Drilling my frame.......

daniel_b

Guys,

my 18 month old Marin, was diagnosed with a busted bottom bracket, and sure enough when we took it out, not only did we find a bb full of crud, but also a nice pool of water that had collected in the frame, and I guess rusted and washed all the lubrication out of the bb :?

My mates advice, ex bike mechanic, is to drill the frame at the bottom, to give the water somewhere to drain out instead of collecting and causing havoc. There are other holes nearby, with screws in, for the cable routing, but these were done at the factory.

I know his advice makes sense, but I'm rather nervous........

What do you guys think?

Dan

nicklouse

should not be a problem the other choice is is there a bolt that screws into the bottom? to hold the cable routing shoe? undo the screw to allow the water out.

daniel_b

Hi Nicklouse,

yes there is one screw that secures the cable routing bracket, so you mean I could just undo that every now and then instead of drilling a new hole?

Makes sense.

Do all frames have this issue, or if not, what is different on other frames?

Good job it's not steel........

Dan

nicklouse

some do some do not. i have drilled holes in many a frame.

Speers

I wouldn't have the guts to put a hole in my frame. I prefer prevention. All my bikes live in my tiny apartment. The only time they see the outdoors is when I'm on them, gives them ample time to dry out should they be exposed to excessive amounts of water.

If you do drill a hole, it might be a good idea to put some kind of cork in it to keep water out.

racingchicken

Speers wrote:

If you do drill a hole, it might be a good idea to put some kind of cork in it to keep water out.

Not meaning to state the obvious, but if the hole is at the lowest point of the frame (i.e bottom bracket) then the water would automatically drain from it and there would be no need for cork.