Recommendations for cracked aluminium swingarm repair?

[besam]

Hi

Just discovered a crack in the chainstay of my bike [Edit - now I find that actually part of the anchor point for the rear shock is coming off also! - is that normal? and how would that even happen? A bottomed out shock maybe..] - a lovely Scott Strike G-Zero Team Edition from 2003. I guess superlightweight doesn't mean super reliable does it?!

Anyone know of a good (and reasonably cheap) MBT specialist frame repair place? Also do you think it could be repaired for under £130 ish?

I have found these people who do an interesting looking carbon wrap repair which I am slightly doubtful about - http://www.jaf-bikes.co.uk/jaf-repairs

Interested to see what they quote but I'm not too hopeful on finding a reasonable >£100 price for any repair. Is that wrong? Please say it is!

Chainstay -

And the suspension pivot anchor -

These are the photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/64004696@N07/sets/72157633319804208/

Thanks

 

[besam]

Also - any idea of how to take apart the pivot point on this? I have undone the two pinch bolts but there is no allen key socket or anything to extract a bolt - do I have to hit the bolt through?

 

[kvs766]

i use a very specialist welding company for my alloy repairs for work (one worked on nuke subs the other builds his own racing bikes ) i can show them the damage to see if they can repair if you want

 

[besam]

Yea that would be good - I just found a bigger and much more serious crack in one of the anchor points for the rear shock.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8520/8678 ... 158a_c.jpg

 

[highlandsflyer]

I would tend to distrust that swing arm in general, it could be repaired and then fail elsewhere.

Have you contacted Scott to see if there is any chance of a replacement?

Failing that, patience and Ebay may turn up a whole rear assembly.

 

[02gf74]

you don't want to hear this but it looks like the swing arm has pretty much had it; I wouldn't bother with the carbon wrap - you would need quite a few gussets welded on to fix it, plus sam on other side to keep it looking symmetrical and preventative strengthening;

maybe easier to design and build up a new one but probably won't be cost effective - or hope a swingarm can be obtained from Scott or ebay.

 

[besam]

Yea I guessed that when I saw the crack on the shock anchor point! I had a bog standard G-zero lined up to scavenge for a swingarm but it turns out its sold. Hmmm I guess I will have to wait around and spend more money than I should because I hate to give up on that CF mainframe and such a lightweight bike.

I am not the original owner so warranty is out as far as I was aware? Also I doubt it would even still be in warranty - being CF and all..

Thanks for your help anyway.

 

[Raging_Bulls]

It's 10 years old, so I doubt that even lifetime warranty would cover it. They can say that this is a normal thing for a part that old, so it would classify as regular tear and wear.

 

[highlandsflyer]

It is always worth contacting a manufacturer\dealers. They may just have spares, it is not unheard of. Nothing ventured and all that.

The fact the main part is CF works in your favour, as you may well find a whole frameset with a damaged front end for spares.

 

[besam]

Good shout. I'll give it a go but I already have the (untested) sense that these huge bike brands won't give a s**t if its not a model they are still trying to sell.

I am resigning myself to hardtail mediocrity for the foreseeable future - unless someone has a nice low/mid-travel XC/AM frame for me under £150?