Broken Steel, I Guess I Was Lucky.

[IanSmithCSE]

Good afternoon,





Just exiting a roundabout at I felt the frame collapse beneath me, leaving me with just a scraped knee.

It seems to have failed near the gear levers bosses (the bosses themselves are fine though) and ripped the top tube out of the lug with the seat tube. When I picked it up the only thing joining the two parts was the rear brake cable

This was a late 90s 531 frame.

Bye

Ian

 

[Slick]

Wow, just shows how important pre-ride check are, especially when using vintage bikes. Could have been nasty.

 

[Darius_Jedburgh]

Without being unkind the bike itself looks like it has suffered from a lack of love and attention for some time.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

This is what mudguards protect against.

 

[Rocky]

Good afternoon,
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Just exiting a roundabout at I felt the frame collapse beneath me, leaving me with just a scraped knee.

It seems to have failed near the gear levers bosses (the bosses themselves are fine though) and ripped the top tube out of the lug with the seat tube. When I picked it up the only thing joining the two parts was the rear brake cable

This was a late 90s 531 frame.

Bye

Ian

@SkipdiverJohn will come round later......he’ll get 1000s more miles out of that bike

 

[alicat]

If a job's worth doing....

How is your pride?

 

[Drago]

Holy Mary Mother of Trump! Ive not seen one go that badly on a bicycle, but ive seen the aftermath of a vintage motorbike that gave way in a similar manner and which allowed the headstock to detach from the frame completely.

 

[IanSmithCSE]

Good afternoon

Without being unkind the bike itself looks like it has suffered from a lack of love and attention for some time.

You are right in that it does look that way, but that isn't actually true.

It's the one that I had a nasty crash on in September last year, all of the paint was removed to help with a visual inspection and it was close to be sent off for a respray after a temporary "rattle can job".

It failed about 30 miles into the ride without any symptoms, I have looked closely and the downtube break is completely clean and new.

I had a 501 frame where the down tube fractured at the head tube lug, but that gave a hint and I've seen plenty fail at the or other lug, but not around where the tube starts to thin out internally.

Bye

Ian

 

[Darius_Jedburgh]

the one that I had a nasty crash on in September

Is that not the root cause of your problems?

 

[Ian H]

I notice what looks like incomplete brazing at the seat cluster lug.
My old (60s Holdsworth) frame snapped by a cable-stop on the top-tube. I lashed it together with a handy piece of discarded rope and a toe-strap, and rode the 12 miles home. Its replacement was already on order.

 

[Ian H]

531 would weaken if overheated. I've seen other frames snapped at down-tube lever braze-ons.

 

[Cycleops]

Fair bit of corrosion inside that frame .

 

[Deleted member 1258]

struth! I've seen frames fail at the down tube levers but never that badly, the ones I've seen failed without any warning.

 

[IanSmithCSE]

Good afternoon,

Is that not the root cause of your problems?

Possibly, but probably not as that accident hadn't involved an impact with a car or solid object, I just fell of riding down the road and a few days later when I went back to that area of the road it had been resurfaced.

I notice what looks like incomplete brazing at the seat cluster lug.

I too thought that it was surprising that the top tube came out of the lug with the seat tube, but I do tend to think that this joint would have been fine for a lot longer had the front of the frame stayed in one piece. :-) Also had it remained in place the frame may have survived long enough for me to stop whilst still upright.

Fair bit of corrosion inside that frame .

Yup, just an old frame that has had a hard life but externally was fine,....... until it wasn't. :-)


The trouble is that this is my do most things bike, including hanging bags of shopping from the brake levers one, so it is going to need to be replaced pronto. I wonder if four bags of spuds and White Lightening weakened the down tube?

Bye

Ian

 

[Gunk]

My neighbours well ridden Dawes Galaxy had a very similar failure, he’s had it repaired and it’s still going