toosahn

So I just got a '71 Merlin, and I found this problem with the frame that the seller overlooked:



Is this a huge deal? Would it be worth it to get it fixed? Any estimates on costs for a small job like this?

Seller has been responsive and eager to resolve the issue.

shnibop 

I'm assuming you mean the cable stop being split? I'd leave it and ask for a partial refund.

You could get that fixed for under $50, but would lose the paint in that area, not worth it IMO.

3alarmer 

Exactly what do you see as the problem?

toosahn

The seller offered $25 in refund. Is that fair?

cudak888 

No. The fix would run $50 at least, and the repaint of the stay alone by a competent painter who can match the patina will run you well over $100.

Force him to take it back. Not worth your effort unless this is your grail bike.

-Kurt

John E

If you use a high-quality derailleur w/ a gentle spring and never force it hard against the low gear stop, you may never have a problem. I also wonder whether some sort of epoxy might provide a satisfactory and painless solution to the problem.

Chombi

What if you strip the paint off that cable stop cup and fill it in with J-B Weld then drill a new cable end pocket into the cured J-B Weld a second smaller hole in the center to line up where the cable goes through the metal stop then paint it.
Kind of a cold process repair....

Chombi

unworthy1

I think this is a good approach, and don't think there's so much pressure on the stop that the split will get worse. Only thing I'd use some epoxy putty rather than a liquid (like JB Weld). Or, you could carefully grind it off (I know, it's "drewing" but in this case) and use a clamp-on stop...wouldn't look out of place on this era frame.
Are those Zeus dropouts?

toosahn

Yup, they are Zeus dropouts. Why do you ask?

old's'cool

Nothing but a steel weld or braze repair will approach the original strength. Proper repair is remove the cable stop & braze on a new one.

Glennfordx4

Some one with good torch skills could put a bit of braze on that to repair it with out much damage to the paint on the frame it self.

sced

Gently tap the two side together, get some epoxy in there, touch up with model airplane paint, and fit a chainstay cable stop...al for < $10.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Chainstay-Ca...item4aae91a620

Actually, if you complete fill the hemisphere with epoxy and maintain the hole, maybe with a toothpick that you pull out before it hardens, the fix should last forever.

unworthy1

Only cause that was what my (departed) Merlin had, probably same year and model. BTW, mine also had a damaged cable stop like yours, only even farther gone. I ground it off (Dremel) and put on a nice Campy cable stop (something similar to what sced shows in the eBay link). Worked great, never looked back.
There were several braze-on bits on my Merlin that were toast, the frame was not babied by the PO, well, more like it was "ridden hard and put up wet". I would not fixate on the little stuff: it's a fine 531 British frame, very nice riding...enjoy!

DrJim

I agree with this sentiment. I doubt that the split would cause enough weakness in the stop to be a problem. Also, I wonder how it got that way.

ColonelJLloyd 

JB Weld and touch up paint. If that's going to bother you, send it back.

TheOtherGuy

It never ceases to amaze me that people buy 40 and 50 year old bike parts, then search for flaws to request/demand a partial refund. While that braze-on may not look perfect, it'll probably be plenty strong for a derailleur cable stop. Geeze... (and no, I wasn't the seller..) It looks to have been Dremel-disc cut (why, I don't know; can only guess).
Build that thing and ride it!

ColonelJLloyd 

For the same reason many come that way from the factory. It allows the cable to pass through the slit rather than being run through the hole.

cudak888 

Depends on the RD. Some Hurets pack a nasty return spring that can bend a stamped steel cable stop quite a bit.

-Kurt

Lenton58 

I did a stop on one of mine. I did not like the internal stay routing. The frame maker just balled the cost in with aligning the dropouts, chasing the BB shell, pressing in head races. So, if you have it done along with all the other good stuff, it may be a tolerable bill.

Of course I lost paint in the process. The frame guy had to file through the existing paint, flux the daylights out of the stay and then — poof — on went the torch.

But it was not so bad a thing after the splattered flux was removed. I just painted a sort of band of color that keyed onto the original — didn't even try to match it. Original color ... dark purple. The band was a lighter shade. On the chain stay it seems rather natural — to me anyway.

Here is another suggestion. Get a thin piece of copper wire. Form it into a circle the same as the inside diameter of the recess in the stop. Place it so it butts up at the end of the stop's inside diameter. Now you will need a really big soldering iron or a small propane torch. And you will have to get all the paint and undercoat off the inside of the stop ferrule, as well as an area on the outside portion. You will transfer heat from the outside in. So then you flux and fill the stop with solder. Next: drill the solder out leaving the bridged area. Then drill out a smaller hole for the cable to run through. Round off the bridge with a file.

The paint damage should be restricted to a small area that can be matched up with model enamel. The kind of stress that stop will take should leave the solder intact and OK — IMHO anyway. The copper wire will transfer the heat evenly around the ferrule as well as create a form for the solder bridge.

Don't use electronics solder. There is solder made for this sort of thing.

Some readers will think this is a silly notion. So be it. Back in the day when I did a bit of motorcycle racing, I used to solder cable nipples on my steel brake cables — cables for drum brakes that had to slow me down from 115-130 to 25 MPH lap after lap. The last thing I thought about diving into corners was busting solder joints.

It's what I'd try. And all you can do is fail. Then you go to the guy with the brazing torch. POOOF!

There is a fair chance you will succeed.

DrJim

I think you are right. It is probably (possibly?) original. I did an inventory of my bikes and four out of the six have split rear derailleur cable stops. The bikes with the rear brake cables running under the top tube also have split stops and the brake cables must transmit considerably greater loads than the rear derailleur.

One difference that I see between my split stops and the one shown by the OP is that mine are longer along the cable and therefore presumably stronger.

Charles Wahl

+1 The split on OP's bike looks intentional too.

My advice: either put up with the bike the way it was sold to you, or give it back and let the previous owner sell to someone who will appreciate it and not obsess about tiny things like this.

gerryincwm

Looks a fairly easy repair, damp rags on the stay a small nozzle and a blob of silver solder. Don't need a frame builder just someone competent with oxy acetylene

Lenton58 

I think a $30 propane set will do it too — 2000 degrees at the jet. Competence, well thats another factor.

randyjawa 

Personally, I would not worry about it at all, for the time being. If it works, then never worry about it. If it doesn't work, have a new one brazed, or sliver soldered, into place or remove the braze-on and replace with a clamp on unit.

I would also check to see if the paint is on the split. If so, then it is original and the seller need not have mentioned that. If the paint is not on the split, then it is a crack or modification, and should have been disclosed by the seller. In scenario two, you have every right in the world to request compensation or full refund.

Just an old man's opinion.

ScottRyder 

That's what I thought it was, I had a bike at one point that had that opening, thought it was supposed to be like that.

Scott