Cracked Ti frame

[dyna-ti]

Is this a curse ???? Oh yeah, its Ti oh la de da. But for all its plus points why the hell do we see so many cracking ?

Typically i'd just about finished polishing it after many hours of grits from 320 to 1200, Then of course the autosol on 0000 grade wire wool before the soft cloth and autosol and then tissue to get a nice shine to it.

Then i notice a bloody crack :shock: Oh you bastardo

But hope is not lost .

It was under the Hope seatclamp about on the edge of where the bottom of it sits. Crack seems to have formed below this point with makes it about 15mm down.

OPTIONS

Doesnt seem critical to me and i think its probably likely it was there when i bought it as the seller went to ground immediately
I could -
A.Drill it to stop it developing any further- Not keen on that

B.Have a weld put in - Chance are they'd charge more than its worth so forget that too

C.Buy a deeper seatclamp and pretend its not there.

Or a mix of A+C A wee 1/2mm hole at the end and then a different clamp.

Alternatively i have option D.
D. Given theres still a fair bit of metal below the crack, cut it off and drop the clamp down :?

A pic.
Not the best and if anyones having difficulty seeing it ill add a mark to show where.


What does thy think ?

 

[KermitGKona88]

Re:

I personally would go for option D, remove the problem completely

 

[syncrosfan]

I would go for solution C. Paired with regular checking under the seat-clamp to make sure the crack doesn't propagate. What frame is this?

 

[Raging_Bulls]

Re:

Unless it's a really rare frame, go with D.
Round off the edges of the seat clamp a bit, if the clamp is to blame you may want to avoid a new crack.

 

[dyna-ti]

Re: Re:

Unless it's a really rare frame, go with D.
Round off the edges of the seat clamp a bit, if the clamp is to blame you may want to avoid a new crack.

Aye. Ill be going for a different clamp
But ill be getting this repaired from a Ti frame specialist. He will be the best person to ask about either strengthening the area with maybe a sleeve or silver solder or something. Maybe cutting the top away and the sleeve becomes the new clamp :?
I'e had advice not to cut, at least not yet as once thats gone youre stuck.
This frames hand welded in a MIG factory, for interbike Poland (2003 :? ) mirror polished and on some of the best Ti available so im not prepared to lose this when it can be fixed for considerably less than a cheap new Ti from China.

Far as im aware its either 'Russian Ti. or 'Titanium Red' I thought it might be one of Tritons early frames but id an email from another well known Russian frame builder saying he didnt do it but did know who did and i thien lost that account access and couldnt find his address again.
I think he's well known in the trade and either the guy from Enigma or airborne visited him for career advice.
bloody lost the email addy and kept meaning to follow that up

I'll drop Triton bikes an email tonight over on their mtbr thread. About time i did this really, and i might even find the maker who could provide a lot of info.

 

[legrandefromage]

Ask danson67, he welds ti.

 

[dyna-ti]

Ask danson67, he welds ti.

Will do, thanks for that lgf
Have you had any dealings with him on building or repairs ?

Ive been pointed in this direction.
http://www.kinetics-online.co.uk/frameb ... fications/

Highly recommended. And i think i know where it is :? In Glasgow and im sure ive passed this area a few times. Actually its around here i found a wee engineers that made the replacement springs for the amp f4 i renovated. Thy charged £10 each. ive a feeling this isnt going to be as cheap

And theres another company called Shand cycles, theyve been recommended to me also.
I think a budget of £200 is my limit,give or take a wee bit. About 1/2 the cost of the cheapest nastiness imported replacement.

 

[legrandefromage]

Dan makes wheelchairs out of the stuff and I think he made his own frame recently

 

[reanimation]

Deep double clamp seat clamp might be a good hide though I bet you can't forget about it.

 

[02gf74]

Carbon seat clamp are quite deep, you coukd shorten the tube a small amont so the crack is covered.


Soldering wont work, crack would need to be welded, cant imagine it will be that explensive, seat tube may need reaming.