Opinions On Frame Repair Please

[simon.r]

I'm considering bidding on this tandem on ebay. The frame has been repaired.

Before and after photos:

Damaged frame

Repaired frame

The seller appears to be up-front about it and tells me that a piece of tubular steel has been welded over the damaged section and then filled before painting. I'm not bothered about the cosmetics, but would be interested if anyone has seen / done something similar and opinions on how the frame will hold up.

Intended use of the tandem is road / light trail only and combined weight of riders will be about 23 stone.

 

[PpPete]

His explanation of how the damage might have occurred is bollocks. Looks a neat repair job. Still wouldn't touch it with a barge pole though.

 

[Globalti]

I agree about the damage, that's a fundamental design fault, the BB area is heavily stressed and the crack has formed exactly where you would expect a stress fracture. From the look of it the crack was there for long enough for rust to form inside it as well as outside. It's not a very well-specced bike, heavyish components and simple rim brakes but if you can get it for £150, why not? It looks as if you would get enough use out of it to enable you to decide if a tandem is for you or not.

My brother and I once hired a skinny steel tubed tandem and it was horrible, it flexed like a farmer's gate, a most un-nerving sensation

 

[mickle]

I definitely wouldn't. It's likely that overheating of the tube during manufacture was a contributory factor in the frame's failure. Welding the area again can only extend the overheated area.

There are lots of people out there with welding skills. Unfortunately many of them don't have a grasp of the specific requirements of thin walled steel alloys of the kind used in bike frames. Welding the chassis of a tractor is one thing...

 

[Ivan Ardon]

Between the BB shell and the crack there was approx 3/8" of tube left to weld the repair piece on to. It appears to have been weakened by rust taking hold, and I'm skeptical that you'd get a structural weld onto what's left.

Conspicuous by their absence are the photos of the bare repair before it was covered by filler and paint.

If it looks like a bodge and smells like a bodge then generally, it is a bodge. I'd expect it to break apart at the first big pothole you hit.

 

[simon.r]

Mmm, some food for thought there. Thanks all, replies appreciated.

Anyone got a cheap tandem for sale? With a structurally sound frame?

 

[festival]

A friend of mine had a very nasty crash after buying a crash repaired tandem of dodgy provenance.
Try and contact the tandem club.

 

[simon.r]

Just to update the thread:

There were no bids on the tandem at a starting price of £150.

 

[the snail]

Just to update the thread:

There were no bids on the tandem at a starting price of £150.

I'm not surprised, I'd be loathe to ride a solo bike with that repair, let alone a tandem. Isn't welding cro-mo wrong anyway - should be brazed?

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

I'm not surprised, I'd be loathe to ride a solo bike with that repair, let alone a tandem. Isn't welding cro-mo wrong anyway - should be brazed?

From what I've read it depends on the grade. Some grades of cromoly will safely weld some can only be brazed.

 

[Sittingduck]

Why risk it?

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Who says I'd risk it? If that repair fails it will probably do so spectacularly. Especially with the extra loading on a tandem.

 

[pubrunner]

A friend of mine had a very nasty crash after buying a crash repaired tandem of dodgy provenance.
Try and contact the tandem club.

I agree with festival - take a look at the tandem club forum; failing that, wait until something does come along on Ebay.

Last year, I bought a 'cheap' tandem for £150. After a short while, things started to go wrong; it needed a new chain & other bits and pieces improving or replacing. Oh yes, it had front disc brakes; front disc brakes on 'cheap' tandems are not to be recommended. You don't want to be finding out that the brakes are sh*te, just as you are tackling your first (steep) descent. On our 'cheap' tandem, the combined weight was only 16.5 stone - I was with my youngest son; despite this low weight, I found that using the brakes was a most unnerving experience.

Oh yes, discs on 'cheap' tandems are not the same brakes, as the (high) quality discs on top-line tandems made by the likes of Cannondale or Santana.

In the end, I flogged it and then I got a brilliant (2nd hand) Orbit Libra tandem for £400. Yes, over twice the price of the 1st bike, but nothing has gone wrong and it is a much better bike in every aspect. FYI, I notice that the Sandy Balls Cycle Centre, is selling a 2nd hand one for £450 (original price was c. £1,000)

http://sandyballscyclecentre.co.uk/shop/article_52/2009-Orbit-Libra-Tandem.html?pse=apq

(The bikes that they sell, have a full service prior to being sold)

I tried the 'cheap' route and failed; if you are ever passing through Shropshire, call in and take my tandem for a trial run.

IMO, a cheap tandem will almost certainly be a bad buy; as some have mentioned, old steel frames can be very flexible. I'm a big fan of steel road bikes, but I wouldn't want one as a tandem. In your position, I'd look around for a Thorn or Orbit; - Santana & Cannondale are super bikes, but are pricey machines.

 

[simon.r]

Thanks all, we took the plunge last weekend and bought an Ammaco Twosome (new) for a penny under £300.

We took it out for a short, 3 or 4 mile, ride on Saturday. Initial impressions are that it's basic but is going to be good enough for what we want.

I need to replace the front seatpost as I'm not happy with the amount it's inserted into the frame, get some gizmos to enable me to attach a couple of bottle cages to the frame and change the awful saddle (my Brooks bum doesn't like the sofa-like own brand saddle!), but apart from that it will be staying as it is in the short term.

Longer term the gearing may need looking at. There's no speedo fitted so I can't be certain, but I think we were spinning out at about 25mph.

Points taken about flexible steel frames and brakes, but initial impressions are that both are adequate. I used to own another cheap steel framed, V braked tandem (a Phillips / Raleigh Duo) a few years ago and the spec was similar to the Ammaco. This got quite a bit of use, including being converted to a singlespeed and being used in an off-road 'race' with my daughter and a few 50 mile charity rides. Apart from the chains snapping it was fine mechanically.

I suspect that the bike will get used a dozen times a year on sunny Sundays. If my girlfriend does take to it and it gets used more frequently and for longer rides I imagine the limitations willl become clear and we'll look at getting a better one.