Kinesis titanium frame, it was great while it lasted!

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wafter

wafter

I like steel bikes and I cannot lie..
Location
Oxford
AlanW said:
£1200 is the final offer from Kenisis.....full stop.

So, I guess it's now down to me to decide if I want to take a punt and get another frame from Kenisis with five years warranty or spend double and go with a Reilly that has a lifetime warranty. :scratch:
Click to expand...

Good money after bad IMO. In your position I'd sack them off, buy an alternative with better warranty / after sales and ensure the entire world knows of your experiences..
 
Ian H

Ian H

Ancient randonneur
You could try Burls http://www.burls.co.uk/titaniumcomponents.html#titaniumstockframes
 
BrumJim

BrumJim

Forum Stalwart (won't take the hint and leave...)
Location
Selly Oak, Birmingham
AlanW said:
I have contacted two people that are reasonably confident that it can be repaired, but they both need to see it first before committing and will not offer any sort of guarantee and let's be honest, I don't blame them!

The cable entry hole will also end up being covered over with weld, which would complicate the cable routing thereafter.

Its most certainly a stress fracture, as you say it's not touched the weld at all. So, if the side that is fractured is repaired and generally beefed up, I suspect that it would add more load to the other side and cause a potential stress related problem in the long term?
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The weld certainly looks like it was either the start of the failure or a convenient path for propagation. An adequate weld will not generally fail itself (it will if undersized), but instead the fatigue failure will start at the toe of the weld. In order to repair properly you will need to reduce the stresses in the local area. Welding it up again just disguises the fact that the area is overstressed, and the problem will return.

If I saw this sort of failure at work I would ask the engineers to look at the calculation again, and then ask them to replace the stays on the entire production run.
 
BrumJim

BrumJim

Forum Stalwart (won't take the hint and leave...)
Location
Selly Oak, Birmingham
Bike frame4.jpg


This is how bad my steel frame got before I noticed the crack. The wheel was helping to keep the right hand stay in place.
 
Johnno260

Johnno260

Veteran
Location
East Sussex
AlanW said:
£1200 is the final offer from Kenisis.....full stop.

So, I guess it's now down to me to decide if I want to take a punt and get another frame from Kenisis with five years warranty or spend double and go with a Reilly that has a lifetime warranty. :scratch:
Click to expand...

Reily offer a rim brake frame set.
https://www.reillycycleworks.com/collections/titanium-bike-frames

I was going to say have you looked at Enigma? But I can’t see a rim brake option, I think they offer lifetime warranty on some options not all.

I have a Van Nich and it has a lifetime warranty I’m more than happy with it, there are some long time VN owners who would be more than happy to answer questions they helped me with my incessant ones lol.

With regard to different frame materials and ride, both my Merida and VN have CF forks, the Merida is alum framed and the ride quality difference is night and day, they both run DCR wheels and Pirelli tyres as well, I could argue the Merida has a better saddle but that VN just is a lot smoother the Merida is harsh as anything.
 
OP
OP
AlanW

AlanW

Guru
Location
Not to sure?
T4tomo said:
I wont be double if you can get a Reilly rim brake frame though, as then you can swap your existing wheels and components over.

£1200 for the Kinesis frame is just the staring point, you then need to kit it out with wheels for discs and thru axles and a disc groupset / calipers and shifters at a minimum.
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I know, this is the heart ache, it's not only the cost of the frame l have to consider everything else to.
My dislike for mechanical hydraulic shifters (that's another story!) means it's got to be Di2, so by the time lve finished it's gonna be circa £4k, which certainly wasn't part of my pension plan in a couple of months time.
It's a right proper balls up to be honest and it really couldn't have come at the worst time. That said, is any time a good time when it's not planned?
 
wafter

wafter

I like steel bikes and I cannot lie..
Location
Oxford
AlanW said:
My dislike for mechanical hydraulic shifters (that's another story!) means it's got to be Di2
Click to expand...

Crikey - that's a bit like saying "No thanks, I'm tee-total, but please pass me the crack pipe" :tongue:
 
G

geocycle

Legendary Member
Lots to consider. Seems to me the big decision is whether you want disc brakes or will want them in the future. If you do then now’s the time to take the plunge on what will be largely a new bike. If you want to stick with rim brakes then you have the range of providers offering something similar to you kinesis at similar prices. Or you take the spa budget option, save a lot of cash but get a frame with brazing you don’t really need. Much as I love my spa it is partly because it is old school and not everyone would want that.
 
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