Welding Al Frame?

[fisherking]

Hey,
Had this happen to my titus yesterday.

http://thumb10.webshots.net/t/30/466/2/66/15/2854266150099856590rPxfrJ_th.jpg (http://sports.webshots.com/photo/2854266150099856590rPxfrJ)

While I search out the price of a new one I was wondering if anyone has had any luck with welding something like this, or having it done?
I have a friend who will give it a try, and not much to lose at this point.

Mike

[Jisch]

I'm no expert, but I think when you weld aluminum you have to heat treat it afterwards, otherwise the area where you weld it will be very weak.

John

[Cove_HJ]

You can weld aluminum if you are a good welder, but the problem is that the high local heat caused by the welding in that area will change the temper of the aluminum and will require that you then re heat treat the rear triangle (or I guess in this case just the seat stays) to get it to a level of strength that this will not happen again. I guess that that is 6061 so to get back to T6 you are going to need to solution treat it for 6hrs or so at around 1000degF then quench it in coldish water, then age harden it at around 330F for 12hrs. That should bring you back to T6 temper. If you, or your friend, is not equiped to do this I still might be able to get you a deal with some old friends (I used to be a heat treater, but I am not anymore). All in all it is not that big a deal if the part is relatively small, but if you have to start thinking about distortion during the treatment (like in a whole frame) you are better off calling a builder who does it regularly, 'cause the fixturing is going to be tough.

[Doro]

warranty?

[Jisch]

Titus has a two year warranty on frames - doubt that bike is still covered. Though they will probably "help out" on a replacement - i.e. not full cost. Its been a few years since I dealt with them (prior to their buyout).

John

[Jisch]

I was looking at that pic this morning and I think I noticed a difference between your seatstay and mine. I think I remember something about them beefing it up in later models. From the angle I can't tell if yours is different than mine? If it is, you may be able to use this as ammo when talking to Titus.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d91/Jisch/DSC04321.jpg

Let me know what happens - I'm curious.
John

Not that I think this is a good way to go, but I've seen some people use guerilla tactics over on MTBR with regards to warranty repairs. Depending on your situation and how they treat you, it can be fair play. Over 20,000 people registered on MTBR - that's a lot of eyes. When I had my issue - Titus resolved it to my satisfaction - with no threats or posts on MTBR :D

[fisherking]

That does look different than mine. I left the piece at work so I don't have it here but I will check. If it is different then I might contact them.
I picked this one up used so I wasn't sure I was going to engage Titus directly or not. I can't lie about that so not sure what would help. The price on a new seatstay is $450 so even a deal on that would be as much as I picked up the frame for.... If I could only scrounge up enough money for a new motolite.. :-)
I also posted on the Titus forum about it to find out if other racerx/motolite replacements might fit and will see what response I get on there.
I will let you know.
It was a good ride up until that point!!

Thanks for all the info
MIke

[fisherking]

Just an update:
HH bikes was pretty good and gave me a price of 250 for the seatstay new. Compared with 350-450 elsewhere so that was good. Still a good chunk of change for an older frame.
Another posting on mtbr found a 100X seat/chain stay used for 100 shipped so that is the way I went. I will just keep these pieces as momento's...

Thanks for all the info.
MIke

[Jisch]

Just an update:
Another posting on mtbr found a 100X seat/chain stay used for 100 shipped so that is the way I went.

$100 for both seat and chainstay, dayum - that's pretty good! Glad it all worked out...

John