The broken frames thread!

[Stick Legs]

Component near miss report:

Just took the gold Alto Pro xlite bar ends off my Orange to clean 'em up and found hairline cracks around the clamp. :cry: Just glad I found the crack before it found me

To be fair 10 years old, feather light aluminim component used as a lever by 15 stone rider on a rigid bike, no complaints!

 

[mikee]

the only one i've broken was to pull a brake post out of my first
super-vee's carbon swinging arm but i got some super dooper adhesive
and repaired it with that no probs since.
not very interesting but hey ho.


mike

 

[scant]

I'll take it from the oldest to the newest - none of these were big crashes, more wear and tear issues!

1990ish Trek 8900 - Bonded Alluminium, black with splatter paint. Bent the rear mech hanger repeatedly and so badly that it snapped off - also damage to chainstays (2 years use). Put me off alloy bikes for a long time.
1992 Rocky Mountain Blizzard - the bottom bracket ovalised so badly that a bottom bracket wouldn't stay in (7 months).
1992 Rocky Mountain Blizzard - warranty replacement for above - brake boss was squint, and the bottom bracket shell ovalised again (3 months).
1993 Rocky Mountain Blizzard - warranty replacement for above - Brazed junction of the seat-tube to seat-stay cracked (1 year). Warranty repair and I sold it - lost confidence...
1994 Trek OCLV 9900 Pro Issue, Nude Carbon - Broke off one of the bonded on rear brake bosses (6 weeks)
1994 Trek OCLV 9900 Pro Issue, Nude Carbon - warranty replacement for above - Bottom bracket insert fell out (6 months). Trek gave me my money back - "Perhaps these are not the best bikes for you" - that wasn't what the rep thought when he sold me them. This was my only bike when I was competetively racing and saw a scary amount of use. I remember it as one of the best riding bikes ever - so stiff and solid at low speeds and yet compliant and zingy when really hammering
1995 Kona Explosif - Cracked at the driveside dropout (11 years) - I still have this frame in regular use after Charlie Ralph at Alves put track ends on it. So much better than the Rocky's :shock:
1997 Intense Uzzi SL - Seat-tower snapped off - (4 months) - Chainstays cracked (5 years), Seatstays cracked and dropout snapped (5 years) - Main frame still good and hanging on wall with all the broken bits replaced - I love this frame.

I would be here forever if we did components...

Frames etc I've seen broken through what I would call normal use and not crashes...

1994 - 2 Pace frames (bottom bracket and headtube welds)
1990-92 - 2 answer accutrax forks (these seem to bend at the crown rather easily)
1994 - 2 Kona Kula's (Headtube crack, and parted seat-tube)
1992 - Lots of Saracen E-stay frames (cracks, everywhere)
1990's - 2 Trek Bonded Frames - Carbon, Alloy-Carbon, and Alloy-Ally, bottom bracket to seat tube usually un-glues
1990's - Orange Aluminium O - Headtube cracked off

My bikes have always had a hammering at the races etc, but usually my stuff broke in the local forest - back in the day I only had the one bike which did everything, but now when I am heading to "that" forest I tend to take a Balfa Minuteman with DH components

I love Mountain Biking

now thats a respectable list

 

[messiah]

now thats a respectable list

Why thank you Scant - I'll take that as a compliment

I think some of the years are wrong but I'm not going to sweat the details...

It's probably just as well I didn't buy anything especially pimpy back in the day or they might have gone the same way

When Trek gave me my money back in 95 I wanted a Fuquay/Roberts/Yates etc but needed a bike ASAP so I ordered a Yo, but Evolution sent a large frame when I needed a medium. The only Medium they had was a Buckshaver and I really wanted some thing better (how dumb was I?).
Next choice was a Kona HOT. Second level sent a baby blue blue one which was georgous but for some reason the rear dropouts wouldn't take a hub (and I wasn't about to take a file to it).
The shop had a Manitou but Aluminium and rumours about cracking put me right off.
Pace was not an option for the same reason.
I needed a bike/frame in a hurry and ended up with the Kona Explosif which i still have to this day - I never planned to keep it very long

 

[jez-4-bikes-max]

Baby blue Kona Hot.


(drip) :roll: :roll: :roll:

 

[messiah]

Baby blue Kona Hot.


(drip) :roll: :roll: :roll:

It looked amazing... Honest

 

[jez-4-bikes-max]

I know I'm trying to imagine it!

Mmmm...

(drip drip)

 

[messiah]

and to make you drip some more the dropouts had T.E.T stamped into them

Funny the details you remember after 12 years :shock:

 

[jez-4-bikes-max]

drip drip DRIP!

 

[messiah]

I wonder what happened to that frame?

For some reason the dropouts would not take a Hope rear hub and it was more than just paint that was in the way. It probably would have been fine to file a little off but after warrantying my previous 5 frames I was not going to take any chances.

It had Tange Prestige decals wheras Explosif's at that time were Columbus max.