Small crack on the head tube
Discussion
I bought this Pinarello used and have been very happy with it, looks beautiful, rides perfect, appears to have been very well looked after, no play in the head bearings but today I noticed a crack on the head tube which is 14.50mm long and stops at the weld. I've not had the bike long and have no idea how long the crack has been there. I cleaned it up and took a picture.
So what would you do? I'm tempted to just ride the thing and see if it gets any worse. It doesn't seem to be deep at all, is there any chance this is paint cracking? Or is that wishful thinking?
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So what would you do? I'm tempted to just ride the thing and see if it gets any worse. It doesn't seem to be deep at all, is there any chance this is paint cracking? Or is that wishful thinking?
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lewis87 said:
BliarOut said:
That looks way deeper than the paint I'm afraid...
The picture makes it look quite bad but if I shine a light right into the crack it does not look deep at all. How thick are head tubes on bicycles? It is aluminum if that makes any difference.It's hard to say, but does look as though insufficient weld penetration could be the ultimate cause.
DO NOT RIDE THE BIKE LIKE THIS. It's really not worth the risk.
Not what I wanted to hear 
I've only ridden it a few times and I'm not sure what to do now. I don't know much about bicycles, is it possible to say buy any brand frame and swap over all components from this bike? Will parts fit other frame makes? It is a Pinarello surprise about 6 years old.
I've only ridden it a few times and I'm not sure what to do now. I don't know much about bicycles, is it possible to say buy any brand frame and swap over all components from this bike? Will parts fit other frame makes? It is a Pinarello surprise about 6 years old.rhinochopig said:
Frame is buggered I'm affraid. Get in touch in Pinny and they should replace under warranty, or at the very least offer a massive discount on a new frame.
ETA Just checked and the warranty is only 2 or 3 years. I'd still get in touch though and chance your arm.
Warranty will also be for original owner as well, they are very rarely transferable. New frame time IMHO.ETA Just checked and the warranty is only 2 or 3 years. I'd still get in touch though and chance your arm.
If you did repair that though would you honestly have any confidence riding down any hills or at a reasonable speed? It would forever be in the back of my mind that its about to break and that nagging feeling would really spoil any time riding it.
I had the top part of seat tube on a 10 year old fondriest aluminium frame break in a very similar location where the seat stays were welded to the seat tube - it cracked up to the clamp, but was only about 15mm so I left it. Then while riding it gave way and luckily I managed to keep control without falling onto the back wheel - it was only the remains of the seatpost still in the seat tube that stopped me falling completely off, but it happened without any warning. I was left with the seatpost still clamped to an inch long piece of seat tube.
I had the top part of seat tube on a 10 year old fondriest aluminium frame break in a very similar location where the seat stays were welded to the seat tube - it cracked up to the clamp, but was only about 15mm so I left it. Then while riding it gave way and luckily I managed to keep control without falling onto the back wheel - it was only the remains of the seatpost still in the seat tube that stopped me falling completely off, but it happened without any warning. I was left with the seatpost still clamped to an inch long piece of seat tube.
Like the others have said, that's a scrapper. The only way to repair it is to weld it up & then machine out the bore, forget any idea of drilling holes and preventing the crack from spreading.
As a pure guess I'm not sure it would fail catastrophically from it's current state, the h/set lower bearing will spread the load axially up the tube and so it would take a massive jolt to propagate the crack far enough to detach the downtube, so much so that you'd probably already be coming off the bike or have broken the front wheel.
But quite honestly, even thinking that, it's not something I'd ride; there's enough risk from traffic and (my) lack of skill without throwing a few extras in
As a pure guess I'm not sure it would fail catastrophically from it's current state, the h/set lower bearing will spread the load axially up the tube and so it would take a massive jolt to propagate the crack far enough to detach the downtube, so much so that you'd probably already be coming off the bike or have broken the front wheel.
But quite honestly, even thinking that, it's not something I'd ride; there's enough risk from traffic and (my) lack of skill without throwing a few extras in
ShredderXLE said:
Was that in dentistry.....as it would probably come in handy after atempting to repair the head tube on an alloy frame.
Well I filled a 2" hole on the crankcase joint in a Ducati 888 over ten years ago and that's still going strong. As long as you prepare the parent metal properly it's amazing stuff. 
BliarOut said:
ShredderXLE said:
Was that in dentistry.....as it would probably come in handy after atempting to repair the head tube on an alloy frame.
Well I filled a 2" hole on the crankcase joint in a Ducati 888 over ten years ago and that's still going strong. As long as you prepare the parent metal properly it's amazing stuff. Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff