Another day, another broken bicycle part (long)

Dane Buson said:

This is just not my week for cycling.

<snip various bike problems>

Quoted message said:

I somehow managed to pull/snap my drop-out off of the driveside of my
bike. This leaves the stem, crank and actual brake mechanism as the only
things on the frame that I haven't had to replace.

Maybe, just maybe, it's time to start saving for a new bike????

W

Dane Buson said:

This is just not my week for cycling.

Last wednesday I was on my way home from Archie McPhee in Ballard.
Riding back along the Burke Gilleman trail, it was fairly empty and
fairly quiet. I reached down to get a better grip on the bar and pump
the pedals a bit harder. Next thing I know the left half of the
handlebar started to bend away from the stem. At least this one didn't
break suddenly like the last one.

I rode a couple more blocks to where I knew a fairly good bike shop
was.
I contemplated riding the rest of the way home, but that was way too
stupid even for me. The whole half handlebar thing was bad, especially
since I wouldn't be able to use my front brake (and I'm all about
safety!)

Stopping in they informed me they were actually closed up, but they
were more than happy to supply me with a couple zip-ties at my
request. I broke off my handlebar where it was dangling from a thin
strip of metal and proceeded to zip-tie it down. My bike secured I
called up my true love
and asked to be picked up. I suppose I could have used a bus, but I
really wasn't in the mood to if it wasn't too inconvenient for her.

Thursday I transferred my Carradice bag onto my fixed gear, and I
rode that in to work. I picked up a new handlebar and stem and threw
that on the Crosscheck when I got home. All I'll say about riding
the fixed gear is this:

commuting fixed gear
passing road bikes amuses
home downhill oh [censored]!

Friday, Saturday and Monday I rode my Crosscheck like normal. As I
was coming up the last little hill home, I stood up to climb it and
something was *wrong* with my bike. I stopped immediately, thinking
at first I'd popped multiple spokes, or broken my axle. If only that
were so.

I somehow managed to pull/snap my drop-out off of the driveside of my
bike. This leaves the stem, crank and actual brake mechanism as the
only things on the frame that I haven't had to replace.

:-/

Obligatory pics:

http://members.arstechnica.com/x/zuvembi/dropout.jpg
http://members.arstechnica.com/x/zuvembi/dropout-closeup.jpg

Holy [censored]. Are you a Clydesdale or a body builder or something? (Or just
born on 6/6/66???) /Something's/ going on...

I've cracked every mountain bike frame I've owned (originals, not
replacements), but none were like THAT! (And it sounds like you've also
trashed /two/ handlebars now, the first catastrophically?)

Quoted message said:

I just finished taking the rack off my grocery bike and adding the
SQR block to it. Time to head off to work.

Go easy 🙂
--
BS (no, I mean it)

Bill Sornson said:

I've cracked every mountain bike frame I've owned (originals, not
replacements), but none were like THAT! (And it sounds like you've also
trashed /two/ handlebars now, the first catastrophically?)

Cracked frame, those aluminum, steel, Titanium or carbon frames? I
would like to know what happens when a bike frame cracks, and where they
usually crack.....

W

The Wogster said:

Bill Sornson said:

I've cracked every mountain bike frame I've owned (originals, not
replacements), but none were like THAT! (And it sounds like you've also
trashed /two/ handlebars now, the first catastrophically?)

Cracked frame, those aluminum, steel, Titanium or carbon frames? I
would like to know what happens when a bike frame cracks, and where they
usually crack.....

If you look at the pictures Dane posted, you can see that the bottom of
the dropout attached to the chainstay has been broken for a long time.
Even the break on the seatstay has been cracked nearly half-way through
for some time. Only that last break on the seatstay is clean. I wonder
how long he was riding it like that before the final catastrophic
failure.

-Buck

Buck said:

The Wogster said:

Bill Sornson said:

I've cracked every mountain bike frame I've owned (originals, not
replacements), but none were like THAT! (And it sounds like you've also
trashed /two/ handlebars now, the first catastrophically?)

Cracked frame, those aluminum, steel, Titanium or carbon frames? I
would like to know what happens when a bike frame cracks, and where they
usually crack.....

If you look at the pictures Dane posted, you can see that the bottom of
the dropout attached to the chainstay has been broken for a long time.
Even the break on the seatstay has been cracked nearly half-way through
for some time. Only that last break on the seatstay is clean. I wonder
how long he was riding it like that before the final catastrophic
failure.

Your right Buck, the break on the chainstay is quite dirty, and the
seatstay break is partly dirty as well, indicating that it's been partly
broken for some time. Looks like it's the metal that broke, and not a
weld, which I would think would be more typical. Looks like the dropout
was cast metal, which tends to break easily anyway.

The real question though, has got to be repairability, can this kind of
break be repaired, or do you need to replace the frame. Considering
that the dropout was cheap cast metal, maybe a new frame should be the
order, repairable or not......

W

The Wogster said:

Dane Buson said:

This is just not my week for cycling.

<snip various bike problems>

Quoted message said:

I somehow managed to pull/snap my drop-out off of the driveside of my
bike. This leaves the stem, crank and actual brake mechanism as the only
things on the frame that I haven't had to replace.

Maybe, just maybe, it's time to start saving for a new bike????

Well, I'm thinking about just getting the dropout brazed/welded back
on. I have the cash on hand to get a new frame, but it's prioritized
for house things and what-not.

--
Dane Buson - z u v e m b i @ u n i x b i g o t s . o r g
"Please leave your values at the front desk."
-In a Paris Hotel Elevator

Buck said:

The Wogster said:

Bill Sornson said:

I've cracked every mountain bike frame I've owned (originals, not
replacements), but none were like THAT! (And it sounds like you've also
trashed /two/ handlebars now, the first catastrophically?)

Cracked frame, those aluminum, steel, Titanium or carbon frames? I
would like to know what happens when a bike frame cracks, and where they
usually crack.....

If you look at the pictures Dane posted, you can see that the bottom of
the dropout attached to the chainstay has been broken for a long time.
Even the break on the seatstay has been cracked nearly half-way through
for some time. Only that last break on the seatstay is clean. I wonder
how long he was riding it like that before the final catastrophic
failure.

Right, I was noticing that also. I didn't have time to post that I'm
99% sure that this is from a crash I had last year. The handlebar
probably also got damaged at the same time. I am a little disappointed
in the bike shop that did the repair work at the time, in that they
didn't spot either problem. OTOH, it may very well not have been
noticable then.

--
Dane Buson - z u v e m b i @ u n i x b i g o t s . o r g
The story includes this array of huge rhymes-with-hell machines, all running
screensavers, the power and SAN cables neatly run between them... and the
disused tape-storage closet stuffed with old Sun boxen still humming quietly
away. - adb in ASR on rumours of a flawless SunOS to NT site cutover.

The Wogster said:

Bill Sornson said:

I've cracked every mountain bike frame I've owned (originals, not
replacements), but none were like THAT! (And it sounds like you've
also trashed /two/ handlebars now, the first catastrophically?)

Cracked frame, those aluminum, steel, Titanium or carbon frames? I
would like to know what happens when a bike frame cracks, and where
they usually crack.....

All aluminum (one /might/ have been steel -- see below).

Fisher Paragon -- cracked just below headtube/downtube junction.

Catamount -- cracked at top of seat tube. (Catamount was half aluminum and
half steel IIRC; pretty sure break was in the AL part; otherwise could have
fixed it maybe.)

Titus Switchblade -- cracked at the rear triangle/BB "brace" (a hollow plate
that became solid in re-design!).

None failed horribly and each was replaced under warranty (except I got
hosed by Catamount)...

Masher (?) Bill

Bill Sornson said:

Holy [censored]. Are you a Clydesdale or a body builder or something? (Or just
born on 6/6/66???) /Something's/ going on...

I do a moderate amount of miles (about 7000 a year). Despite the fact
that I am about 195-200 pounds I do go pretty fast. And a lot of my
riding is fairly bumpy and or wet. So I go through a lot of bike parts.

Quoted message said:

I've cracked every mountain bike frame I've owned (originals, not
replacements), but none were like THAT! (And it sounds like you've also
trashed /two/ handlebars now, the first catastrophically?)

This set of handlebars was likely damaged last year in a crash. The
last set was a on an older crappy french bike. I posted about it
a while ago.

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.bicycles.misc/msg/1446c6901d5a0e73?hl=en&

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I just finished taking the rack off my grocery bike and adding the
SQR block to it. Time to head off to work.

Go easy 🙂

Heh, least of all because I really should put better brake blocks
on this one.

--
Dane Buson - z u v e m b i @ u n i x b i g o t s . o r g
A government that is big enough to give you all you want is big enough
to take it all away.
-- Barry Goldwater

Bill Sornson said:

The Wogster said:

Bill Sornson said:

I've cracked every mountain bike frame I've owned (originals, not
replacements), but none were like THAT! (And it sounds like you've
also trashed /two/ handlebars now, the first catastrophically?)

Cracked frame, those aluminum, steel, Titanium or carbon frames? I
would like to know what happens when a bike frame cracks, and where
they usually crack.....

All aluminum (one /might/ have been steel -- see below).

Fisher Paragon -- cracked just below headtube/downtube junction.

Catamount -- cracked at top of seat tube. (Catamount was half aluminum and
half steel IIRC; pretty sure break was in the AL part; otherwise could have
fixed it maybe.)

Titus Switchblade -- cracked at the rear triangle/BB "brace" (a hollow plate
that became solid in re-design!).

None failed horribly and each was replaced under warranty (except I got
hosed by Catamount)...

So there is no specific place where they all seem to go.... They all
take a while to crack. My Bro. in Law has an AL Trek, and I have my eye
on a Norco, probably AL as well, just want to know what I should look
for.....

W

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I somehow managed to pull/snap my drop-out off of the driveside of my
bike. This leaves the stem, crank and actual brake mechanism as the only
things on the frame that I haven't had to replace.

Huh, Surly is such a tough image. I bet they'd be interested in seeing
the frame. If you contact them, I wonder if they'd pay to have it
shipped to them.

The Wogster said:

Bill Sornson said:

The Wogster said:

Bill Sornson wrote:

> I've cracked every mountain bike frame I've owned (originals, not
> replacements), but none were like THAT! (And it sounds like you've
> also trashed /two/ handlebars now, the first catastrophically?)
>

Cracked frame, those aluminum, steel, Titanium or carbon frames? I
would like to know what happens when a bike frame cracks, and where
they usually crack.....

All aluminum (one /might/ have been steel -- see below).

Fisher Paragon -- cracked just below headtube/downtube junction.

Catamount -- cracked at top of seat tube. (Catamount was half
aluminum and half steel IIRC; pretty sure break was in the AL part;
otherwise could have fixed it maybe.)

Titus Switchblade -- cracked at the rear triangle/BB "brace" (a
hollow plate that became solid in re-design!).

None failed horribly and each was replaced under warranty (except I
got hosed by Catamount)...

So there is no specific place where they all seem to go.... They all
take a while to crack. My Bro. in Law has an AL Trek, and I have my
eye on a Norco, probably AL as well, just want to know what I should
look for.....

A *LOT* depends on where and how (and how often) you ride. LoSoCal is very
rocky, which tends to beat up the equipment quite a bit more than buffed
singletrack or jeep trails will. (Plus, I actually used to BE a mountain
biker; I'm almost all-roadie nowadays {who said that?!?}.)

I would think that road bikes don't fail anywhere close to as often as mtbs
do.

Bill "old scars" S.

"Dane Buson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Bill Sornson said:

Holy [censored]. Are you a Clydesdale or a body builder or something? (Or
just
born on 6/6/66???) /Something's/ going on...

I do a moderate amount of miles (about 7000 a year).

You know Dane's gone around the bend when he describes 7000 miles a year as
"moderate".

Quoted message said:

The
last set was a on an older crappy french bike.

I have one up on all the rest of you -- I saw Dane when I was riding in to
work this morning, and I got to see his "older crappy" bike IRL. It mostly
looked older, I can't speak to its crappiness. He was adjusting the
Carradice bag on it while I happened by. I recognized his ponytail first,
but I was still looking, because I expected the bike to be his red Surly.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
See the books I've set free at:
http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

You *can* get that dropout replaced, you know...

I had one go like that on a Centurion I owned long ago, only it split right
along where the setscrew was. The LBS made frames and used their brazing
rig to torch out the old dropout, and install a replacement. Downside: the
replacement wasn't quite right and the rear wheel didn't track altogether
straight thereafter. I eventually sold the bike...

Claire Petersky said:

Dane Buson said:

I do a moderate amount of miles (about 7000 a year).

You know Dane's gone around the bend when he describes 7000 miles a year as
"moderate".

True, true. Have I mentioned I've started looking for an inexpensive
arc welder? I have a few cycling ideas I'd like to try out...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

The last set was on an older crappy french bike.

I have one up on all the rest of you -- I saw Dane when I was riding in to
work this morning, and I got to see his "older crappy" bike IRL. It mostly
looked older, I can't speak to its crappiness.

Well, I suppose it's not as crappy as it was. It started out life as
a Velosolex Grand Touring, that I received free from my boss who was
headed back to Greece and he didn't want to drag it with him. Velosolex
evidently was/is a moped maker, but also made a line of cycles. I have
a pretty strong suspicion that it's mostly a rebadged Motobecane.

It started life as a ten speed, (53-40 x 13-32), but I had a sevenspeed
wheel lying around, so I upgraded it to a fourteen speed. After the
handlebar broke I threw on a new handlebard and stem (sanding it down
from 22.2 mm 22.0 mm sucked). As long as I was doing that I changed it
from DT shifters to bar-cons (which was *much* nicer).

Also it had the wrong size seatpost when I got it (27.2 instead of 27.4).
The Sella Italia purple sparkly Nitrox saddle cost me $5 and is fairly
nice.

Last Sunday I picked up a generator set from Target on super-markdown
for $2. We'll see how well it works. Hopefully I won't still be
commuting on it when it starts to get really dark here.

Quoted message said:

He was adjusting the Carradice bag on it while I happened by.

Actually the seatpost, after I put the SQR block on, I had it down a
little too low.

--
Dane Buson - z u v e m b i @ u n i x b i g o t s . o r g
A lie is an abomination unto the Lord and a very present help in time of
trouble.
-- Adlai Stevenson

Brian Sanderson said:

You *can* get that dropout replaced, you know...

Right, I'm planning on dropping by Recycled Cycles (where I bought it
originally) this weekend and getting their opinion of where/who to get
that done by.

Quoted message said:

I had one go like that on a Centurion I owned long ago, only it split right
along where the setscrew was. The LBS made frames and used their brazing
rig to torch out the old dropout, and install a replacement. Downside: the
replacement wasn't quite right and the rear wheel didn't track altogether
straight thereafter. I eventually sold the bike...

Well, hopefully I can find someone a little more meticulous about it.
Anyone have an idea how much this will cost me? $50, $75?

--
Dane Buson - z u v e m b i @ u n i x b i g o t s . o r g
"Jesus-fish stickers are usually found on Volvos, which (as everyone knows) are
hand-carved from lumps of exotic matter by cunning Swedes and cannot be
destroyed by conventional weapons." -- JoeB in the scary devil monastery