I need to save this Orange Vitamin T

[MSYT]

Ok so I took a gamble.

On eBay I saw a Carrera (Subway) being advertised for repairs with an Orange frame too. Neither had any real details except for the Subway being advertised as a broken hanger and the Vitamin T being advertised with a stuck seatpost. Shite pictures. Shite description but when does the opportunity to potentially grab a Vitamin T come up?

So I played it stupid. Kept bidding the auction up to find the max bid and ended up sniping the pair for £62. No worries… I can repair the Subway and sell it for that…

But no I can’t. I tried to put the rear wheel in and found the rear dropouts are now 100mm So that’s a parts bike!

Anyway the diamond in the rough. The seldom seen Orange Vitamin T

Yeah.. it’s cracked. As I suspected it might be. It’s cracked on the drive side of the seat tube, through the weld and in to the seat stay.

I’ve no experience in titanium repair so… is this something repairable? It’s my size so I’d love to save it and ride it!

More pics to follow tomorrow

 

[brocklanders023]

My second biggest retro regret was selling my mint Vitamin T.

Looks naughty does that but certainly worth investigating, think I 'might' have seem similar fixed in the past?

If you decide against let me know.

 

[MSYT]

My second biggest retro regret was selling my mint Vitamin T.

Looks naughty does that but certainly worth investigating, think I 'might' have seem similar fixed in the past?

If you decide against let me know.

It’s feel so light I was about to build a P7 but saw this and my eyes lit up.

I knew the risk of a cracked frame but I’m still so gutted.

I guess I have to get that seatpost out first and inspect the rest!

 

[stevet1]

Check the other welds as well, especially around the BB. Lovely frames though, hope it can be saved but think it may be a wall hangar.

 

[MSYT]

Check the other welds as well, especially around the BB. Lovely frames though, hope it can be saved but think it may be a wall hangar.

Will do! I'll give it a good clean tomorrow and inspect

 

[d8mok]

I had a cracked Ti frame a bit back which I looked into having repaired. Basically in the UK the only one was Enigma which was any good. The cost wasn’t worth it for that particular frame.

Lots of Ti welders can likely fix it but to make it look right is another matter.

 

[markoc]

I'd be interested in it as a wall-hanger if you move it on.

 

[MSYT]

I had a cracked Ti frame a bit back which I looked into having repaired. Basically in the UK the only one was Enigma which was any good. The cost wasn’t worth it for that particular frame.

Lots of Ti welders can likely fix it but to make it look right is another matter.

Thanks for that info! I'll have a look around.

Initially, I'm a little torn whether I'm concerned it looks "right" or not. Perfect to look original would be awesome but a pretty scar could probably work too.

I've just checked the serial number and it is: A3061085

After checking this thread I suspect that might be a '93 frame? If anyone could confirm that I'd appreciate it. I'll do a bit more research myself too.

 

[2manyoranges]

Hang on ... why would it crack in that weird way? It’s weird because there’s no obvious propagation point at a point of weakness and the crack goes straights across the tube and welds.

Ok ... my thought ...

Stuck seatpost
Seatposts stick because of galvanic corrosion

Galvanic Corrosion Mechanism of Ti-Al Coupling: The Impact of Passive Films on the Coupling Effect

The light metals of titanium and aluminum are often used together, so the risk of galvanic corrosion is inevitable. However, the passive films on both metals wi

papers.ssrn.com

Here on this frame ti and al

It’s possible that the crack is due to internal pressure from the buildup of oxides.

SO...it’s not an inherent weakness in the frame.

1 Get seatpost out without further propagating the crack.
2 that’s probably a cut and hacksaw vertically job.
3 clean everything
4 hand to sensible ti welder.
5 done.

 

[MSYT]

Oh yeah - the seatpost is stuck in there. I don't think much is in there because there's quite a lot sticking out the top so it shouldn't be a bit job to get out (hopefully). I'll go through the usual process of soaking over a few weeks to start with before I get the saw out.