Frame crack on my 2017 gravel bike - do I try to patch or just replace?

I was doing a quick chain clean last night after a wet ride and spotted a hairline crack running from the bottom bracket shell up into the down tube on my old aluminum cross bike. This thing has about 8,000 miles on it and I've crashed it twice in gravel races, so I guess it was coming eventually. I even heard a weird creak on climbs for the past month but kept ignoring it like an idiot. My first thought was to try JB Weld and some carbon wrap just to keep it rolling for commuting, but a mechanic buddy told me that's a death trap waiting to snap mid-pedal. Now I'm stuck because a decent replacement aluminum frame will run me like $400, but I'm also eyeing a used steel Surly for $600 on Facebook Marketplace. Has anyone here successfully fixed a frame crack near the BB or am I just wasting time and tools?

2 comments

2 Comments

nina18013d ago

My buddy tried the JB Weld fix on an old aluminum frame and it held for like two weeks before it cracked worse right next to the patch. He almost ate it going down a steep hill. That mechanic friend is right, don't risk it.

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julia_fisher2813d ago

Hate to hear that happened to your buddy, @nina180. That's exactly the kind of thing that keeps me up at night when I see folks trying to patch frames with epoxy. I've seen it go wrong more times than I can count, especially on aluminum where the metal around the patch gets stressed differently and just gives up. Glad he's okay, but that's a hard lesson learned. Sometimes you've just got to bite the bullet and replace the frame or find a proper welder who knows aluminum.