Worth getting frame tested?
d.mart
Posts: 88
Bit of wtf moment on Monday. Riding to work I pulled away from the lights on Creek Rd just before you go over the creek and I get out of the saddle to build speed over the bridge when suddenly it feels like the right side of the handlebars starts to bend down towards the floor. My immediate reaction was 'WTF?!?', followed by 'feels like handlebars bending?!?!' then 'not again!!' then SPLAT.
Was still quite slow and no traffic so not too crazy, just a dinged knee and a bit less skin on my right elbow. I peel myself up off the road and grab the bike to move out the way of traffic (thanks for asking if I was ok though everyone :roll: ) and lo and behold the metal of the handlebar has actually sheared off at the edge of the stem.
Now, I know it's just an old Raleigh "Winner" I found in my parents garage then stripped down and converted to a SS so wouldn't expect the greatest quality but REALLY?? I'm not huge and don't have the Power Awesome (TM) but that's...what is that? Can't believe the quality of the metal was that bad and it's been stored inside its whole existence. Does steel degrade that much? Which leads to the next question, just replace the bars and carry on or strip it for parts and scrap the frame. Head says latter but it does have small sentimental value as it was my first build so heart whispering for former.
Further complicated by the fact that n (+1?) should be turning up via C2W this weekend.
:?
Was still quite slow and no traffic so not too crazy, just a dinged knee and a bit less skin on my right elbow. I peel myself up off the road and grab the bike to move out the way of traffic (thanks for asking if I was ok though everyone :roll: ) and lo and behold the metal of the handlebar has actually sheared off at the edge of the stem.
Now, I know it's just an old Raleigh "Winner" I found in my parents garage then stripped down and converted to a SS so wouldn't expect the greatest quality but REALLY?? I'm not huge and don't have the Power Awesome (TM) but that's...what is that? Can't believe the quality of the metal was that bad and it's been stored inside its whole existence. Does steel degrade that much? Which leads to the next question, just replace the bars and carry on or strip it for parts and scrap the frame. Head says latter but it does have small sentimental value as it was my first build so heart whispering for former.
Further complicated by the fact that n (+1?) should be turning up via C2W this weekend.
:?
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Comments
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Get new bars, fit new bars, ride bike. Why would you do anything else?
Faster than a tent.......0 -
Are you sure they're not aluminium bars? Happened to me with my old Raleigh Record. Just a combination of prolonged stress, fatigue and 20-odd year old old alloy. Why scrap the frame? Just get new handlebars and continue to enjoy riding it.0
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I did exactly that with my Raleigh Winner (albeit ~25 years ago),so I think it's cr*p bars rather than some sort of degradation; they were chromed steel iirc. Just replace and carry on riding...Pannier, 120rpm.0
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The same thing happened to me a few years ago. I was sprinting away from the traffic lights and then felt the bars bending before they completely snapped off. I was riding fixed and to this day I have no idea how I stayed upright.
My incident was an old Raleigh that had been left in a garden for around 20 years. The thought of scrapping the frame never crossed my mind. Stick some new bars on and carry on riding.kelsen wrote:Are you sure they're not aluminium bars? Happened to me with my old Raleigh Record. Just a combination of prolonged stress, fatigue and 20-odd year old old alloy. Why scrap the frame? Just get new handlebars and continue to enjoy riding it.FCN 3: Raleigh Record Ace fixie-to be resurrected sometime in the future
FCN 4: Planet X Schmaffenschmack 2- workhorse
FCN 9: B Twin Vitamin - winter commuter/loan bike for trainees
I'm hungry. I'm always hungry!0 -
Thanks for the replies all, don't know why but I just assumed bars would be same metal as frame which, having had 3 offs in a year, made me nervous. New bars and some fettling to be done then...huzzah.0
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In case you want to look out for some of the other failures I had on my Raleigh Winner:
Explodified one of the pedals
Folded the big ring in half after one of the chainring bolts failed
Left it locked up somewhere in Cambridge during a major night out. Not sure exactly where, and never managed to find it again...Pannier, 120rpm.0 -
TGOTB wrote:In case you want to look out for some of the other failures I had on my Raleigh Winner:
Explodified one of the pedals
Folded the big ring in half after one of the chainring bolts failed
Moly!! :shock:TGOTB wrote:Left it locked up somewhere in Cambridge during a major night out. Not sure exactly where, and never managed to find it again...
Poor old Raleigh
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A similar thing happened to me in my school days. On my Carrera MTB. At the bottom of the hill that was the school driveway, zooming down, trying to look cool. I turned in toward the bike shed and the handlebars actually sheared clean off the bike, leaving a detached handlebar in my hands! Maybe if I'd of thought about it I could of stayed upright but in my panic I just fell off. Removed a considerable patch of skin from my right arm.
The bike was only a few weeks old at the time but anyway it turns out that the handlebars were set way above the minimum insertion line.
Dad managed to get Halfords to fix and replace it. In fairness to Halfords though it was probably my dad's "adjustments" that left the bars above minimum insertion level and knowing my dad the bolts would of been tightened to up to superman torque levels.
But anyway, check this and if that's the case just get new bars. I doubt the frame is about to fall apart.0
