bad luck of the draw (cracked ti seattube on a carbon/ti?)

[WR3K]

Hey guys!

Aluminum, carbon. both things you'd expect to crack before anything else.

I have been passed down a carbon/ti 2007ish hsg.

which part has a crack? not the carbon, the ti.

No matter how great a company, or customer service, or restaurant, or product:

someone has to get a bad luck of the draw sometimes. :bike:

there is an identical one (a bit longer) directly on the opposite side.
do you think these will grow?

now i over-listen for creaks and clicks and for some reason there are tiny ones when weight is on the bike. now i am a hyperchondriac. maybe i jsut need to re-seat the shim and seatpost. do you think the shim-system displaces forces in a manner harmful to these welds?

here is a picture:
http://i54.tinypic.com/6o32wx.jpg


i have contacted them about possible repair options and am waiting the reply

[ultraman6970]

Maybe a reinforcement ring from outside? since Ti is different than steel i really cant tell you if the guys can fill up the crack.

[buldogge]

They're not witness marks that someone forgot to buff/finish are they???

-Mark in St. Louis

[WR3K]

buldogge- hmm, i have not heard of those so i researched them.

my guess is that is possible, but the one of the left side of the frame is a bit longer, and on the other side of the frame is veers off a bit.

this picture does make it look a bit less "crack" like.

however if they cut their witness marks, and like to cut looong witness marks, then i guess it could be possible.

let's just hope they are lol.

No bad feelings towards the craftsmen. Life happens

[WR3K]

They say i will have to send it in for a guaranteed evaluation.
unfortunately i received this bike third hand with no paper work.
So i expect worst case scenario they say i have a new piece of wall jewelry.

talk about nerve wracking! eep!

[Mike748]

To me it doesn't look bad enough to worry about. That area is under the seatpost clamp, right? So the clamp is compressing around it. I doubt they will propagate, and if they do you'll find them before they cause any danger.

Maybe tightening down on an undersized seatpost caused it?

[WR3K]

im wondering if they guy i got it from took the original shim out and put a different one in their. it seems to fit fine though.

are their pictures of serotta made shims?

or maybe he tried to tighten it down with the shim out oneday, and went way to hard. idk.. bleh




edit: so even though serotta told me it looks like a crack and i would have to send it in, i took a flashlight to it and it really does look like marks on the surface. maybe left by this tool? (last picture in the slideshow) http://www.serotta.com/assets2/flash/machine_gallery/index.html

[Mike748]

The only Ti Serotta I owned with a shim (a 2006 Fierte) did not have a weld like you show in your picture. I don't know how it was held in, but it never tried to pull out.

My Ottrott is just single wall Ti in that area.

[Ahneida Ride]

Kelly did a recent repair on a Ti bike with a Similar incident.
After the repair, I could not tell where the damage was.
So.... I suspect it can be repaired....

However .....

That was an ALL TI bike. yours is Ti/carbon. I an not sure if
the Carbon can take the heat from the welding .... so the repair
could be more involved as the carbon stays/tubes would have to be
removed and then re-installed and at that point it just may be
cost effective to just replace the Ti lug and not repair the Ti.

[rice rocket]

Ti is a very poor conductor of heat, it should be fine for how little welding needs to be done.

[WR3K]

i told serotta that i am a mechanic at one of the biggest bike shops in all of dc. and that their customer service and good will, along with their craftsmanship, will continue to be spread by word of mouth by me and my coworkers. (all true)

hopefully, this will open up a fairly good repair option for a 3rd hand owner :o

edit: a 3rd hand owner college student with a tight budget and a bike that mysteriously is NOT budget.