datlas 

I have a King Cage SS bottle cage that broke near the bracket recently. It's 10 years old, so I am not upset that it failed as everything can break over time.

However, I really hate throwing out things that can possibly be repaired, so I was considering trying to fix this. The tubular steel is VERY thin walled, so I am pretty sure regular epoxy will not work. I don't weld, so that's out. My idea is to put a nail or some other short metal object that is similar in size to the ID of the steel tubing into each end of the break (to stabilize it), and finish the job with some epoxy. I am hopeful this would work, although might be more of a "bodge" than a "hack."

Any suggestions? Plan B is to cough up $25-30 for a new one.

datlas 

Pic

Iride01 

When you get beyond attempts to save it, remember that throwing it in the trash will just result in it sitting in a land fill for many years. A scrap yard or recycling bin that accepts miscellaneous metal objects will be a better choice.

Metal generally recycles very well.

seypat

Universal Cycles in Lancaster, PA has 22 of them listed on their website for $20ea. Get a new one and recycle the broken one.

https://www.universalcycles.com/visit_us.php?store=PA

Litespud

If I was attempting to repair this, I might slip an appropriately sized piece of metal bar or tube into the break, then solder

datlas 

Yeah, I don’t solder so metal bar (nail?) plus epoxy is the idea.

TiHabanero

Blackburn also has a stainless cage called Chicane and are what I use. Have yet to have one fail and they are about half the price of a King Cage. Necessity is the mother of invention, my friend. Try your idea and see what happens. The epoxy I use for structural repairs like this is JB Weld. Do the repair off the bike and use loss of epoxy and rough up the nail so the glue gets a good grip.

Camilo

I believe either would work. I'd go with the epoxy just because of my (lack of) skill set. On the other hand, instead of epoxy or soldering, after the reinforcing "rod" (I'd use some heavy gauge aluminum wire I have), I'd wrap it with stranded packing tape or maybe thin string like dental floss soaked in epoxy, sort of like a splint. I've repaired bottle cages with just tape before, I think the inserted rod would be better. Or I'd just buy a new one.

beng1

Your plan sounds good. I would use JB Weld.

rsbob 

If the JB doesn’t work prepare to start coughing. I bought a cage for $8. They are out there with no coughing required.

SoSmellyAir

That is crazy talk when you can buy a 19 g CF cage for < $22.

Amazon.com : Zefal Pulse L2 Bottle Cage, Black : Sports & Outdoors

seypat

Dude has a Ti bike. May not want CF.

SoSmellyAir

Huh? That is taking the whole "steel is real" thing way too far.

seypat

Maybe the bike has Chris King hubs/headset and he wants something that matches..........kind of.

You shouldn't put CF on there anyway. That's like a ticking time bomb.

seypat

JB Weld will cost between $5 and $10. Don't know about the metal rod. A cost analysis might be needed. Recycle the old cage plus some other metal scraps laying around and you have enough coin for a new cage.

sced

I use gel super glue for all kinds of jobs - amazing stuff, and you can buy it at Dollar Tree for $1.25 for 2 or 3 tubes. With a close fitting nail the repair will last forever.

joesch

metal bar (cf carbon fiber roll inserted rather than nail) plus epoxy
sorta like the CF / AL rims which work pretty well

big john

I don't think you can solder to stainless steel. A skilled welder can fix it but it won't be cheap. If it fatigued enough to fail at one point it's probably fatigued enough to fail someplace else.
JB weld is amazing stuff and might be the solution you seek.

WhyFi

Has anyone called the OP a cheap-ass, yet?

seypat

I think he prefers the word thrifty. There comes a point however........

WhyFi

Cheap-asses often do.

Unca_Sam

You can solder Stainless if you use a strong acid flux. I'm going to be using the stuff on a stainless kettle as soon as I get the flux delivered. Stainless is a pain to weld because it needs an inert gas, right?

I'm with you on the second point you made, fatigue probably killed this cage, and it's likely developing cracks on the other side of the cage as well. IMO, that makes it a situation of throwing good money after a lost cause. BUY a new one, take this one to get scrapped.

popeye

Insert oak dowel and epoxy.

79pmooney

The King of King cages in not Chris King but a totally separate person and outfit.

But - it will take a small fraction of the tubes to do this. Leftover un-mixed epoxy lasts decades. It will be good for several to many more repairs. (Kitchen stuff? my favorite saucepan top has a glued on handle.)

Some of use like King cages because the grip WBs so well. On a hot, hard group ride, water has value far above minor differences in cage costs. King cages grip the bottle stuffed hastily and very crooked mid-climb. After that bumpy descent, it's still there. (I've reached down a few times and missed the bottle entirely, What??? Oops, I put the bottle in so crooked the top is 3 inches off to the left! But it's still there.

I bet the cage broke at the tube-to-tube weld, ie the weak point of the cage. If not the tube-to tube weld, it (and the other side) are the highest stress location on the cage. A good repair there and the cage should last until the other side fails and for that, you have the materials and experience so NBD. And after that it could go a very long time.

That would work very well. Take very little epoxy. If I were doing this, I'd first see how far I could stretch the tube away from the break. (Say 0.5 cm.) I'd then epoxy in my plug, oak, nail, rod; whatever I had, into the mount-side tube so it stuck out 0.4 cm. Let the epoxy set. Now gubber up the protruding end, slip the tube over, pull it tight against the joint, clean up joint and let it set.

And last, if it came out neatly, I'd send a letter/email and photo to King. They'd enjoy it. (The WB King, not Chris King! They are a small crew and love making a good product.)

Ogsarg

I would put a small piece of metal rod in there and JB weld but if you have a small local welding shop or metal fabricator, I see no harm in asking them what it would cost to repair. Something like this can probably be done in a minute or two and they might just ask you to slip them a few bucks on the side.