Another busted head tube

[Aaron Thomas]

To piggy-back on the recent busted head tube thread, I hereby submit one of my own for the group's enjoyment. This time, it's a 1980s era Ciocc: photos here.

A few days ago, I noticed a faint rattling sound, like something had come loose. I inspected the bike and everything seemed locked down tight enough, so I continued to ride it. Then yesterday, on a long ride, I noticed that the steering seemed really off, almost like the front tire had a slow leak and was beginning to squirm and bounce around. Except the tire was clearly fully inflated.

At some point, the loose, bouncy front end became so pronounced that it was abundantly clear that something was seriously wrong. I pulled over to the shoulder and immediately saw that the head tube had cracked. Fortunately, it happened while on a long climb and not on the descent that awaited on the other side of the summit!

It was a really fun bike while it lasted. I just might have to set my eBay widget to start scouting for another ;)

Aaron

[Bob]

Frightening. Internal rust? Stress crack that developed over time?

On Nov 6, 7:28 pm, Aaron Thomas <aaron.a.tho...@gmail.com> wrote:
> To piggy-back on the recent busted head tube thread, I hereby submit one of
> my own for the group's enjoyment. This time, it's a 1980s era Ciocc: photos

> here<https://picasaweb.google.com/104993822296107747388/CioccHeadtubeFailu...>
> .

[James Warren]

Aaron, I'm very glad you discovered it safely.

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Aaron Thomas
Sent: Nov 6, 2011 11:28 AM
To: rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com
Subject: [RBW] Another busted head tube

To piggy-back on the recent busted head tube thread, I hereby submit one of my own for the group's enjoyment. This time, it's a 1980s era Ciocc: photos here.

A few days ago, I noticed a faint rattling sound, like something had come loose. I inspected the bike and everything seemed locked down tight enough, so I continued to ride it. Then yesterday, on a long ride, I noticed that the steering seemed really off, almost like the front tire had a slow leak and was beginning to squirm and bounce around. Except the tire was clearly fully inflated.

At some point, the loose, bouncy front end became so pronounced that it was abundantly clear that something was seriously wrong. I pulled over to the shoulder and immediately saw that the head tube had cracked. Fortunately, it happened while on a long climb and not on the descent that awaited on the other side of the summit!

It was a really fun bike while it lasted. I just might have to set my eBay widget to start scouting for another ;)

Aaron

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[Mojo]

I had two Bob Jackson headtubes crack at the downtube lug. After the second I declined their offer to pay a discounted price for a third frame. Obviously it was an overheating problem, though I gained a reputation (not necessarily a good one) amongst my riding buds. That was the late 80s.

[pruckelshaus]

That's completely repairable by a competent framebuilder.

[Mojo]

And I just remembered I lost a race because of the second cracked frame. Back then I had only one frame but 2or3 sets of wheels. I had already noticed the headtube crack, about 2cm long, but wanted to finish the season before sending it back. It was a hilly road race with one long but not real steep climb before the descent to the finish. My job was to set a good tempo for the better climber on our team, Rick. So at the base of the climb I went to the front and gave it 96%. I could hear some breathing behind me but didn't glance back until many minutes of effort had passed. When I did we were down to four including Rick and two of a rival team. Then I took it up to redline. As we approached the pass, Rick came around and said we were alone. We let it all hang out then, with Rick pulling mostly and me coming through for a brief pull when I could. We went over the top with something like 30 seconds over one very good rival. We pushed it as the road turned down until we had spun out or 53X13s (the largest gear we had back then). Rick did the Jan Heine tuck with his hands and nose on the stem and knees locked on the top tube. I thought about my cracked frame as I watched the pavement below us become a blur. Pretty quickly I lost my nerve and put my hands on the hooks. Rick quickly rolled away, and not long after the rival flew by me. By the base of the mountain the other rival had caught me and together we tied in the sprint for third.  Rick won by a few seconds. The risks I took back then...and I didn't even have health insurance! I did wear a real helmet, not the leather hairnet that was legal.

 

Rick and I still ride together a few times a year. He nearly always beats me in hill climbs to this day, but I always make him earn it.

[Bill]

This is the reason that a weekly cleaning/wipe-down does more than
just make a bike look pretty. Check it like it belongs to a shifty
looking seller and you're considering buying it. BTW, I love the old
Italian steel too.

Bill

On Nov 6, 2:28 pm, Aaron Thomas <aaron.a.tho...@gmail.com> wrote:
> To piggy-back on the recent busted head tube thread, I hereby submit one of
> my own for the group's enjoyment. This time, it's a 1980s era Ciocc: photos

> here<https://picasaweb.google.com/104993822296107747388/CioccHeadtubeFailu...>
> .

[Jim Thill - Hiawatha Cyclery]

When an old frame cracks, it seldom makes sense to repair it, in my opinion. With paint, you'd have at least $300-400 into the repair. There are lots of fish in the sea!

[William]

That was a really good race story, mojo.