Can an Aliminium frame be spread.

tim_wand

Basically I brought a Specialized Fact Carbon fork off Ebay which came with a Free Allez frame.

The description was at pains to point out the frame was free, the purchase was the fork ( it did however say the frame would be okay for a Turbo or Winter trainer).

So with a view to putting it on the turbo I dived in. Said frame arrived today and basically the rear triangle has been stoved in and you cant get a wheel in it.

Vendor kindly explained , I d bought a fork not a frame and it was damaged in Transit, and as I d brought a fork not a frame he didn't want to go through the hassle of claiming off parcel force.

Well after much discussion, I had to agree I am buggered and set about trying to spread the rear triangle as I have done many times before with steel frames. Ally it seems is a totally different beast. And I am not having much look. Does anyone have any experience or ideas, or Am I flogging a dead horse.

Nice Fork anyway

k-dog

Yeah, that doesn't work - cold setting aluminium is asking for it to fail.

crankycrank

As you have nothing to lose you might as well try to spread it and check for cracks around the welds. If you're just using it for the turbo it will be less stress on the frame and less risk to you but check it often.

Monty Dog

Aluminium has very little 'plastic' deformation characteristics - it'll bend / stretch a little but not much. If it's already been bent / deformed then chances are it will simply break.

dgunthor

get one of those turbos that doesn't use a wheel? (sky use them i think)

dinyull

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19708743#p19708743]crankycrank[/url] wrote:

As you have nothing to lose you might as well try to spread it and check for cracks around the welds. If you're just using it for the turbo it will be less stress on the frame and less risk to you but check it often.

Some manufacturer warranty's are void if the bike is used on the turbo because of the stress it creates. There was a lengthy thread on here re. Cannondale refusing to pay out because of this.

Saying that, it's worth the risk on a turbo as you won't ever have to peel your face off the road.

crankycrank

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19709313#p19709313]Dinyull[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19708743#p19708743]crankycrank[/url] wrote:

As you have nothing to lose you might as well try to spread it and check for cracks around the welds. If you're just using it for the turbo it will be less stress on the frame and less risk to you but check it often.

Some manufacturer warranty's are void if the bike is used on the turbo because of the stress it creates. There was a lengthy thread on here re. Cannondale refusing to pay out because of this.

Saying that, it's worth the risk on a turbo as you won't ever have to peel your face off the road.

Different type of stress as in no bumps to jolt the frame. This is a case of if you don't feel confident in your ability to spot trouble then don't do it. I wouldn't hesitate to try it if all looked good.

JackPozzi

As mentioned alu is prone to cracking when bent, but if it's only for turbo I'd give it a go. Some gentle heat while bending will help, even a hairdryer would probably increase the flexibility a tad. Oxy acetylene is bad though....

diy

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19708617#p19708617]tim wand[/url] wrote:

The description was at pains to point out the frame was free, the purchase was the fork ( it did however say the frame would be okay for a Turbo or Winter trainer).

I appreciate this is in workshop, so my comments probably aren't helpful, but unless the frame was free irrelevant of whether you purchased the forks or not, he hasn't got a leg to stand on, as buy this and get this for free makes it part of the deal.

The more heat you add the softer it will get, but the weaker it gets too.

svetty

You've been had. Ask yourself why the frame was even part of the deal. If it was sound the seller would have listed it separately and sold it. It was broken when he had it and he used it as a carrot to make the fork look tempting...

diy

Depending how much it has to grow, maybe you could get an old 5 speed or a narrow hub off a track bike?

Elfed

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19708962#p19708962]dgunthor[/url] wrote:

get one of those turbos that doesn't use a wheel? (sky use them i think)

You still need the frame in one piece to use those.

tim_wand

Okay. Tried knocking Wooden blocks as spreaders down the seat stays and chainstays, Then pulled the frame ( rear triangle ) open with two ratchet straps and placed an oversized 135mm Hub in it cut out from an old wheel. Left it for 3 days like this, The second the hub is removed or the blocks, Pings back to original mangled state.

Basically our American friend who said you cant cold forge Aluminium got it spot on! But he probably called it Aloomium .

Frames Rhubarbed, thanks Parcel Force , wouldn't mind but I work for Royal Mail

sungod

if you're only going to use it on the turbo just stick a wheel in it and use it like that (assuming the wheel will run straight enough on the turbo)

in the 'spring loaded' state it's in now it'll be stronger than if you were to bend it back to the point where a wheel would fit in naturally, though you need to check the welds every so often as they may crack in time

tim_wand

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19710779#p19710779]sungod[/url] wrote:

if you're only going to use it on the turbo just stick a wheel in it and use it like that (assuming the wheel will run straight enough on the turbo)

in the 'spring loaded' state it's in now it'll be stronger than if you were to bend it back to the point where a wheel would fit in naturally, though you need to check the welds every so often as they may crack in time

Problem is it hasn't spread evenly when forced open, Drop outs don't align so the wheel catches on the chainstays.

diy

Are you sure this was damaged in delivery?