RIP Kalkhoff

[Glow worm]

Yes the end of a beautiful friendship, my main bike, a Kalkhoff hybrid has bought it. A crack in the frame (in the down tube, next to the head tube) has appeared and its curtains. Sob.

So after 11 years, 40,486 miles, 4 countries and one or two unplanned dismounts, its goodbye.

In happier times.

My LBS discovered the crack- I can't believe I missed it as I check regularly. Could have been v nasty indeed.

Not sure what to replace it with. I've always liked Dawes bikes and also have my eye on a nice Cube (though I don't like the yellow bits). This Genesis Tour de Fer ticks all the right boxes too and would be just the job for future tours, though at the v. top end of my price range. Anyway, I'm in no rush as have a spare to potter about on, so will take plenty of time to find the right bike.

 

[Fab Foodie]

A sad day indeed. It looks as if it led a good life.

 

[battered]

The Heat Affected Zone. Always, always. It's difficult and expensive the heat treat the whole frame after welding to reduce the effect of HAZ, and ally in particular is prone to fatigue cracking, as has happened here. In point of fact "could have been very nasty indeed" is very unlikely. The cracks creep over a period of time, so in general the bike becomes increasingly floppy and you pull over and say "WTF is wrong with this thing?....oh s**t" before the thing actually folds up like a bit of bad origami. A mate of mine had a MTB frame actually break on a descent, it stayed in one piece, approximately the right shape, with him hanging on and wondering why it was handling so badly.

 

[Glow worm]

A sad day indeed. It looks as if it led a good life.

Certainly did. And I reckon I'd struggle to get better value for the £400 it cost me!

 

[Glow worm]

The Heat Affected Zone. Always, always. It's difficult and expensive the heat treat the whole frame after welding to reduce the effect of HAZ, and ally in particular is prone to fatigue cracking, as has happened here. In point of fact "could have been very nasty indeed" is very unlikely. The cracks creep over a period of time, so in general the bike becomes increasingly floppy and you pull over and say "WTF is wrong with this thing?....oh s**t" before the thing actually folds up like a bit of bad origami. A mate of mine had a MTB frame actually break on a descent, it stayed in one piece, approximately the right shape, with him hanging on and wondering why it was handling so badly.

Certainly good test of one's handling skills!

 

[PeteXXX]

Are you going to bury it in style or leave it at the bottom of the garden to be taken over by ivy and vines?

 

[Glow worm]

Are you going to bury it in style or leave it at the bottom of the garden to be taken over by ivy and vines?

I'm favouring the ivy and vines route atm for the frame (I'll re-use almost everything else). It would make quite a nice garden feature.

 

[MichaelW2]

After recycling, what does Karma have in store for this bike? Will it be a coke can, a push chair or an aircraft?

 

[Drago]

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-tPcc1ftj8E

 

[battered]

Well done, by the way. I've never broken a frame. As a result I have spare frames from bikes that I have plundered for moving parts, and a series of "projects" based on them.

 

[Glow worm]

Well done, by the way. I've never broken a frame. As a result I have spare frames from bikes that I have plundered for moving parts, and a series of "projects" based on them.

It's my 2nd broken frame. The first was riding into the back of a van. Turns out, vans are fairly solid objects!

 

[Colin Grigson]

Always sad to see an old friend put out to pasture .... good luck finding a suitable replacement

 

[tyred]

Nothing that a roll of Duct tape won't fix

 

[rogerzilla]

I've seen cracks like that fixed with fibreglass bandages and epoxy resin. It looks as bad as it sounds!

 

[battered]

It's my 2nd broken frame. The first was riding into the back of a van. Turns out, vans are fairly solid objects!

I broke a set of forks by hitting a Toyota Starlet at speed. The frame survived and came out of it better than I did. The driver of the Toyota came out of it better than either of us but his licence certainly didn't.