Not two hours ago, on a trail that meanders through Leigh Woods, Bristol, which many of you will be well acquainted, I experienced a strange sensation - you know the one ... where your mind is unable to correlate its contents in slow motion, but aware at least that something is not quite right. Hang on I know what it is I’M NO LONGER ATTACHED TO MY ...KING BIKE. In fact I’m hurtling through the air like a tw*t.
The below will be the reason why!
Is an ATB/Whyte warranty up to much? I purchased the bike in 2007.
[IMG] 
[/IMG]
[IMG] 
[/IMG]
**** me!
OMG :-O
caused by not enough seatpost in the frame
Root cause analysis = not enough seat post in that chap
How the hell did that happen?
what frame material?
dirtyrider - that's balls. I've been riding it like that for that last five years.
I've been riding it like that for that last five years.
and you wonder why it snapped 😀
JRA (just riding along)
TMP (too many pies)
dirtyrider - that's balls. I've been riding it like that for that last five years.
owned it for 5 years, how much action has it seen? that qud link carbon is sparkly new
2 posts in succesion saying not enough seatpost 😀
TMP (too many pies)
that's ace
We need evidence of the size of the rider before we start dissing the bike!
Not enough seat post and too many pies, schoolboy error.
i'd have thought the seat post would have given up before the frame if it was the seatpost!
That seat tube looks sharp - good job it didn't impale you!
It's seen a fair bit of action in fairness but I keep my bikes in good nik and generally ride my Cove HT in the winter.
Sympathetic crowd tonight then. 😀
I was lucky my gonads weren't left hanging off the top tube.
Wouldn't have happened if it had been made of carbon.
Oh - and not enough seatpost in the frame.
Do you have a photo of the bike pre-breakage?
i'd have thought the seat post would have given up before the frame if it was the seatpost!
nope. it's very possible for the seatpost to be below its min mark but the frame not able to handle the everage
Never mind
[img] http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn267/thedeluded/IMGP0136.jp g" target="_blank">
http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn267/thedeluded/IMGP0136.jp g"/> [/img]
FFS the seat post was just shy of where it broke - there was ample seat post. Someone talks cobblers then it spreads like wild fire in true STW fashion!
EDIT - cheers druidh
400mm length post for me every time. I want at least 100mm of post below the top tube/down tube interface.
EDIT: but then I am a short-arse
ATB were great when my Whyte 19 broke after 18 months.
Blimey! Gutted for you. If it's any consolation my Raleigh Budgie snapped in half while I was riding it, the head tube just came away from the rest of the bike...I cried.
Not enough seatpost and too many pies, I reckon.
FFS the seat post was just shy of where it broke - there was ample seat post. Someone talks cobblers then it spreads like wild fire in true STW fashion!
Like we said, not enough post.
Cool!
How much seatpost did it have in it? Do Whyte have an extra-long recommendation? Looks like at least 4 inches of post there.
Wonder which went first? Kinda looks like top tube? (seat-tube looks tear-ish, top tube looks crack-ish)
I'm "stocky" tis true ... but not that many pies!
[IMG] 
[/IMG]
Exactly!deluded - Member
FFS the seat post was just shy of where it broke
Does the seat tube have one of those fitted shims by any chance?
Looks like too many pies to me.
a lot of bike companies give a minimum seat post insertion depth above which the frame will not be under warranty
FFS the seat post was just shy of where it broke
exactly, there is a weld point and a lot of marginally braced tube with little support.
On the positive side, thats one less ugly bike on the trails 😉
Your pointing looks fine but you need to sweep up them leaves off the wet decking; could cause an accident you know.
I don't see why it shouldn't be a warranty job, as long as any instructions re insertion were followed.
You have my sympathy! I would be p@@@ed off with that. Expensive bike no matter who or what is to blame. At least you weren't badly hurt!
Seatpost inserted well below the seat tube/top tube interface?
you can see the seatpost hardly went below the top tube at all
Seriously do people think there was not enough seat post? There's nothing marked on the frame in terms of minimum insertion and I can't see anything in the supplied literature. As I said the post was just shy of where it snapped. It's no big shakes to me, I'll have to see what they say.
It inserted into the frame so far -
[IMG] 
[/IMG]
Sorry - but that's a classic case of too short a post. It really needs to be well below that top tube/seat tube junction.....
TandemJeremy - Member
you can see the seatpost hardly went below the top tube at all
POSTED 2 MINUTES AGO # REPORT-POST
It either did, or it didn't though. 🙂
Rider weight limit circa 17 stone.
I'd not ride a bike with that little post, couldn't you feel that flexing?
Seriously though I wouldn't, might just be me though.
Still think op is in the right, as long as he followed instructions.
That post does look a little short
It never flexed - and as I said I've had it at that height for 5 years. I thought there was adequate seat post but if not - you live and learn. Would it fail in that way though?!
I wouldn't be sending that last picture off with any warranty claim if I was you
(I'd also lay off the pies a bit 😉 )
There's got to be at least 12cm of post in the seat tube on your set up. I'd feel a bit aggrieved.
It's made me think twice about my own bike. I have 12.5cm of seatpost in the seat tube but it has a lot of seat tube projecting above the top tube.
Having said that I'm only 11 stone.
Glad you came out unscathed bud!
Hope you get the frame sorted, but wow.
Goes up to the shed to check on seat post insertion on numerous bikes and take steps to address an unquenchable love of pies and cakes.
I've got previous.....
[img] 
[/img]
Definitely not enough seat post, as said many times already.
😀
I'll send them those pictures - no worries. I'd not put in a bent claim - more than me jobs worth!
Says 16stone in the manual - and doesn't give shock pressures for anyone over that weight. They also supply the bike with a 400mm post.oldgit - Member
Rider weight limit circa 17 stone.
Would the OP like to tell us what his "all up" weight is? 😆
Think of the pretty new bikes you can persuade everyone you need now. Sounds like a new frame exucse to me!
Also...your seatpost looks bent....
I thought that too but presumed it was a trick of the light or camera.GregMay - Member
Also...your seatpost looks bent....
druidh - 15 1/2.
Seat post is definitely not bent - must be trick of the light.
15 1/2 - is that when you breath in 😉
haha impressive OP, never seen a frame fail like that before 😀
😀
Disagree with the seatpost comments- that's a reasonable amount of insertion, and not a long post either (usual minimum frame insertion advice obviously goes out the window with a really long post).
Current Whyte advice is to refer to the seatpost insertion marks btw. Can't find older manuals.
I'm sticking with my toptube theory. [i]Very[/i] clean toptupe break, and just in front of the reinforcement. Is it butted there? Seems fairly likely. Seat-tube break is much more ragged and distorted, the top tube definately broke clean through before the seat-tube did (the latter has obviously folded backwards[i] as[/i] it broke, couldn't do that with an intact TT)
There is a fairly obvious lesson here - Buy a Thomson seatpost, they appear to be tough as old boots
I wonder if Thomson have ever considered making bike tubing?
I won't even use a saddle bag anymore. I've seen a USE wear through and break from constant rubbing
I know that Pace insisted on the seatpost being inserted to a point below where the top tube met the seat tube but if Whyte didn't provide any firm guidance and your seat post was inserted at or further than its minimum insertion marker then I'd hope you have a chance with a warranty (if their warranty covers frames after > 5 years).
It's pretty alarming if it went like that all in one go, with no cracks beforehand. I really wouldn't want a significant chunk of a frame to break away while I was riding a bike!
Pace - every owner of a large 303 had a short seat post, when they cracked. They told me that my 400mm thomson was too short because of a mark about 50mm from the bottom of the post. By their maths i would have had something like a 43in inside leg!
Anyway, I'm with Nothwind on this one, looks a more complicated failure than a simple seat post length. But its ATB/Marin, they generally have a common sense approuch to these things.
That's not a crack, it's just a sticker on the frame... oh, hang on.
What's this 'Too many pies' bollocks?
Pies, like bikes operate on the n+1 principle - surely everyone knows this?
Shit like this makes me laugh. All the noddies on here shouting "not enough seatpost" before there were photos to show seatpost insertion.....
I'd get in touch with the manufacturer on that one. They might be able to do something regardless of how much seatpost you did or didn't have in the frame.
Is the post cut down, out of interest?
Face it, enough seatpost or not, there were too many pies involved in this incident.
The frame looks prettier post breakage 😉
Hope you get sorted
Face it, enough seatpost or not, there were too many pies involved in this incident.
If the cycling industry didn't cater for overweight, middle aged, single, IT managers with lots of disposable, then there really wouldn't be much of an industry and those of us left would have to go beck to riding hardtails with 100mm stems and purple anodised bits. In that regard, if this frame failed due to "too many pies", it's clearly not fit for purpose.
In that regard, if this frame failed due to "too many pies", it's clearly not fit for purpose.
lots of bikes and components have rider weight limits, it's mainly a UK phenomena that mountain bikers are tubsters. Every where else they seem to manage to loose weight and get fitter actually doing some form of exercise whereas here lots of folk do a lap of trail centre powered by a couple of energy bars, then have a full english breakfast and cake as well as they must have burned loads of calories.
anyway back to the point about lots of folks commenting on seat post insertion before pictures.....it may actually be that lots of folk have ridden for years and may actually know what they're on about and it would be the most common cause of a frame snapping like that. 😀
[i]Shit like this makes me laugh. All the noddies on here shouting "not enough seatpost" before there were photos to show seatpost insertion.....[/i]
Except the second photo in the first post, that shows the seatpost still installed in the seat tube, but not protruding past the break...
I have to wonder, how many on here are running dropper posts with a 100mm shim, where the shim isn't extending past the top tube junction? A shim on a post with loads of insertion is the same as only having the length of the shim in the frame. My wife's bike is borderline...
15 1/2 ??? Hhhhmmm. Sounds like a new frame and a new scales. No offence.
I'll send them those pictures - no worries. I'd not put in a bent claim - more than me jobs worth!
Top marks for that though. Hope they do a decent job on the warranty for you.
i'd have run more seatpost, but nothing appears in the Whyte manual, and if you're new to biking how are you to know until its too late?
I'd agree with the seatpost not being in far enough below the seat tube/top tube junction.
However, if there's nothoing in the manual about it then I think ATB/Marin should be sympathetic.
For future reference - Blackspire do a 430mm seatpost which might prevent a recurrence/injury.
Can you get a close-up of the the top tube break. The crack appears to go right through the weld /HAZ. That would be a far more plausible origin.
Weight is not an issue. Am 17st and never had a problem with any of my bikes all of which were built up light.
Do any of your bikes/frames come with a published weight limit?loddrik - Member
Weight is not an issue. Am 17st and never had a problem with any of my bikes all of which were built up light.
As someone above said, the top tube went first, and even if there was an extra 6" of seatpost in the frame, the frame had still failed
Glad your OK buddy - i've had a number of frames fail on me. Its part of cycling
Hopefully Whyte will honour their warranty or at least offer you a good discount on a new frame
If not, you've got 5 years good use out of the old frame, so what a great opportunity to purchase that frame/bike you've been lusting after for the last 12 months??? I'm sure Mr Credit Card will understand!! 😀
it's mainly a UK phenomena that mountain bikers are tubsters
You've clearly never been to a Spanish mtb "race", then...
[i]i've had a number of frames fail on me. Its part of cycling[/i]
really?
I wouldn;t treat catastrophic frame failure as 'just one of those things', tbh.