Argos fitted new 853 chainstays to my Salsa then didn’t give me enough tyre clearance. So I took it back (only after I’d painted it and built it) and they’ve compressed rather than crimped the stays which is ok, but I think they could have done more. But I haven’t the energy or inclination to argue the point, so I was wondering if it’s possible to do myself.
Apparently 853 needs heating up to bend it. But the question is, how much? I can’t imagine they got the tube red hot because he only stripped about 10cm of paint – if the middle was red hot he’d have bubbled the paint over a greater area surely?
But the internet suggests hot working needs to be done at 60% of melting point which would have had it glowing red hot. So either he’s got some fancy tool that locally heats it and compresses at the same time, or it doesn’t need to be that hot.
Any experience on the forum?