how would i fix this

supermario

Dirt Disciple
hi guys looking on ebay . and saw this frame . it has a small hairline crack on the left handside bottom side of the headtube. how would you fix this
 

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while i am not a fan of repairing aluminium (my view is to bin it) the best way would be to drill a small hole at the end of the cracks then have the frame welded up properly, then smoothed out to look better aswel as then facing and reaming the headtube.
 
Jubillee clip round it. Don't laugh ... a mate did that to his alu Bianchi and rode it for a few years as a winter bike. It looked a real bodge and was a constant source of ridicule tthough
 
personally i wouldn't be happy with re-welded aluminium let alone the bodge of a jubilee clip, while i accept some people are happy with that kind of bodge i think you're asking for trouble.
 
Most likely that crack has been caused by a heavy impact. If the forks aren't available with the frame that would be another sure sign, they're probably bent like a banana. They maybe other problems with the frames alignment that are not going to show in the photos. I'd say one for the local tip, scrap metal dealer.......or Ebay :facepalm:
 
diditte911":15t3v8zb said:
Robbied196":15t3v8zb said:
Most likely that crack has been caused by a heavy impact.

would an ill-fitting cup forcibly pressed also cause that?

Thing is, you wouldn't really find an ill-fitting cup, most are set to a standard. Have you tried wacking a 1 1/8" cup into a 1" tube? you kind of know it's going bad quite early on.
 
I like the repair solution Jonny suggested, and if it were my frame I might take a whack at it, but I would never BUY a frame in that state.
 
Certainly would not buy it, but what is the worst that can happen while riding it? Probably a gradual loosening of the bottom head cup, nothing remotely dangerous. If the front forks break just above the fork crown then you are face into the tarmac. Nothing like that.
 
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