Repair to Aluminium Frame

[Graham]

Would anyone know if it is possible to replace the seatstays on aluminium frame which nave been
slightly damaged ?

Graham

 

[Paul Southworth]

In article <[email protected]>, Graham <[email protected]> wrote:
>Would anyone know if it is possible to replace the seatstays on aluminium frame which nave been
>slightly damaged ?

That depends on materials and construction. Glued bikes can be repaired by the manufacturer or an
outfit like http://www.hhracinggroup.com/

TIG welded aluminum bikes are usually not worth fixing. The 6000-series aluminum used in many bike
frames such as Trek (some models), Klein, Cannondale, etc. require heat treating after repair and
very few places can do that at all, much less do it without warping the bike. (I could argue that
some mfr's can't do it without warping the bike either.) And they should charge you more than a new
cheap frame costs to do the repair.

7000 series aluminum does not necessarily require heat treating (although may still benefit from it)
but still a 7000-series bike is unlikely to be cost effective to repair since you can buy a new
7000-series frame that will be more reliable than the repaired one for pennies (eg, $100-125 new).

Basically you can buy a cheap no-name frame for less than it would cost to paint the repaired one
and it would probably last longer.

So what do you mean by "slightly damaged"?

--Paul

 

[Graham]

"Paul Southworth" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:5TU_9.31645$A%[email protected]...
> In article <[email protected]>, Graham <[email protected]> wrote:
> >Would anyone know if it is possible to replace the seatstays on aluminium frame which nave been
> >slightly damaged ?
>
> That depends on materials and construction. Glued bikes can be repaired by the manufacturer or an
> outfit like
http://www.hhracinggroup.com/
>
> TIG welded aluminum bikes are usually not worth fixing. The 6000-series aluminum used in many bike
> frames such as Trek (some models), Klein, Cannondale, etc. require heat treating after repair and
> very few places can do that at all, much less do it without warping the bike. (I could argue that
> some mfr's can't do it without warping the bike either.) And they should charge you more than a
> new cheap frame costs to do the repair.
>
> 7000 series aluminum does not necessarily require heat treating (although may still benefit
> from it) but still a 7000-series bike is unlikely to be cost effective to repair since you can
> buy a new 7000-series frame that will be more reliable than the repaired one for pennies (eg,
> $100-125 new).
>
> Basically you can buy a cheap no-name frame for less than it would cost to paint the repaired one
> and it would probably last longer.
>
> So what do you mean by "slightly damaged"?
>
> --Paul

Basically the story is that a colleague at work gave me the frame. The canti bosses are missing
and someone has drilled through the monostay to fit a calliper brake. Thanks for the advice on alu
frames by the way.

Graham

 

[Paul Southworth]

In article <[email protected]>, Graham <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> Basically the story is that a colleague at work gave me the frame. The canti bosses are missing
> and someone has drilled through the monostay to fit a calliper brake. Thanks for the advice on
> alu frames by the way.

If the frame is designed for thread-in canti studs, then that's what you should hunt for. If they
were hacked off then I think you're out of luck.

--Paul

 

[Jon Isaacs]

>7000 series aluminum does not necessarily require heat treating (although may still benefit from
>it) but still a 7000-series bike is unlikely to be cost effective to repair since you can buy a new
>7000-series frame that will be more reliable than the repaired one for pennies (eg, $100-125 new).
>

Actually some very high end bikes a built from 7000 series aluminums, the Ellsworth Truth for
example was/is made from 7000 series aluminum and is super light.

As I understand it, the proper heat treatment for 7000 series aluminums is time consuming and
expensive. This is why there are many cheap frames made from 7000series and a few very expensive
super light weight frames.

6000 series sits in the middle between the untreated and treated 7000 series, requiring heat
treatment, but not expensive heat treatment.

jon isaacs

 

[Alex Rodriguez]

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...

>Would anyone know if it is possible to replace the seatstays on aluminium frame which nave been
>slightly damaged ?

How was the frame built? Welded or bonded? What aluminum alloy? Those are questions you need the
answer to before someone can give you an answer to your question. If your frame is bonded, then
you can probably replace the seatstays. If is welded, it depends on the alloy. Some alloys require
them to be heat treated after welding to regain their strength. This is not something that is
easily done.
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Alex __O _-\<,_ (_)/ (_)