Straightening and welding an Al frame

[Yammer]

Hey.
Well I broke my Cove Stiffee urban riding last week.
The frame cracked near the rear dropout and the rear triangle is out of alignment so that the wheel rubs the frame.

I was wondering if there is any competent machine shop around that can straighten the frame, weld the crack, weld a gusset in back there near the rear dropout and heat treat it so that it is strong again?

The frame is Aluminum, and Cove is offering me a crash replacement for $400. This isn't that appealing to me and if I can fix this for less and it would be reliable or stronger I like that idea better.

Thanks, Pat

[Magic]

Bummer on the Stiffee breaking. Hope you find a fix for it.

[rideharder]

i know of a few but they are a bout an hours drive west, and if you want to heat treat it too you will be looking at about 400 for the labor. plus it will never be as strong if you try to bend the aluminum back. there is no memory with aluminum if it bends farther than regular flex so those bends will always be weak. anyone have a thought?

[Tower]

You can try Metals Joining Lab in Bloomington... They'll weld Al, but unsure on heat treating... Maybe they could send it out somewhere...

They did a nice job on my frame... When it comes to Al though, once the deed has been done, it's only a matter of time til it's creeking and splitting again...

[Yammer]

Maybe I will just go with a strong steel frame then for less than $400.
Damn, I love this bike though.

[Magic]

Try the Metal Doctor in North St. Paul. They might be able to help you.

[manual63]

Keep in mind that if you broke it there, it might be ready to go somewhere else. I know people who have spent a bunch of money fixing a frame only to have it break somewhere else not long after. If you abuse it, like you should be doing...:), it's only going to have so much life. Not sure how long it lasted, but a good abused frame should really only last just around a year or more, especially aluminum. So the crash replacement might be the best option if you really like the frame.

[Yammer]

picture of the offending area

[Yammer]

So if I get a steel frame that is meant for urban and park riding will it last more than this Al frame did?

I got the frame last May 2005. Broke last week

[bigwheel]

You kids should stop riding over curbs! Walk you bikes over the curb, and you won't have these kind of problems. :crazy:

[manual63]

So if I get a steel frame that is meant for urban and park riding will it last more than this Al frame did?

I got the frame last May 2005. Broke last week

This depands on how much you ride it and what you do on it. When I was doing BMX Urban 4 or more days a week in the mid 90's, a steel frame would barely last a year or more. Of course this includes running pegs and grinding, which abused frames quite a bit. I now have a P.2, but I don't ride it much. It has lasted me since 2003. So it's all relative. I mostly ride my On-One and I huck that quite a bit, it is steel, but not a freeride frame. It has held up so far....and I am not nice to it one bit. I took it to Whistler, Fruita, and I do drops and abuse it here too. You just never really know, but I do think steel lasts longer than aluminum.

[tedsti]

That is going to be a tough place to patch up. As Larry said, Metals Joining Lab is your best bet for a quality weld job. The guy is a little nuts, but a great welder.

A properly designed steel frame can have an infinite fatigue life, aluminum does not. If durability is the top concern, then steel is probably the way to go. Maybe Pete K will let you take his Instigator for a test spin.

[Yammer]

Just talked to Cove again, and they had quoted me in Canadian dollars. So I could get a new Stiffee for $355. Otherwise they recommend the Sanchez, which is their steel urban, park and dirt jumping frame for $266 under crash warranty replacement!

I might just do that.

http://www.covebike.com/sanchez.html

[Tegra54]

That is going to be a tough place to patch up. As Larry said, Metals Joining Lab is your best bet for a quality weld job. The guy is a little nuts, but a great welder.

A properly designed steel frame can have an infinite fatigue life, aluminum does not. If durability is the top concern, then steel is probably the way to go. Maybe Pete K will let you take his Instigator for a test spin.

fatigue life is a very misleading arguement.... the number of cyclic loadings that a well designed frame can take is extremely large.

this should not be the only factor for frame material selection....in fact, i dont even think it should be considered at all....:jumpy: