[myitch]

I've got a Titus Switchblade frame with a small crack on the inside of the swingarm, bummer! Titus won't warranty it and they didn't offer to repair. Can such a crack be repaired by welding, say with a TIG welder? The crack is right at the yoke portion, inside of one of the welded joints.

 

[kuksul08]

Yea I'm sure its possible. The joint would have to be prepared and then welded with precision penetration. The only thing to worry about would be heat treatment.

On a critical place like a swingarm, you'd probably need to do it, but I don't know if you can heat treat one small section, or if you can re-heat treat the whole frame.

 

[Zanetti]

This is one of those "it depends" answers.

It's likely you could have it welded, but it would only postpone the inevitable. It would probably break again near the new weld, but you might buy yourself another year of riding.

 

[kwrangln]

Go for it. Take it to a reputable shop capable of welding Al and it'll be good to go. Dont worry about the heat treat, T-6 hardness is pretty much normalized for 6061 Al. Drill a hole equal to the thickness of the material at each end of the crack to stop propogation, groove the crack 1/2 the thickness of the material, and TIG that sucker up. Nothing to it and it will last a good while. Where you'll run into trouble is if the welder aint about his buisness and starts excessivily heating the base metal weakening it in the heat affected zone.

I'd have no trouble welding it, or riding it afterwards.

 

[dogonfr]

Get ahold of Herb at Versus, they are in Fremont, see if you can swing by for his personal opinion & advise. :thumbsup:

http://www.versuscycles.com/contact.html

 

[mtnbiker72]

You can't get a replacement swingarm?

I've got a Titus Switchblade frame with a small crack on the inside of the swingarm, bummer! Titus won't warranty it and they didn't offer to repair. Can such a crack be repaired by welding, say with a TIG welder? The crack is right at the yoke portion, inside of one of the welded joints.

I know you said they won't repair it...but did you ask Titus if you can get a replacement swingarm?

If you can't get a replacement...then shame on Titus!!!

 

[myitch]

I know you said they won't repair it...but did you ask Titus if you can get a replacement swingarm?

If you can't get a replacement...then shame on Titus!!!

Last I checked, they wanted $200 for a new swingarm, IF they still have any. Not worth it for a 5 y/o frame. I'll go for a $50 weld instead.

 

[mtnbiker72]

I disagree

Last I checked, they wanted $200 for a new swingarm, IF they still have any. Not worth it for a 5 y/o frame. I'll go for a $50 weld instead.

To each their own...but $200 for a swingarm on a frame that retailed for $1900 new isn't that bad. And way cheaper than any medical bills that may result from a crash as a result of a catastrophic failure from a hack weld job that your sure to get for $50

but like I said...to each their own

 

[Schmucker]

Go for it. Take it to a reputable shop capable of welding Al and it'll be good to go. Dont worry about the heat treat, T-6 hardness is pretty much normalized for 6061 Al. Drill a hole equal to the thickness of the material at each end of the crack to stop propogation, groove the crack 1/2 the thickness of the material, and TIG that sucker up. Nothing to it and it will last a good while. Where you'll run into trouble is if the welder aint about his buisness and starts excessivily heating the base metal weakening it in the heat affected zone.

I'd have no trouble welding it, or riding it afterwards.

This man knows his ****.

 

[kwrangln]

And way cheaper than any medical bills that may result from a crash as a result of a catastrophic failure from a hack weld job that your sure to get for $50

I'm curious why you would think that a welded repair is "hack"? And what does a $50 price tag for the repair have to do with it?

You do realise that the frame was welded using the same method in the first place right?

I've done weld jobs for as little as a 6 pack of adult beverages, but depending on mood, workload, attitude of person asking, I've also done jobs where I've charged $50 just to turn on the machine and a fairly high hourly rate after that.

Tell you what, next time you crack a $2000 frame and would rather replace it than spend a bit of cash to have it repaired by a competent weld shop, I'll take the cracked frame off your hands, repair it, and ride the hell out of it.

 

[EDDIE JONES]

There is a company called "pyrobike" that welds frames and cracks back to new condition if possible. Look them up on the net. They determine the proper alloy, and harden it to the correct hardness and repaint if necessary. And as I recall they do it fairly cheaply

 

[wormvine]

My buddy has a Foes Inferno. The fool rode it for weeks with a bad shock and bottomed out a bunch. The swingarm mounts started to crack and bend. Foes said it would be $250 to repair. They would strip paint, reweld the shock brackets, have it heat treated and then repowder coat.

So it can be done. The right way is costly though.

 

[Fivedays]

Seems like $200 is cheaper than the third alternative. Buying a new bike. And if the weld fails that's what you might end up doing. What kind of riding do you do?

 

[Student Driver]

I would buy a new swingarm first, but I would also consider welding it a sensible alternative. My only issue would be wondering if the swingarm is just getting worn out and going to develop cracks later. If it was from some sort of impact or one-time event, then I'd get it welded. However, the weld will definitely kill a lot of the resale value. It's still weird that they didn't warranty it, but there's probably more to the story than worth posting right now.

 

[toaster]

The problem with the fix it approach is that there may be other areas weakened by the extra stress caused after the crack or the forces creating the original crack.

 

[myitch]

Thanks, guys. All very good points indeed. I agree that the frame may well be suffering from more unseen stresses and may even fracture again at other points. I was planning on selling the frame and was only able to get about $500, when I found the crack right before meeting the buyer. Naturally, I had to tell him and of course he no longer wanted it. So, to spend $200 on a frame that was only going to sell for $500! Makes no sense.

Welding at this point is the best economical option if I'm going to use the frame at all. I was going to weld, then build it back up as a second, cheapie, thrasher bike. I usually ride rocky, high speed trails such as Santa Teresa, which is probably what lead to the frame's demise. If I build it back up again, I won't be doing speed runs with it down Styles or Rocky Ridge, just mellow stuff or even for the road.

If I don't weld or fix it, it will just continue to hang unused like it has for the past two years. So it might as well use it for something....

 

[lagostavoadora]

I don't think so.

You could have it welded but I don't think it's gonna last...

 

[sis]

Nothing to lose, weld it and ride it.

 

[peanuts]

look up http://www.gripsport.com.au and you'll see whats possible as far as repairing frames goes.
it's an Aussie business so won't help if your not in Oz but at least you get the idea.

 

[myitch]

I'm curious why you would think that a welded repair is "hack"? And what does a $50 price tag for the repair have to do with it?

You do realise that the frame was welded using the same method in the first place right?

I've done weld jobs for as little as a 6 pack of adult beverages, but depending on mood, workload, attitude of person asking, I've also done jobs where I've charged $50 just to turn on the machine and a fairly high hourly rate after that.

Tell you what, next time you crack a $2000 frame and would rather replace it than spend a bit of cash to have it repaired by a competent weld shop, I'll take the cracked frame off your hands, repair it, and ride the hell out of it.

kwranglin,

Check you PM.

myitch