[mmtyler]

Has anyone had similar problems with the down-tube on the rear triangle cracking/breaking right along the weld next to bb? This bike has been awesome on the trails. I'm 45 years old, 5ft 6in and about 165lbs. I catch some air (nothing huge) and have went off a few small drops (5ft) Here are some pics of my 2006 Xeon S including cracked down-tube.

 

[shwinboy]

Yep this is a known weakness in both the early model sonix and xeon . I had mine repaired by Bike racks & carriers - frame repairs, painting & restoration - bike parking | GripSport for $300. They don't just weld it up but reinforce it. Mine has a nice gusset in there now and has been going strong. It is repairable.

 

[mmtyler]

Thanks for replying Shwinboy! If I lived in Australia, I would give'em a try. Kewl that it worked out for you. My LBS, where I originally purchased it, is supposed to order a rear swing-arm from Haro. Won't be under warranty, but a crash deal. They are taking their sweet time though, been 2 weeks and no confirmation of the order. :skep:

Cheers

 

[shwinboy]

I'd be really surprised if they could get you one from haro. I know that grip sport do repairs for international customers. Even with international freight it'd still work out cheaper than a new frame. Here's what the repair on my Sonix looks like.

 

[mmtyler]

Looks like they did a solid job - nice looking gusset/welds. It appears I will be able to get just the rear swing-arm for around $300.00. Hopefully, that should last me until my next mountain bike purchase. Did you convert her to a 1x9 or is that how they were spec'ed in Australia?

 

[shwinboy]

Wow that is great news about the new swing arm. I'm happy to be proven wrong. My sonix I bought as a frame off ebay and built it up as an experiment in combining an Internal gear hub and suspension. The sonix and xeon are perfect for it. I have a special eccentric bb that takes up the chain slack. The frame was well ridden when I got it. It had a crack in the seat tube support which I had repaired and reinforced and after riding it for 2 months it snapped at the bb like yours. After all the repairs my cheap ebay purchase has become quite expensive but I really love the bike. I actually have a 650b sonix frame on the way from Canada and if I can find a xeon I'll snap one of those up too. They are just really hard to find in Australia especially since they don't make them any more and had a habit of breaking.

 

[jmac481]

I had a 2006 Sonix VL120 that broke in that exact spot. However, that was after 10 years of hard riding. I just scrapped the frame and got a new bike.