3alarmer 

.
...I admit to being somewhat risk averse. I never thought it was a bad thing, until I read it here on teh Biekforums. Now I feel foolish.

wildstar

Personally, I would get my money back and walk away from that.

3alarmer 

...here is a titanium headtube, without a crack. Just to prove they do exist. OP should look for one like this.

smd4

Didn’t you get the memo? You’re not allowed here to suggest an outcome other than catastrophic failure and death. Hell, you’re not even allowed to think it!

3alarmer 

Yeeeeeee-haw !!

indyfabz

Srsly?

Polaris OBark

If I recall correctly, those Modolo stems were recalled because they catastrophically fail.

Steel Charlie

Just Google Hill's Microwelding. They can fix anything

rsbob 

If you want to ride it and stay relatively safe, I would find a couple of heavy duty clamps, like muffler clamps or something similar, to keep the tube together and help prevent further cracking. It’s still a risk but you can mitigate it somewhat.

veganbikes

Did you work for Clark-Kent? I know there stuff was known for cracking back in the 90s but I wouldn't use that as a reason not to go Ti. Maybe you have seen other stuff but I would be curious if it was more brand specific.

raqball

Yeah I would not push it hard though. It's still a risk and one that really does not need to be taken. There are already plenty of dangers out there we face daily. Distracted drivers, right hooks, road raging maniacs, etc so why add a self inflicted one to the list?

Why ride a bike that's probably just waiting to fail? And when it does eventually fail you might very well be risking serious injury or death because of it. Sure if you are slow poking it on a MUP you'd probably be okay even when it fails but I still don't understand taking the unnecessary risk.

I'd see if it can be properly repaired and if not then just use it as a trainer, refund it or just strip it down for parts..

indyfabz

Based on what I’ve seen, he produced 7 good looking bikes during his career. One of them is owned by a long-time friend and former neighbor who recently moved to Israel. The bike is over 20 years old, if not over 30.

3alarmer 

..."Catastrophic Failure" is the title for my new autobiography, soon to be released by Random House.

amazinmets73

"Drill the crack, pipe clamp and sent it."

Just received this advice. It's what I'm going to do. I dont want to spend any money on repairs that may not even be effective. The bike will be ridden hard, if the frame isn't worth anything no way I'm babying it.

Wish me luck!

jad3675

Uh, any decent machine shop will have a guy who could weld that up. I'd be shocked if they charged you more than an hours labor - $100? If you have a trade school nearby with a welding program they might do it for free.

3alarmer 

...I love you, man. My retirement checks come to me courtesy of a career in emergency services. Without people pushing the envelope on risk, I would be penniless.

wolfchild

The bike has a cracked headtube and you're going to ride it hard ?...Very bad idea.

indyfabz

😂

I’m not a titanium welder, but I have been attending Butte, MT Vo-Tech for 3 months.

drlogik 

My best advice is to return the bike. I would never ride a bike with a split tube like that. What caused it? Did the person divulge? It would make me skeptical of the rest of the bike also. Get your money back if you can.

CliffordK

"Riding it Hard"?

Mismatch between the headtube size and frame cup size.

Polaris OBark

I've got some new fresh out of the box Lizard Skins bar tape to sell ...

CroMo Mike 

And explain this again.... you want me to weld a stressed titanium tube with a near 100% penetration bead with no undercut and without any internal buildup? Then you will bet your life and future employment on the result?

indyfabz

The only person I would trust to fix my super fly, custom ti frame is the guy who built it, and he’s only 12 miles from my house.

terrymorse 

Doubtful.

Likely: Cyclic stress from vibration when riding over rough roads. An inadequate frame design for the intended usage.

roadcrankr

Not a fan of riding with this split. Fashioning a clamp might work.
But if you ride rocky hillsides with ledges falling off like the Grand Canyon...
The previous owner hit something head-on and hard. Why repeat that nightmare.
A cyclist in our saturday large group went down quickly when his Trek fork snapped.
He got all jacked-up with a concussion and broken bones. Not a pretty sight.