FS Commuter advice

mr_eddy

Over the Easter weekend whilst cycling to the pub I noticed a fairly hefty crack in the rear triangle of my Alu hybrid = broken frame

As a result I am forced to use my FS Scott Scale RC for commuting duties for now - I have done my best to make it commuter friendly, It already has Conti Race Kings 2.0 which are fairly fast rolling. The front suspension has been pumped up to suit a rider 10kg heavier than me as has the rear shock - The twinlock lever went on eBay a while ago (as I never used it anyway) so I can't lock out the suspension. The bike is pretty light so my ride this morning was only 5 mins slower than normal.

Ultimately I may consider getting a cheap Hybrid frame or a complete bike but for now I plan to use the FS for commuting duties possibly for a a few months (until funds allow new frame/bike) however I have some concerns about commuting on FS:

1. The RS SID fork is meant to be serviced every 150 hours according to the manual - Is this really required if I use the bike for commuting during the week ? - I will be doing 10 hours commuting plus 4-8 hours weekend trail riding (Sherwood pines so no big jumps etc just XC Kitchner trail)
2. Will pumping the shock and fork up to higher pressure than normal (still less than max pressure) cause any damage or issues ?
3. Will the carbon frame get screwed up by road grime / salt etc ? I will be cleaning / re-oiling etc regularly.

I keep my bike in the office next to my desk so security is not an issue.

Anything else I need to be aware of ?

If it is all good and the FS works out fine then I may just have 1 bike for everything.

JGTR

Why not just get your alu frame repaired?? Will probably cost no more than £25 and will save your Scott from the wear and tear of commuting

mr_eddy

I suppose that could be an option but it is a big crack (6-8" long and about 2mm wide) so not entirely sure I would trust a repair on that sort of damage ?

buddy_club

See if you can pick up a cheap carrera frame or something, even a mtb frame will do that you can fit the parts to, if you get lucky you'll easily find something for cheaper than £40

JGTR

JGTR wrote:

Why not just get your alu frame repaired?? Will probably cost no more than £25 and will save your Scott from the wear and tear of commuting

Why not? Half decent welder will make it stronger than it was before and what's the worse that can happen, it cracks again, no big deal, no worse off.

FishFish

JGTR wrote:

JGTR wrote:

Why not just get your alu frame repaired?? Will probably cost no more than £25 and will save your Scott from the wear and tear of commuting

Why not? Half decent welder will make it stronger than it was before and what's the worse that can happen, it cracks again, no big deal, no worse off.

You are absolutely right but I certainly would not get it welded, partly because I'd never be able to determine is a welder was half decent and I would simply not trust the weld. Your proposed solution is good - but not for me.

rockmonkeysc

JGTR wrote:

JGTR wrote:

Why not just get your alu frame repaired?? Will probably cost no more than £25 and will save your Scott from the wear and tear of commuting

Why not? Half decent welder will make it stronger than it was before and what's the worse that can happen, it cracks again, no big deal, no worse off.

A weld will always be weaker than the original material due to the effects of heat on the parent metal and introducing stress raisers. It would be an hour or two work at £45ish an hour for a skilled TIG welder. MIG weld will be sh1t for this sort of repair.

It'll be just as cheap to pick up a Carrera or similar frame.

The Rookie

I agree with RMSC on this, the weld may be stronger but the original material either side most certainly is not.

You can pick up some cheapish frames, depending on what parts your bike had (wheel size) either an MTB or hybrid frame, hybrids also sell quite cheap so an option is getting another and using the best of the parts on it and selling on what you don't need.

My Carrera frame cost me £4, having now done 6000miles that works out at......well not very much a mile!