cannondale cracked aluminum frame repairable???
Alan Smollen
the frame. the head pulled away from the top tube and now there is a crack
across the top tube and fork tube joint about 50% disconneted. I have a
picture is you like. It is a1987?? criterium.
the frame is still straight and the fork tube is about 5 % pushed under the
bike...
The question, can aluminum tubes be welded.? the tubes are3-4 mm thick....
--
I love ridding bicycles, looking at stars, flying sport kite and making
paper airplanes.
Bluto
> Had a front end crash and the front fork bent to allow the front tire to rub
> the frame. the head pulled away from the top tube and now there is a crack
> across the top tube and fork tube joint about 50% disconneted. I have a
> picture is you like. It is a1987?? criterium.
Your bike can be welded; early Cannondales are made of relatively
thick-walled straight gauge tubing and are pretty forgiving of repair.
HOWEVER, the metal will be weakened in the area of the weld, and the
frame will become susceptible to further cracking in this area. Since
the joint between the top tube and the head tube is not a typical
failure point from riding stresses, you might have no further problem,
unless you crash it again in a similar way. But it might crack
relatively soon after welding. Consider having a gusset welded across
the joint over the top of the repair.
Before you undertake the repair, remove the fork and check to see that
the headset cups are still tightly seated. If they have developed
looseness, they were stretched in the crash and your frame is probably
not worth saving. If you can find a Cannondale dealer, you may be
able to arrange a new replacement frame at a discount in exchange for
your old one.
Also note that the weld you propose must be done by a skillful welder
accustomed to working with aluminum sheet. Hire a welder who has
experience with aluminum bicycles, motorcycles, aircraft, or boats,
and who has a good TIG/GTAW machine with argon shielding gas.
I should mention that your fork must be replaced as it cannot safely
be repaired.
Chalo Colina
Mark Hickey
>Had a front end crash and the front fork bent to allow the front tire to rub
>the frame. the head pulled away from the top tube and now there is a crack
>across the top tube and fork tube joint about 50% disconneted. I have a
>picture is you like. It is a1987?? criterium.
>the frame is still straight and the fork tube is about 5 % pushed under the
>bike...
>
>The question, can aluminum tubes be welded.? the tubes are3-4 mm thick....
The frame is toast. Luckily, 'dales from that period had a lifetime
warranty replacement program where you could replace the frame and
fork for a nominal amount (I think it was $75 when I bought mine in
'86).
Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.habcycles.com
Home of the $695 ti frame
Simon Dodd
Any idea how to claim this warrenty? I too have a thrashed 3.0 frameset
(1989) that would be good to be replaced.
thanks!
-simon
simon...@hp.com
---------------------------------------
"Mark Hickey" <ma...@habcycles.com> wrote
Paul Southworth
Alan Smollen <AlanSmol...@music.email.ne.jp> wrote:
>Had a front end crash and the front fork bent to allow the front tire to rub
>the frame. the head pulled away from the top tube and now there is a crack
>across the top tube and fork tube joint about 50% disconneted. I have a
>picture is you like. It is a1987?? criterium.
>the frame is still straight and the fork tube is about 5 % pushed under the
>bike...
Make some wind chimes out of it. There is no way that could be
worth fixing even if you had a competent person to do it.
>The question, can aluminum tubes be welded.? the tubes are3-4 mm thick....
Sure aluminum can be welded but that doesn't mean welding that
bike would be a good idea.
A frame like that Cannondale can be purchased new for around $150.
For example -
http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?sku=6064
http://www.chucksbikes.com/fr035.htm
http://www.chucksbikes.com/fr0220.htm
A lot of cheap new frames are sold on eBay as well.
Regarding trade-in programs for dead Cannondales, find the Cannondale
dealer nearest you and ask them.
The gvhbikes.com catalog is also good for comparison shopping on new frames.
--Paul
Matt J
> Had a front end crash and the front fork bent to allow the front tire to rub
> the frame. the head pulled away from the top tube and now there is a crack
> across the top tube and fork tube joint about 50% disconneted. I have a
> picture is you like. It is a1987?? criterium.
> the frame is still straight and the fork tube is about 5 % pushed under the
> bike...
>
> The question, can aluminum tubes be welded.? the tubes are3-4 mm thick....
heh... uhh I'm not really an authority on this subject, but my guess
would be that if the head tube is partially disconnected from the
top/down tubes that your frame is totaled. I know I sure as hell
wouldn't trust a re-welded head tube on my xc/jumping bike, and doubt
I would on a road bike either. I think if you tried to bend it back
the aluminum would simply break, either that or be severely weakened.
GOod luck getting a new frame/fork and I hope you're OK
Matt
David L. Johnson
> Your bike can be welded; early Cannondales are made of relatively
> thick-walled straight gauge tubing and are pretty forgiving of repair.
>
> HOWEVER, the metal will be weakened in the area of the weld, and the
> frame will become susceptible to further cracking in this area.
Treanslation: You are wasting your money trying to get it welded. Toss the
frame and fork. They are available cheap at swap meets. After welding you
will have to have it painted. This will amount to hundreds of dollars for
an insecure repair.
--
David L. Johnson
__o | "Business!" cried the Ghost. "Mankind was my business. The
_`\(,_ | common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance,
(_)/ (_) | and benevolence, were, all, my business. The dealings of my
trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my
business!" --Dickens, "A Christmas Carol"
Qui si parla Campagnolo
to rub
> the frame. the head pulled away from the top tube and now there is a crack
> across the top tube and fork tube joint about 50% disconneted >>
Can be welded but it can't be heat treated again so the chance that the weld
will hold is small...
Peter Chisholm
Vecchio's Bicicletteria
1833 Pearl ST.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535
http://www.vecchios.com
Bluto
> You are wasting your money trying to get it welded. Toss the
> frame and fork. They are available cheap at swap meets. After welding you
> will have to have it painted. This will amount to hundreds of dollars for
> an insecure repair.
It's aluminum. You don't have to have it repainted. You don't even
have to strip off the old paint; the welder will do the prep as
necessary. And the repair sounds to me more like a $20 job if you do
the disassembly yourself.
Case in point:
I had a c.1986 Cannondale MTB which I crashed into a car, buckling the
HT/DT joint. I had the frame replaced, which required hacksawing out
the left chainstay which bore the serial number of the frame. I kept
the rest of the frame for art supplies.
I found another frame in a dumpster, same model but 2" smaller frame
size. It had been destroyed by being pinched in a vise just forward
of the BB shell. It was also missing the left chainstay.
On inspection, I found that the frames could be grafted together in
such a way that their original geometry was retained, but with a 3"
stretch in the front triangle. Since I was 6'9" at the time, a bike
with a 27" top tube had a certain apppeal, so I stripped off the paint
and took the frames to a skillful local welder in Austin, TX.
To make a long story short, that was over 10 years ago, and I have
ridden tens of thousands of miles on that old bike since then. I have
bent or broken just about every part attached to the bike that could
be broken, but the original welds to the top tube, down tube, and
chainstay have all held up perfectly.
I have cracked that frame in many places since then, but never in the
areas that were welded up during the frame graft. I have had all
these subsequent cracks welded with some degree of success in all
cases.
The original frame graft cost $50! Not bad for a unique custom that
has lasted many years and lots of miles.
In my experience, a good repair on the OP's early C'dale could result
in a frame that lasts longer than many more lightly built new frames.
People treat bikes as if special engineering principles applied to
them, but they are only machines and they can be repaired and
modified!
Chalo Colina
Alan Smollen
Thank you for the ideas and concern. I was going fast, fast and I should
have been going slower but you know how it feels to crank it on. Hit a curb
to try to get out from hitting the car that stopped in front of me,
the front fork is straight, perfectly straight.
Im fine, just flew and rolled, landed fine, thank to Akido basics.
I will call to cannondale again here in Japan and ask about the life time
warrenty ('it just cracked, sir')
I found one used too for $125 ?? ship to japan...???
again,
"Matt J" <nast...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:61a1f374.02091...@posting.google.com...
Pokemon
"Bluto" <chump...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:8b4b7de4.0209...@posting.google.com...
> "David L. Johnson" <david....@lehigh.edu> wrote:
>
> stretch in the front triangle. Since I was 6'9" at the time, a bike
> with a 27" top tube had a certain apppeal, so I stripped off the paint
> and took the frames to a skillful local welder in Austin, TX.
>
Since you were 6'9" at the time? AT THE TIME? Are you still growing?
Rud Wasson
>I was 6'9" at the time,
How tall are you now?
Mark Hickey
>Any idea how to claim this warrenty? I too have a thrashed 3.0 frameset
>(1989) that would be good to be replaced.
Check with your local 'dale dealer. They may want some sort of proof
you were the original purchaser of the bike though...
Alex Rodriguez
AlanSmol...@music.email.ne.jp says...
>
>Had a front end crash and the front fork bent to allow the front tire to rub
>the frame. the head pulled away from the top tube and now there is a crack
>across the top tube and fork tube joint about 50% disconneted. I have a
>picture is you like. It is a1987?? criterium.
>the frame is still straight and the fork tube is about 5 % pushed under the
>bike...
>
>The question, can aluminum tubes be welded.? the tubes are3-4 mm thick....
If this was me, I wouldn't bother. You can buy used Cannondale frames the same
, or less, than it would cost to properly get your frame repaired.
-----------------
Alex __O
_-\<,_
(_)/ (_)
Bluto
6'7 3/4" and getting shorter all the time. I'm in my thirties, and
thanks to my height, my weight (way over 300#), and a back that's been
broken in two places, I'm getting to experience age-related shortening
a bit ahead of schedule.
Chalo Colina