Is this the end?

[Blodwyn Pig]

whilst measuring up to compare geometry to another bike OTP, I spied this. T'was much thicker and darker, but some polish and a good wipe with a rag has left this. I have been noticing a bit of shimmy lately, so much so I changed the rear rack last week. It's not a finger nail catcher, but it is very visible thro a spy glass. IS IT TERMINAL?  how long have I got. is it worth fixing bearing in mind I think its too small anyway. Its 631, Do the shells normally crack or is it the tube that goes first.
in case you can't spot it, look at the 'spot of light ' inward from the bb lockring notch.

[Chris N]

Could just be the paint, but mark each end with permanent pen and keep an eye on it.  Or scrape the paint off and have a proper look.

[Manotea]

Dammit. One of my bikes has got a a shimmy feel that I cannot trace. I'm going to have to wash it now so I can go crack hunting...

[tatanab]

If it is a crack, just keep an eye on it.  On my hack, the lugless top tube/head tube joint developed a crack.  I could rub a finger over it and it came away dirty.  I kept an eye on for 2 years or more (say 5000 miles) before I decided to get it fixed.

Knowing it is there is half the battle, now you can monitor it.  To satisfy yourself you could remove the paint along the visible crack to see how much if any is invisible, i.e. under the paint.  I cannot imagine a small crack in a large item like a bottom bracket shell causing shimmy, even my cracked head tube joint caused no side effects.

[zigzag]

it's not the end, it's n+1 time!

(if i were you i'd keep on riding it, but start looking for good deals now - you are much more likely to get one if you are not in a hurry)

[Jurek]

When the frame of my VN cracked in more or less the same place there was no shimmy whatsoever.
What there definitely was (with hindsight), was movement that shouldn't be there when giving it beans.
I elected to ignore that movement as there was a tiny amount of play in one of the pedals, and I attributed the movement down to that.
The creaking however, continued for several months before the crack was spotted.
If what you have is a crack in the material (as opposed to the finish) it is unlikely that you'd suffer catastrophic failure.
You might want to re-consider how often you get out of the saddle thobut.

[Blodwyn Pig]

Yep!  scraped off the paint carefully so as not to scratch (gouge) and wiped cleaned, then wiped with vaseline. went for a 20km ride and the oils have seeped out, clearly showing the crack. Oh well, can't really say its been a blissful relationship. Time to move on. Can ride for a while I suppose, but might as well break it down soon as, so at least I can stop Feckin fettlein.!  But it just goes to show, i was going to clean this up , and sell it as a very good bike for good money, OH the pitfalls of buying s/h.

Think I might now go for a Kona Sutra 2014 model. Bombproof, (oh yeah!) Any one got one. Hmm! what size 59/61/59/61/59/61zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[Blodwyn Pig]

As for the shimmy, not a high speed shimmy, but a low speed shimmy, sub 15km/h if you wobbled the bars slightly, it all felt baggy, as it front wheel spokes all loose, and a badly loaded racpack, sort of tail wagging the dog. Also a bit of clicking lately when honking up 1 in 4 s.  thought it was spokes in f/wheel.

Still , lots of good stuff for sale soon, campag gears, sprockets, chainsets, ergos, wheels/schmidt, nitto s/post, forks ...... and a very shiny frame...(cough)

[Trull]

Yes that frame is toast - sorry!

I'd be interested to know if the framebuilder mitred the tubes so they met inside the shell. If they don't then change brand.

[Bledlow]

What make iswas that frame? And how old?

[rafletcher]

Yes that frame is toast - sorry!

Why? It's not alu or Ti (from what I can see) so eminently repairable.

[Canardly]

Looks repairable but might be a tad spendy.

[yoav]

I think a competent builder could TIG weld that crack relatively easily and cheaply; won't be perfect but will probably keep the frame going. Agree that a full repair - replacing the BB shell, and repainting - is probably not economical.

[mzjo]

Totally scrap; no possible use  Have to give it away to someone like me  (Checks state of gas bottles    )
Pity France is so far away and I have no spare place but it would go against the grain to throw away something salvageable. It's the sort of thing my clubmates give me. There is surely a way of saving it (for someone, if it is really too small for you.)

[Blodwyn Pig]

Totally scrap; no possible use  Have to give it away to someone like me  (Checks state of gas bottles    )
Pity France is so far away and I have no spare place but it would go against the grain to throw away something salvageable. It's the sort of thing my clubmates give me. There is surely a way of saving it (for someone, if it is really too small for you.)

When N+1 frame arrives.......early december.. and I have transfered all my bits over, you are welcome to it. It was a Pearson, 631 main tubes?. I asked around for prices, and it ranged from a £60 to re braze/weld the seat tube into the socket...(should be alright was the comment?), to £130 for a complete new shell. A lot of people wouldn't do it. I spoke to Vaz, (who's brother Winston works for Roberts as their fillet brazer) and was told he wont do them,  as its a highly stressed area, and you basically have to re-make the bike.   All this PLUS cost of a respray, plus transfers, plus transport both ways.  Worked out at around £250-£300.  As said not economical. 
When I said it was too small, its a 23 1/2" c/c top, with a shortish non threaded steerer tube. I had thought about getting the steerer threaded and using a quill stem, but that posed more problems, so with the repair, and poss new forks........££££££££££££££££
so ultimately a new 24" frame with threaded headset seemed the way to go.

[spesh]

As I thought, a proper repair is only really worth doing on a custom steel frame that you want to keep for life - though if the frame is new enough, it would possibly be a warranty job anyway.

[Blodwyn Pig]

As I thought, a proper repair is only really worth doing on a custom steel frame that you want to keep for life - though if the frame is new enough, it would possibly be a warranty job anyway.

10 years of audax abuse