Super_Piraat

Hi, this is my sisters colnago. Her right dropout (derailleur side) broke off as she was riding it. Is it possible to fix this, and what would it cost? Pictures inside..

Super_Piraat

unterhausen

if you have the other piece, it can be welded back on. Otherwise there may be some problem getting a matching dropout. The photo isn't quite clear enough for me to identify it. In that case, both can be replaced with matching dropouts

Super_Piraat

Thanks! I'm afraid she lost the other piece during the crash...

So my best (if a bit expensive) option would be to buy matching dropouts and get a builder to weld them on. How much would a job like that cost?

Anyway thanks already!

unterhausen

Was it a fixed gear? I would have thought that the dropout would still be attached to the derailleur.

Are there any framebuilders left in the Netherlands? A person that does general purpose welding probably isn't going to do a good job. I might see if Colnago would fix it. Now that I stared at your pictures a little more, it's not likely that you will find matching dropouts, those are socketed.

repechage

The way I would do it is make a half rabbet joint at about a 45° angle to the axle slot, and machine the compliment to the new donor dropout, a Campagnolo or similar piece. then braze the two together, probably with silver as it requires less heat and you will have decent surface area. This does require a mill and some set up, most guys with a file are not accurate enough. This way you will keep the threaded adjuster function. The images are not clear enough to see what is going on inside the shift cable stop, there is a lot of paint missing is appears where I would not expect that to happen.

Super_Piraat

Thank you for all the great advice, i'll put up some sharper pics tommorow. Any indication as to the price of a repair like this?

There are still a few decent builders left, but i'll have to contact them first if they're willing to do this kind of thing.

I would love to see this frame rideable again, as it was my sisters first bike and she is now a serious racer.

Thanks again, and good to know that this repair isnt impossible!

JohnDThompson 

If the frame has Campy 1010B type dropouts, Richard Sachs has replacements:

unterhausen

that's what I thought at first, but they are socketed

Super_Piraat

Sorry for the phone camera photo's :$
So the dropout is broken where the adjuster is placed, is this a weak spot usually?
But the fact that its socketed makes it a lot harder I suppose, socketed basically means that it fits over the tubes instead of going in, which means that I'll need specific colnago dropouts.

Any solutions?

I was thinking maybe replace the U shaped part of the dropouts, leave the rest on, like this:

unterhausen

the reason I mentioned that they are socketed is just because if they weren't there are lots of replacements.

repechage suggested grafting two dropouts together, that might work

Super_Piraat

cheers! you're a hero!

NoReg

Assuming there aren't any replacements, or Colnogo won't let them go etc... Could one not just cut the drops off then slot right throught the socketts. That is essentially the way some of these are done anyway. Sometimes folks who don't want to pour a lot of braze into an end will build and braze a bullet etc... Then slot it.

Another option would be these guys lots of flexibility and maybe they would be long enough to allow some fititng at the tube ends:

https://www.cycle-frames.com/bicycle-...CKET-TYPE.html

There are several angles to choose from.

ming45

Try CeeWay on the web. Drop outs inside and outside socketed and most everything
else for frames.

ftwelder

I know a guy in your area who may take this on, he is abroad right now.. I will inquire.

Super_Piraat

Thanks for all the great advice so far, I've contacted ceeway and asked them what I should measure to determine which dropouts I need (basically just the angle of the fork).
What I'm going to do is heat the dropouts and the sockets so the brass goes soft again, and then if all goes well just pull out the dropouts and put in new ones.

I'll put up pictures soon so you can see the progress!

@ftwekler: thanks, that would be a great help!

Scooper

If you're going to do that, cut the dropouts in half so you only have to heat one joint at a time. It'll be faster and easier with less heat that way.

Super_Piraat

Yeah, will do. So in steps the repair should go like this (correct wrongs):

1. Remove paint from welding surface (to about 1'' from where the dropouts slot)
2. Cut dropouts in half.
3. Heat up (how hot should it be?) dropout and tube.
4. Remove both dropouts.

And then?
Does a welder pour in brass?

Also, I'll buy the dropouts from ceeway most likely, so first I need to measure the chainstay/seatstay angle.

Thanks

Italuminium

have you tried vittorio cycles yet in Heerhugowaard? I guess you live in Amsterdam, so that's quite close. They have a big shop for all kinds of framebuilding repairs. Mario Verhoeven @ defietsenmaker.nl also sells dropouts, so maybe he can match yours if you send a pic of the broken one (he's a very friendly man to deal with btw).

Six jours

I wouldn't remove the dropout with heat if I were you. It takes a lot of heat to remelt brass - like cherry red. This isn't very good for the steel. I would use a hacksaw and files to remove just enough material to allow the new dropout to fit into place. Then I would thoroughly clean the area and the new dropout with acid (Sno-Bol toilet cleaner or similar) and rinse it with water, then flux it with good water-soluble flux designed for silver brazing. Then slip the dropout into place and uniformly heat the entire area, to just slightly red, and feed silver brazing material into the joint. If you've been careful to remove only the material necessary to allow the new dropout to fit, the silver will not have to fill any significant gaps and cleanup will be simplified. You just need to soak the new joint in hot water to remove the dried flux.

Frankly, I think you will find that the investment to do it right is about the same investment it would take to have someone else do it for you - and I suspect that doing it yourself based on advice from the internet is liable to end badly for you. Good luck...