Advice needed on a cracked Serotta Hors Cat

[Gat64]

So my beloved Hors Cat developed a hairline crack at the junction of the top and seat tube. I noticed it over a year ago and really was hoping (and believed) that it was just in the paint. But, this evening I thought I would check it out by sanding a bit of the paint off to ensure it was only in the paint.

Well, as you can see in the picture, the 1" or so crack seems to be in the titanium. I am really upset - this was by far my favourite bike of all time.

So - what can I do? Is there any chance of a repair? Strangely, the crack seems to go from the top tube into the weld of the seat tube, but not on the seat tube. So I assume "just" the top tube would need to be replaced.

Any advice would be really appreciated.

[Peter P.]

Dave Levy at Ti Cycles, and Mike Augsperger, I believe one of the founders of Merlin, both repair titanium. Your photo is pretty self-explanatory; I'd contact them and provide the photo.

Let us know how if you're successful with your repair.

[Gat64]

Originally Posted by Peter P.

Dave Levy at Ti Cycles, and Mike Augsperger, I believe one of the founders of Merlin, both repair titanium. Your photo is pretty self-explanatory; I'd contact them and provide the photo.

Let us know how if you're successful with your repair.

Thanks Peter. Much appreciated. I'll contact TiCycles and see what they say. There is also bilenky cycles which states it starts at $600 to replace the top tube. Anyone ever deal with them?

[weisan]

Dot the ends of the crack line with a black sharpie, monitor to see if it's "growing" before you take any further action.

Until then, treat and ride it as your favourite bike of all time.

[Gat64]

Originally Posted by weisan

Dot the ends of the crack line with a black sharpie, monitor to see if it's "growing" before you take any further action.

Until then, treat and ride it as your favourite bike of all time.

Would love to do that - but knowing there is a real crack there will always be in the back of my mind now. I really do not think the crack has grown over the last year - wonder what caused it? No crashes or over tightening the seat post. But I have ridden the bike ALOT on all sorts of roads... and I weigh 190....

[Pastashop]

There are undoubtedly more knowledgeable folks in this area than I, but doesn't it seem like an unusual place for a crack to develop in the first place?

[FlashUNC]

A crack across a weld? I wouldn't ride it personally.

[Louis]

Originally Posted by FlashUNC

I wouldn't ride it personally.

Nor I.

Unless the OP knows for sure that the crack has stopped growing, the best approach is to repair it before any secondary damage occurs.

[CaptStash]

Originally Posted by Gat64

Thanks Peter. Much appreciated. I'll contact TiCycles and see what they say. There is also bilenky cycles which states it starts at $600 to replace the top tube. Anyone ever deal with them?

Bilenky did my coupler modification. Quality welding that was as good or better than the original Sandvik welds. I wouldn't hesitate to give him a call and maybe send photos.

CaptStash....

[ldamelio]

Don't ride it, of course, crack goes longitudinally along top tube. Sudden failure there, although unlikely, will be catastrophic. Cracks like this start in the weld if the area wasn't purged at the time of construction. I have a lot of consumer experience with them as a former owner of a couple of ti bikes of a lesser brand. Unusual with Serotta. I don't know the age of your bike, but if it's much older/well-used, there may be another cause of the weld failure. In any event, it will need top tube replacement at a minimum. If the crack propagates into the seat tube also, it's toast. Any other fix besides tube replacement will be temporary at best. If it's a well-used, well-used bike, maybe consider retiring it as repairs with paint will be expensive.

[Gat64]

The frame is from 2003 and has been ridden ALOT. The crack appeared last year, and no major event happened to the bike to cause it. The frame, otherwise, is in spectacular condition.

The crack does not continue into the seat tube that I can see, only the weld and the top tube are effected. I did get a quote last night, but it is probably more than finding another Hors Cat frame used! Though they are hard to find.

[oldpotatoe]

Wonder if the rear suspension design has something to do with location of crack?

[Gat64]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

Wonder if the rear suspension design has something to do with location of crack?

Who know - but the frame is 14 years old, strange for it to start cracking after that amount of time. Maybe it has been there under the paint for a long time - just the paint opened up recently?

[Buzz Killington]

You might want to try Naked Bicycles in BC, keep it "local".

[Peter P.]

Ah; you people are all a bunch of scaredycats!

I had a steel frame that cracked about 2/3 the way around the seat tube, above the BB. I rode it for five more days until I could get home and send it out for repairs.

The headtube on my steel road bike was cracked FOR YEARS. I watched the crack lengthen and continued to ride it with nary a worry.

I had a Bridgestone MB-3 mountain bike that developed a crack around the top tube, near the head tube. I put a hose clamp around the crack and rode it for 8 weeks while I waited for a new frame.

Worst case was my steel Salsa Ala Carte mountain bike. It was cracked at the headtube/downtube junction, at the BB/seat tube junction, and at the seat tube/seatstay junction. I rode that bike for years, including several D2R2's.

Steel won't fail catastrophically, and neither will titanium. On a bicycle, the stresses just aren't high enough. Sure; the crack will likely get longer and at some point the OP will have to stop riding it, but there's no need to buy life insurance over this.

As to how and why the frame cracked at that location: Sure; the rear suspension is quite a possibility. Also, there could have been insufficient seatpost insertion so the joint was leveraged by the weight of the rider. Lastly, it could have been torsional forces from the front of the bike causing the top tube to twist, combined with a bad weld, to cause that failure.