bike from Trek, Giant or Specialized ??

cyccommute 

Someone with a welder at home can probably do just about as good a job on repairing their steel or aluminum bike as that home carbon repair kit.

georges1

I have no skills to repair a frame to be honest with you. As for people who repair carbon frames in my country, there are none. I am lucky that the person who will repair my frame is an experienced framebuilder with steel, aluminium and titanium. The aluminium frame I have needing the repair is a very high end one and replacing it by something made in Taiwan or with poorly finish welds is a definite no, I prefer to pay money for an expensive quality repair than buy a lesser quality product.

cyccommute 

Well, on that we can agree.

For a temporary repair, aluminum doesn’t need to be heat treated. That said, this is something that was said by someone in a Facebook group a while back

Same would apply to a damaged carbon frame. You can repair it to get you home if you are in the wilds of Vietnam or Kenya but, generally, you should just throw the frame of any material away if it has broken after you get home. Steel isn’t as easy to repair as some would have you believe. The machinist who repaired my Miyata years and years ago was surprised by how thin the walls of the tubing was. He even commented that it would be extremely easy to burn through the tubing if he wasn’t careful. Some village smithy in some romantic, bucolic setting probably is probably going to do more harm than good because they aren’t used to welding thin walled tubing. Likely they would know more about welding aluminum than thin steel.

georges1

As I stated above in my country, none does repair carbon frames. However there are frame builders who repair steel, aluminium and titanium frames.

georges1

Thanks for sharing My question was more related who was the supplier or manufacturer of tubes for Salsa was it TrueTemper or Reynolds or Tange ??

Maelochs

I am sorry but I find it ridiculous to think that no one in the entire country of France---which has significant aeronautic industry---does carbon fiber repair. France is not in the Dark Ages any more.

Maelochs

You can mail your frame to these guys ... https://www.cyclingfactory.be/ .... there might be shops in France but I am not going to search on your behalf. The fact is, you can get your bike fixed.

Ever hear about that minor bike race, the Tour de France? I have to think France might have some bike-oriented industry.

By the way, for me to ship a bike to say, Calfee, the best-known US CF frame fixer .... it is a Lot farther than Paris to Limburg, Belgium.

GhostRider62

A carbon tube repair would be less than the paint job to repair a steel tube replacement. I've only had one fixed but have considered buying a carbon frame where the idiot in the shop crushed to top tube and I did get a quote for that replacement, so, I am pretty confident in my statement

When the one steel frame that broke on me could not be fixed in Los Angeles, I learned my lesson. The idea that anyone with a torch can repair 531 is hogwash.

Maelochs

Look I don’t mean to insult anyone here … I am just asking for Honesty.

Honestly … Al doesn’t need to be heat-treated? Then why does every Al manufacturer heat-treat? What is a “temporary” repair? One that lasts until it breaks again a hundred miles down the road?

Steel is easy to weld … if you have a welder …. And are really pretty good with it. Modern bike frames are pretty thin-walled, as others have mentioned. Welding is a skill, and whiel you might be able to weld a couple reinforcing plates onto the frame of your pick-up truck, but good luck with a tube thinner than a tin can. Also, you might want to build a frame jig, because if the tubes twist a little as they shrink after heating ….. .

CF? Yes, I can do home repairs with Carbon Fiber, and it really is about as easy as wood-working. Much easier than metalwork. Does that mean that it is easy? Heck, no. The edges have to mate perfectly, or you have to fill in gaps with layers of cloth, and you have to make sure the cloth is completely impregnated with epoxy …. Even if there are several layers of cloth. And again, if the frame twists as it dries …. Or if the person didn’t line up everything perfectly … then the frame will be out of line. Or, the frame will look fixed but still be weak …. Or the repair will be sloppy and heavy and ugly ……..

CF is indeed and by far the easiest material to repair at home … but repairing a broken bike frame is never going to be that easy … unless to fix it with money.

georges1

There is only one who does carbon frame repairs if you check this list French framebuilders of today and he is the only one it is Cycles Notar , the rest don't, they only manufacture for the vast majority steel , titanium and for some carbon and bamboo frames.

GhostRider62

Look, you said this

That statement is untrue.

You then changed to....we can't fix carbon in France. I forget his name but there is carbon yacht builder in Brittany who also repairs carbon. So, there is at least one.

Expensive is subjective, but I would not consider $325 to repair a tube on a $3-4000 frame to be expensive compared to replacing a tube on a $3-4000 steel frame and then repainting it. Turnaround on a carbon repair is 1-2 weeks. Check how long a tube replacement and repaint would be on a steel frame.

PeteHski

Maybe French boutique steel frame builders are not the right business when looking for a carbon repair.

Carbon repair in France is definitely a thing though, as you might reasonably expect with many thousands of carbon bikes sold there. First Google result:-

https://www.sportscarbone.com/en/reparation.php

Maelochs

In Any Case ....... No bike frame material is superior to any other. Each has characteristics, and each rider should choose the material which has the characteristics meeting the need sof that rider.

State of Mind is a "characteristic" in a way ... if I rider really feels that only a steel frame is the "right" frame, then that rider should ride a steel frame simply for that feeling.

However, trying to tell everyone that your way is better for everyone ... is one of the stupidest Stupid Human Tricks ... and one of the most common. Of course, no one here would fall into that trap ......

PeteHski

We are dealing with this here:-
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