Aluminum Frame repair

Welding repairs on aluminum frames is a frequently debated subject. The alloys used for bike frames often require extensive heat treatments(called annealing) to reach full strength after having been welded. And that's still ignoring the changes brought on by the actual weld itself.

Ideally, to get an as-good-as-possible repair, the welder need to know what alloy you have, what welding rod to use, and how/if to heat treat it afterwards. If required he need to have an oven big enough for a frame. And you need to be ready to cough up the dough for all that.

Now for a derailer hanger, some might say that the weld itself isn't critical, but odds are that it'll still heat up the dropout all the way to where the stays attach. And if your fram is made from one of those finicky alloys, this CAN be bad news. Having the derailer coming off(maybe do the 1st hundred miles with a spoke protector) is probably a manageable event, but a simultaneous failure of both stays on the same side would be scary.

Packing the dropout in ice, working with a TIG, doing the job in small increments, it might be possible not to disturb anything else. But you'd need a welder who knows what he's doing. "Aeroplane Repair" is often held to be what to look for.

In your case, whu not consider an Adaptor claw. Not as elegant but about a thousand times easier, and quite probably just as functional.

Agreed, Aluminium welding is quite different to your standard metal-working skills (usually done with steel - and quite thick steel at that). Since most aluminium structures are lightweight and have very thin walls (and therefore little margin for error). You need to find someone who has appropriate qualifications, equipment and, most importantly, experience in this sort of repair.

I'll try the idea of adding a derailleur hanger. At worst, I might have to drill some holes in the dropout to get it really solid. The drop out is about 1/4" think so I'm not worried about strength.

Thanks for the ideas guys!

Olaf