'Repairable'?

[font=Comic Sans MS]Any thing is repairable, if the repair manages to return the item back to the original condition is another matter repair to a high performance aluminium frame would probably detract from its performance features. The weight issue probably being top of the list.[/font]

[font='Times New Roman'][font=Comic Sans MS]If the frame is a low-end frame and the build and repair process fixes the damage and does not interfere with performance i don’t see, why not. Then the question arises on a low end frame does the cost of the repair warrant it as against sourcing and replacing it with a second hand frame.[/font][/font]

KellyT said:

I have read that steel and titanium bikes are more 'repairable'. My little fleet are mainly aluminium (I don't like carbon very much). Does this mean than my aluminium frames are impossible to repair, or more difficult? I thought aluminium was 'weldable'. I am a bit puzzled and I would be disappointed if my bikes are kind of 'consumable' because of being aluminium frames.

halleluja, another rider who doesn't like carbon all that much (aluminium can be made better with some engineering)
to the point, aluminium is a difficult metal to weld properly and is designed to be joined at tube junctions. If it breaks from fatigue, repairing it will leave you with a still fatigued frame, ready to break in another spot. If it is welded in the middle of a tube, it presents a weak spot which sprinting or climbing could break. If the frame is being used for very light use, a skilled tig welder should be able to repair it enough to be ridable, just check around as they can be expensive.

KellyT said:

I have read that steel and titanium bikes are more 'repairable'. My little fleet are mainly aluminium (I don't like carbon very much). Does this mean than my aluminium frames are impossible to repair, or more difficult? I thought aluminium was 'weldable'. I am a bit puzzled and I would be disappointed if my bikes are kind of 'consumable' because of being aluminium frames.

Aluminium bikes are usually heat treated after the welding process to artificially "age" the frame.
These bikes are usually non-repairable except for something like a dreailleur dropout. Any cracks on the main frame and it can be recycled as beer cans.

Cheers

Geoff

I wouldn't fly 45mph down a mountain switchback on a repaired frame. Not worth the few bucks you'd save with a ghetto repair. It's not like a heavy stel frame you can replace a tube in, AL frames don't lend themselves too well to tinkering.

KellyT said:

I have read that steel and titanium bikes are more 'repairable'. My little fleet are mainly aluminium (I don't like carbon very much). Does this mean than my aluminium frames are impossible to repair, or more difficult? I thought aluminium was 'weldable'. I am a bit puzzled and I would be disappointed if my bikes are kind of 'consumable' because of being aluminium frames.

Steel frames and forks can be "cold-set", or bent back into place after a crash, providing the damage isn't too severe. On an old-school lugged frame where the steel tubes are silver-solder brazed, have heard that tubes could be replaced, but never knew anyone who did that.

If you're worried about crashing, or need a bike to handle some other kind of abuse, I'd just go with a low priced heavy-duty steel or AL frame and toss it if you ever break it. How often do you break frames anyway? Chances are any quality aluminum or steel frame will last you longer than you'll care to ride it. Besides, in a crash, your body can be much more expensive and harder to mend than any collection of tubes.