Is this head-tube crack fatal ?

Hi, Orange E6 from 2001, Easton 7005 ally tubing. Used now for commuting and mild xc. Is this fatal, can / should / how be repair considered ? I bow to the wisdom and thank in advance.

[/URL]

jubilee clip.

Unfortunately also found this ….

[/URL]

I’m loathe to scrap the thing, I love it and it’s original in 90% (bought second hand).
Could / should I seek a welder ??

Ta again

You need to get the OD of the tube measured accurately if it is a common metric size I would remove the forks drill a small hole in the end of the crack to stop it continuing up the head tube and find a clamp to fit over the outside of the tube. A jubilee clip or proper type band clamp would be better than nothing but I think the most important point is to drill the end of the crack to stop it getting longer.

Just seen the pic of the second crack and I reckon the frame is probably scrap from a financial point of view, I am sure it can be welded if you really love the thing that much.

Cheers both. I haven’t taken to fork out yet to check the inside of the tube. Scraping a fingernail over it, it seems superficial, but yes, I think a couple of small holes and a dollop of weld stuff is the minimum.

It looks pretty terminal for the frame. If you look on ebay or the classified quite a few really nice older alloy frames go for very little money. Could be easier option that repair, and just swap the bits over.

How good is your dentist? You’re looking at this all wrong, what you have right there is a bullet proof excuse for a new bike. repeat. NEW BIKE.

yes it is repairable. Frank the Welder has a frame of mine at the moment. He is replacing the whole headtube. The trick is the aging of the aluminium after the work to put the strength back in. I am restoring the bike to its 90’s bling and wanted it repaired ‘properly’.. its costing an arm and a leg but not a kidney.

As to the if it is financially viable, thats only a question you can answer and depends on how much you love the frame. Only you know the answer.

A cheaper option is to get it welded by a decent welder, allegedly many of these prolong the life of the frame and work quite well. The weld will be obvious and how much trust you have in it will be down to you and the type of riding you do.

EDIT: agree with some of the above comments, dont think its a rare frame you have there, eBay might offer you the same model pretty cheaply and might be the best answer.

it seems superficial,

😯 You sure?

One word which does not spring to mind whilst looking at that second image is ‘Superficial’.

I would not be riding that

Everything is repairable but that is a fairly substantial head tube crack at both ends that will only get worse

You could drill it and reduce the bike to pootling duties but i would not be wanting to nail gap jumps on that bike [ or any other actually but you get the point]

Okay, here’s the bike in all it’s “glory”. It’s tatty as a tatty thing having been stored outside for years in Hong Kong humidity. As it’s not used for anything too boisterous, I’m thinking, tack it up and carry on sailor ..??

[/URL]

Thats done. Completely terminal. Hang it in the shed. Dont sell it as spares or repair.

Bung it on the classifieds.

ti-pin-man … left the UK a long time ago, who/where is Frank the Welder.. New head tube ? Hmmm, that’s a thought .. I really appreciate all your replies. I’ve plenty of bikes to ride, but am strangely fond of this old jalopy ..

Do not ride it as it is. Just don’t! The stress of riding was enough to break the metal that was there, what do you think it’s going to do to the void which is now in its place?

It’s a super light race bike from 14 years ago, these things don’t last forever. Just move on.

Jambo beat me too it, 2 x jubilee clips and it’s job done!

or

Send frame back to Orange for warranty repair as a chancer! 🙂

my orange was the same – I junked it

stored outside for years in Hong Kong humidity.

Aluminium Frame+Steel Headset Cups+Serious Humidty = ****.

It’s definitely time to retire the old girl.

There’s a lack of optimism on this thread – suggest zip-ties top and bottom and confine riding to XC or light AM, but not Enduro.

Strong parcel tape?

Really, thanks everyone for replies. I’ll yank the fork out when I get a chance, and if if it is any way salvageable, I will do so. As mentioned, it’s little more than a commuter these days, but I do like it .. ah well, as someone mentioned, new bike time is a-coming .. Cheers,
JKM

I mean, what’s the worst that could happen? Has anyone ever seen a headtube burst? It’d probably just get really bad bearing-knock, like an amazingly loose headset….

🙂

The fact that it’s failed so dramatically without apparent trauma suggests the Aluminium is past it’s best, so even if you were to replace the headtube, the rest of the frame could easily follow suit.

The jubilee clip idea could work though (if you’re unhealthily attached to the frame)… you could even lay a carbon wrap over the jubilee clips to distribute loads and improve aesthetics, though you’d risk transferring stresses elsewhere

the rest of the frame could easily follow suit.

Yeah, but he can just use a few more jubilee clips. He’s not using it for #enduro. Just mild XC…

😉

Based on the location of the cracks I wonder if the headset was slightly out of tolerance (or headtube).

Oh and bin it

Anybody got any pics of a similar type bodge ? I’d like to keep riding this for reasons that most here will understand .. I like it … it’s quick and comfy, although not as bullet-proof as I thought !!
In the meantime, I’m going to take the fork out and take it to the local (this is HK !) window frame maker to see if he can drill and tack the thing ..
Pics shall of course follow …
Thank You all very much

Make it some wall art.

At a guess corrosion between the headtube and the headset cup has built up and split the head tube top and bottom.
The bottom cup gets the majority of the forces through it so its pretty weakened. Given the top has gone as well its not safe to ride really.
I had a Marin which I’d ridden offroad twice before being converted into my commuting bike developed the crack in the top of the headtube right in the centre. Never noticed until I stopped commuting and went the refurb the bike and the top cup basically fell out. Ooops!
It shall remain in the garage roof as a trophy.

Unfortunately also found this ….

Is it just me that is amused by the use of the word ‘found’ – suggesting that that monstrous crack only came to light during a thorough inspection of the bicycle.

Body filler > Rattle can > ebay 😉

bigyinn if you were the original owner Marin’s had a life time warranty on all their frames. If you take it to a Marin dealer I’ve seen very old stuff replaced with new in the past without any problem.

I’d like to keep riding this for reasons that most here will understand

Yeah but you can’t. It’s over.

Plenty of other good frames around.

Hardest part is facing the decision to say “good bye”.

I’m looking at finally ditching my 1998 M2, maybe in a couple of years I’ll actually get around to taking the action!!

Surely Duck tape is the answer!!

Surely Duck tape is the answer!!

Two jubilee clips, top and bottom …sorted

🙂

Having once owned a Land Rover I would also be loathe to scrap that frame as it CAN be repaired. However the bearing seats will have stretched a tiny bit and will never be the same again, no matter how good the repair. Any maybe that’s a warning that something else is about to let go?

This is the new headtube on my frame. It was split nearly as bad as yours, he removed the old broken one and put a new one on.

Frank The Welder here: http://www.frankthewelder.com/%5B/url%5D

If you are seriously attached to the frame, send it to him, it might not be worth it financially but it can be done if its the love of your life.