Weld? Detached rear stays.

[Dan]

Hi, Im new to the forums.
I've got an old road bike that I've grown fond of over the past year of riding it daily but before Christmas I got back to the train station, unlocked it, pulled it out of a tangle with another bike/the and found my bike as seen in the picture attached.

The orange/copper coloured mark near the seat-post nut is where they used to be attached and its the same with both stays.

The bike is nothing pretty and neither is it worth anything but its incredibly useful and proving rather difficult to look for a replacement. Im a student and want to get the most out of what I've got. I also don't really have the money to replace it.

If anyone has experience of having had something welded or even knowledge of welders in Lancashire that would be great.

[Painkiller]

Yes it can be repaired, It should b brazed not welded. It may need realigned if not properly jigged when repaired. then it will need painted. expect to pay around $100 for the frame to be brazed

[Bill]

Definitely like Pk said, won't be cheap. Although here is an idea for you. You said you are a student? If so then contact this place as it is a school for welders and in my experience some schools welcome new projects for the students. They may charge a small fee, but it is an option. Here is there website and I hope this is the Lancashire you are from....
http://www.lancashireschoolofwelding.co.uk/

By the way I do not know anyone at this school I just found it on the internet searching.

[Painkiller]

one more thing, whom ever you find to repair the frame if you decide to spend the money, should probably use a solid copper dowel/mandrel the exact size of your seatpost in side the tube before applying that much heat to keep distortion down. Most would agree unless the frame was special its time to move on, If you have no resources to do it yourself it can be costly to have done right and tough enough to find one qualified to perform the task in most geographical areas. without shipping the frame off

[Dan]

Thank you for educating me and also researching for me!
Ill contact them and see what they say.
I only wanted to pay around £10 - £20 for it... Also, I only want it joined, if there is any paint work or anything, is that something I can do myself?
It's difficult to know what to do because its not worth spending much on it but I don't really want to fork out for a new bike/frame+bits.

[xerxes]

Sadly, unless it's a valuable frame it's probably not economical to have it repaired and it will probably be cheaper to find another frame and put all your existing parts on it.

Steel frames are in the main easily repairable, but the labour costs are likely to be well over £100.00, whereas you could probably pick up a replacement frame for £50.00, possibly less.

Have a look on Ebay, Gumtree and keep a look out in the adds of your local paper for a suitable replacement.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/Cycling-/7294/i.html?_sop=15&_from=R40&_nkw=steel+road+frame&LH_PrefLoc=2

[GeorgeET]

Wow Xerxes, that's a lot of frames being offered. Good find.

Dan unless you find a local welding school or a welder , try car radiator repair shop they do a lot of brazing and just try a fix with no guarantees .

As far as painting all you can do is clean prime and can spray paint area to protect from rust. Painting whole frame gets expensive.

[Dan]

Thanks xerxes, I think that'll probably be the best bet, although transferring the 15yr old parts off my bike may mean I end up deciding I want to replace them

Yeah thanks George, Ill have a look around but I've been thinking this through since it broke 2 months ago, how on earth do you manage to get someone to do it no garuntee thats from a professional business?

Thanks ALL for your help

[xerxes]

(12-30-2012, 09:34 PM)Dan Wrote:  Thanks xerxes, I think that'll probably be the best bet, although transferring the 15yr old parts off my bike may mean I end up deciding I want to replace them

If you're using it as a commuter and regularly leave it locked up unnatended, don't be tempted to spend too much and leave it scruffy. Even if you've got a really good lock, you can't beat the added security of having a bike that nobody is interested in stealing the first place.

George, I'm not sure a radiator repairer would be up to the task, as far as I know, car radiators are soldered with lead solder, or maybe lead free these days, much like domestic heating pipes, which is pretty soft and not structural. Whereas bicycle frames are brazed with brass/silver alloys, it's a similar process, but a much stronger, harder join.

[NewtonSquare]

Check out that welding school as suggested. It is a small "brazing" job and only needs to be heated to a low cherry red and a bit of bronze filler added (after a clean up). It can be done damage free as is, using a small tip and some care.

If you were closer I could do it for you.

My set up.....