Cannondale Six13 hole in seat tube..opinions?

[Kingfisher]

Got a pristine 60 cm six 13 the other day, not a mark on it but there is small hole in drive side seat tube, about 1/8", about 5 " from top. Hole is definitely in the aluminum portion of tubing. I don't think it is anything to worry about but need others input. Will/does it effect the structural integrity of frame?

[Cicli]

I wouldnt like that at all.
It may not be an issue structurally but its not good.

Did you know about that before you bought it?

[Ralph]

Makes it not so "pristine". I would not like that even if it didn't affect function.

[Kingfisher]

Seller wasn't aware and is a stand up guy
Cosmetically I don't care because it will be back up bike
Just curious as to anything to worry about when riding

[ultraman6970]

I do not think you will have a problem, just cover it with something like a sticker so nothing gets in there.

Another solution is use alumaweld (sp) and patch it, the problem is that the paint will get burned.

[Ralph]

Originally Posted by Kingfisher

Seller wasn't aware and is a stand up guy
Cosmetically I don't care because it will be back up bike
Just curious as to anything to worry about when riding

I ride an aluminum CAAD 10 sometimes, and don't think a hole like that would hurt anything. Like above said, just cover it with a decal to keep water and sweat out. Aluminum does corrode.

[texbike]

For the record, this is the Six13 that I sold to Kingfisher. I was aware of the "spot" when I cleaned the frame, ran my finger across it, and quickly dismissed it as a paint chip out of the clear and the paint (I definitely didn't see any daylight shining through it). It never crossed my mind that it was or even could have been a hole in the tube. The bike was purchased from the original owner and he was more of a mountain biker and rarely rode the Cannondale. I can't imagine that he would have had a hole drilled into the frame for any reason.

Kingfisher, I absolutely stand by my offer of taking the frameset back. Honestly, if it is an actual hole in the frameset and NOT a paint chip, I wouldn't feel comfortable riding it OR selling it to someone. Give me a call at your convenience to discuss.

Regards,

Texbike

[peanutgallery]

If it came out of the tube in the form of a flake I would say that the frame is suffering from a bit of rot. This is usually sweat induced, could have been some sort of weird corrosion from materials. Cannondale has been famous for not thinking things all the way through over the years. IE: dirt bikes, CODA disc brakes and so on

That frame is a little on the older side and I seriously doubt longevity was a concern of the designers when this was produced a decade or more ago. That particular hole would not bother me, but I would wonder where the next one would appear. There's a lot of great used stuff out there for a deal, I would find something else

Big ups to TexBike for standing behind it, things happen beyond our control

[ColonelJLloyd]

Is that hole perfectly circular and with a rounded/smooth edge? It looks like it in the pic.

[Kingfisher]

Originally Posted by ColonelJLloyd

Is that hole perfectly circular and with a rounded/smooth edge? It looks like it in the pic.

Kind of almost perfect circle
I'm going to take to local cannondale dealer in s few minutes and ask their opinion

[ColonelJLloyd]

Originally Posted by Kingfisher

Kind of almost perfect circle
I'm going to take to local cannondale dealer in s few minutes and ask their opinion

Kind of like it was put there on purpose, no?

[texbike]

Originally Posted by ColonelJLloyd

Is that hole perfectly circular and with a rounded/smooth edge? It looks like it in the pic.

If you were to see it in person, it really isn't perfectly round. There's an edge on it where the paint/clear coat hangs over one side of it.

[Wayne77]

This is kind of a weird suggestion that comes to mind but could you have a bottle cage mount rivet thingy installed there? then thread a bolt into it for good measure? Maybe that would more or less secure it from generating a crack. Not sure if that's even possible. Another idea would be to sand a band of exposed metal all the way arounf the radius of the tube and then use some aircraft grade epoxy with a strip of carbon fiber wrapped around the tube...maybe 1/2" to 1" wide. Once cured, sanded, and polished it would be plenty secure. You can get cf repair kits on eBay for $30 or so. Then again, not sure how that works with aluminum as a base as opposed to cf. You'd be surprised how thin 2 layers of cf wrap is. I did the same to fix a small hole in the TT of my Ridley Noah and after sanding it smooth and repainting it doesn't bulge out at all (it's pretty much the same thickness as several layers of paint. Just thinking out loud here. Maybe use epoxy to secure a small patch of alu?

Anyway, if the hole isn't completely round, I'd think a light sanding with a small round file to make it round would reduce chances of a crack generating there.

[Kingfisher]

Just talked to local cannondale dealer owner and his mechanics
He thinks original owner might have had an issue with seatpost slippage, so he drilled him le and put a stop in to prevent slippage
Said he's seen it before

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by Kingfisher

Seller wasn't aware and is a stand up guy
Cosmetically I don't care because it will be back up bike
Just curious as to anything to worry about when riding

Huh?

Reading the whole thread, huge kudos to textbike..doing the right thing, IMHO.