You know that feeling something isn't quite right ...

[Old jon]

legs of steel - which coincidentally might be my next choice for frame material.

Odd, I was riding along by Wothersome the other day and was reminded . . .
Years back a mate was riding his ( Jack? )Taylor steel framed bike along there. The bike had a seat tube that was split into two much smaller tubes, between which the back wheel rotated, it was a very short wheelbase frame. Anyway, we all heard an almighty bang, he stopped, one of the tubes sheared off. Poor lad, no mobile phones then.
Just spent half an hour googling, cannot find a pic of the bike though there are bikes with the bent seat tube. I wonder if the bifurcated tube was an early ( failed ) experiment. I bet someone on here knows.

 

[gilespargiter]

Goodness!!!

If I had a frame break like that at any point during the first couple of hundred years of everyday use, I would expect the chief managing director to present me with a new one to my precise spec. the day before yesterday.

Especially if it revealed such rubbish welding and overheated metal as that one does.

 

[Arjimlad]

I saw a cyclist walking his bike on a local audax event. I stopped to see if I could help and he explained that the bike had felt a bit wobbly on the 20% descent we had just done so he stopped at the bottom to see what the problem was ...

View attachment 441532

Given that these cracks are on the rear of the forks & not the front, I am struggling to understand the forces which could cause the forks to bend forwards away from the frame like this. I can understand a frontal impact bending them back towards the frame but not the other way round - unless the rider was simply too heavy for the welds ?

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Have you tried tightening the bottom bracket up?

 

[ColinJ]

Given that these cracks are on the rear of the forks & not the front, I am struggling to understand the forces which could cause the forks to bend forwards away from the frame like this. I can understand a frontal impact bending them back towards the frame but not the other way round - unless the rider was simply too heavy for the welds ?

The front hub is a few inches ahead of the top of the fork so the force acting on the front wheel is effectively trying to break the fork like that. Fortunately, the fork would normally be strong enough to take the force.

I had a bike with a steel fork and a large tyre on the front wheel. There was very little clearance between the top of the tyre and the underside of the fork (crown?) but the wheel would spin freely with the bike on a workshop stand. Once I tried riding the bike though, the tyre started to rub on the fork. There was enough forward flex of the fork due to my weight on the bike to take up that clearance.

 

[Arjimlad]

The front hub is a few inches ahead of the top of the fork so the force acting on the front wheel is effectively trying to break the fork like that. Fortunately, the fork would normally be strong enough to take the force.

I had a bike with a steel fork and a large tyre on the front wheel. There was very little clearance between the top of the tyre and the underside of the fork (crown?) but the wheel would spin freely with the bike on a workshop stand. Once I tried riding the bike though, the tyre started to rub on the fork. There was enough forward flex of the fork due to my weight on the bike to take up that clearance.

Thanks.. I can picture that all very well now

 

[gbb]

All you need now is someone to point and say "There's your problem!!!"

Or as people often earnestly say to me ...
'But it was alright yesterday '

My reply to this pointless observation is usually...
'It might have been....but its not alright now'

 

[Nigel-YZ1]

Or as people often earnestly say to me ...
'But it was alright yesterday '

My reply to this pointless observation is usually...
'It might have been....but its not alright now'

Or in my trade (IT) - "It was fine until you touched it last!".

 

[12boy]

In response to your original question...I am very happy with my old surly steam roller and Wabi cycles has some beauties in reynolds 725. Don't know what you may pay in import fees though. The ole roller has gone for at least 20 k miles and never a frame/fork problem. Mine is the color Surly calls beef gravy but many call bloody stool.

 

[DCBassman]

Mine is the color Surly calls beef gravy but many call bloody stool.

Uuurrgh...

 

[Alien8]

Hopefully this new one (Pinnacle Monzonite) will keep me going for a while.

Will likely swap the top-bar levers for drop-bar soon - it can seem quite odd, reaching for the brakes to find they're not there.

Pinnacle Mozonite (2018)

• Alien8
• 29 Dec 2018