Broke the link at the bottom of the shock last night on my Blur Classic.
Does anyone know if it’s possible to get a replacement of this part? It’s a 2003 frameset, so it doesn’t owe me much, but it’s a lovely frame and I’d be very sad to have to scrap it…

Cheers! 😥

Yeah, you can buy them new still- £25ish from memory so you can relax now 😉

Check all welds etc thoroughly whilst its dissembled.

Edit: BEFORE you order the new linkage. No point throwing good money after bad.

Quite impressive/odd that it snapped at that point. Did it bottom out in a massive way or anything?

Anyway, spares can be had from http://www.santacruzbikes.co.uk.

is that weld behind the link ok?

That is an amazing place to snap a link. Good work sir!

I was climbing the Garburn Pass, put a particularly angry pedal stroke in and it just dropped a couple of inches.

Looking at the way things move, that link comes under more pressure from pedal feedback than the up-and-down travel…

I can’t see the classic one on the website, is it referred to as a Blue 1.0?

Link Link

jedi – Member

is that weld behind the link ok?

There has been a tiny ‘crack’ on that weld for about 5 years, it’s never got any bigger and it’s kind of on the top of the weld, not in the tube at all. It might even just be in the paint…

I think its time to retire the frame. ‘Might be’ etc wont be very good if your the furthest point away on the ride and have to walk etc.

Aww, I don’t want to retire the old girl. The crack, if it is a proper crack, is at the bottom of a very long weld, I’m sure I’d notice it start to expand before it failed.

It’s been fine for a long time…

Agree however the link cracked/failed is there some sort of movement going on in there/linked that could also (eventually) lead to the weld mount for the linkage seperating from the seat tube?

Dents- yes I’ve no issue with them, cracks and related? No IMO.

Shibboleth – Member
Looking at the way things move, that link comes under more pressure from pedal feedback than the up-and-down travel…

Being fixed in only 1 axis, I fail to see how it’s under stress other than compression and side to side flex yes, seems very odd for it to break there and in that way.

Unless a pivot(s) have seized at some point?

There’s absolutely no chance of movement. The link failing will just be down to metal fatigue – it takes the full force of the shock pushing sideways against pedal strokes, and being such a short link, it’s under a helluva lot of pressure.

There’s so much good welding around the crack that I can’t see it budging.

If I can get the link for 24 quid, I think I’ll keep running the old girl for a bit longer…

you could go for the TI upper link kit too 😀 bit more cash though

The link you posted is for the right part. Still can’t understand how it snapped!

I think its time to retire the frame.

Why?? From what you’ve seen in a blurry photograph? Are you some sort of psychic engineer, or do you ust sit looking at your bikes and not ride them in case they crack?

Retire the frame indeed, what utter nonsense. 🙄

For all the amateur metallurgists, here’s a close-up of the crack.
I’ve cleaned it up a bit and picked a bit of the paint off to make it more visible…

I certainly don’t think it’s had any bearing on the snapped link.

I doubt it had anything to do with the link. If its a keeper, it might be worth getting somewhere to put a blob of weld on that to try and stop it growing anymore. As has been said, you don’t really want the whole thing to go in the middle of nowhere!

I had an early Blur (2003) which split the link in exactly the same place.. SC replaced it with a new one which was slightly thicker than the original so I obviously wasn’t the first person to experience this!
I’d be more concerned about the crack in the weld, but if you say its been like that for 5 years then its probably unlikely to get any worse all of a sudden!

When that fails it will be quick. I would suggest you try and get that repaired, but to properly repair aluminium you will have to heat treat it after welding so may be a bit of a faff and expencive. Aluminium fatigues after it has had a lot of cycles, and i assume you have ridden it often. It is probably at the end of its life. You could risk it and continue to use it….

Last weekend i went for a ride, was powering up a hill (not like me) and out of nowhere the chain snapped on me flipping me over the front and causing the guy behind to so some fancy brake work. I knew the chain was getting old but didnt replace it, was thinking just one more ride before i replace it. Could have been much worse…

It is not worth the risk…

I’d ride it until the crack got significantly bigger. There’s loads of other weld on that joint to hold the thing together. It’s not suddenly gonna go; it’s made like that for good reason. Plus. it’s at the bottom of the join; surely the rest of the weld will take the strain?

Bit of Araldite metal glue on that and it’ll be fine.

I’ve ordered the replacement and I asked if it was a common break. The guy said he’d never heard of it, but they sell a few so others must have failed – apart for wear, or really ham-fisted spanner work, I can’t see why else you’d need to replace it.

Err looking at that crack and with the fact that the linkage has had possible stress etc on it to cause it to fail theres hidden damage within that frame. Alu goes like a bullet-shot doesn’t it when it fails.

Its not just a case of a long walk home, it could also be a case a physical damage in the case of an accident.

Again, your life, your wallet. When I’ve had my big accidents the bike has always come off pristine. I’d prefer a snapped brand new £1,000 frame than a broken arm. Everytime.

Yeah but how much stress does that particular part of the frame really endure? It’s a bit what holds the linkage, not a truly load-bearing part, is it? I really don’t think even a sudden catastrophic failure at that point (unlikely if it’s lasted for so long with that ‘crack’) would lead to sudden death. More, it would just be similar to the linkage bit snapping. And the OP din’t die horribly when that happened, did he?

Alu goes like a bullet-shot doesn’t it when it fails.

Eh? Maybe high-stressed super lightweight parts such as rims might do, but with a chunky bit like that, you’d get a fair bit of warning. As the Op sez, it’s bin like that for several years, so if it were gonna go, it probbly wooduv by now.

Nah, just get a new bit and ride it until it dies.

I’m quite sentimentally attached to the bike, so I’d like to keep riding it. It’s not often that Elfin-padded-brain-fred says anything I agree with, but I think he’s right here – even if that weld failed completely, the bike will stay held together by all the other links etc, as happened last night.

However, I think it’s time to start packing out the old PayPal account and replace her with a Carbon LT in the next year or so… 😉

I recently bought a dented 08 Spesh Enduro frame off a friend- ding in side of downtube. Not a prob in my books and checked with Spesh UK who say as long as its not a crack, dent in top of toptube or under downtube then fine as they are tough frames but if it was a crack and/or near a weld I wouldn’t go near a frame.

I can see where you are coming from but our health is more important than ££.

Yeah but how much stress does that particular part of the frame really endure?

enough for it to crack the weld….

More, it would just be similar to the linkage bit snapping. And the OP din’t die horribly when that happened, did he?

That happened when he was climbing, if that happened on a downhill section things could be different.

Eh? Maybe high-stressed super lightweight parts such as rims might do, but with a chunky bit like that, you’d get a fair bit of warning. As the Op sez, it’s bin like that for several years, so if it were gonna go, it probbly wooduv by now

The alloys of aluminium used in frames do not bend much, they crack. It will be sudden. Get it checked out at your LBS.

I’d prefer a snapped brand new £1,000 frame than a broken arm. Everytime.

I don’t know the NHS is free and arms grow back, aluminium doesn’t!

Just a thought but surely the crack and the broken shock linkage are connected? The crack would weaken one side resulting in the linkage twisting, and thus failure.Thinking about it is the shock worn on one side?
Also could the crack not be travelling on the outside but the inside edge of the weld?
This may be a 2+2=22 observation though…

I’d prefer a snapped brand new £1,000 frame than a broken arm.

I would rather the broken arm and still have a bike.

the two are connected the linkage should be square but due to the weld splitting wasn’t the case, it may only be off a touch but that will enough to change the load path cause the linkage to snap. That weld will let go in a instant when it goes you will have no creep just bang.
Give her a nice clean say your goodbyes and lay her to rest, god rest her soul

magowen100 – Member

Just a thought but surely the crack and the broken shock linkage are connected? The crack would weaken one side resulting in the linkage twisting, and thus failure.Thinking about it is the shock worn on one side?

No, I don’t think it is, and no, the shock is original and shows no signs of wear.

It’s a minute, hairline crack, and it’s impossible open/close it by flexing it in any way. Hence why it’s not got any bigger in 5 years of hard use.

If there was any movement in it whatsoever, it would show visible flexing and the crack would grow.

The link wouldn’t be under any twist or sideways load, it broke due to 8 years of constant pounding from the shock!

The mounting is still perfectly square – look how much weld is left unaffected and how thick that alu plate is!

The alloys of aluminium used in frames do not bend much, they crack. It will be sudden. Get it checked out at your LBS.

Don’t tell the carbon haters, if you believe them aluminium bends ad infinitum before it breaks 🙄

Personally i’d get that area stripped back and the weld patched up. I wouldnt worry too much about the lack of post weld heat treating as the crack is worse and we are not talking about a whole weld joint between head tube and top tube here.

The stress concentration at the tip of that weld will be HUUUUUGE and one day it WILL just unzip along the whole length. Looking quickly at the design I would say that under suspension load the forces are putting the crack in compression so preventing it from growing. Pedal loads are probably having more effect as the frame is trying to extend at some point during the pedal (possibly worse with things like SPDs if you use them) and it is too much of a coincidence to have a snapped linkage and some damage there.

I’d at least put a thin coat of nail varnish over the crack and see if it cracks when you have the new link. If it does then get an experienced aluminium welded to patch the weld and see what they think. Will only cost you a few £ and should make it last a lot longer.

+ there is another plate on the other side sharing the load so another reason why a weld repair should be okay. Leaving it could cause the other side to go the same way.

The mounting is still perfectly square – look how much weld is left unaffected and how thick that alu plate is

You can’t twist and flex it with your fingers but under loading out on the trail parts of the frame WILL flex naturally.

Anyway, its your choice.

get it covered up with a tattoo, sorted.

Electricians tape is excellent.

Probably good advice andyl, I think I’ll do that… Cheers 🙂

no worries. Would be a shame to let it get beyond repair. Good luck