Damage to alu frame

bog_savage

Friend of mine ripped off derailleur and wrapped it around back wheel , breaking hang point and frame ( part of frame hang point is attached to is twisted and even bent wheel hanger and skewer )

Is it possible to cut and weld on new hang point ?
Sorry I dont have photos

Dave_White

What frame do you have? Depending on that, could be cheaper to buy new one. If you decide to go ahead and try fixing it, I'm sure lads here could supply some contact info of someone decent at it.

bog_savage

Its a Trek Mandone 2.something

minterno

Yes there should be no problem welding it, there's a few guys on adverts advertising their work, just put welding in the search box, there's a guy going by the name 'human fireball,' no connection to myself but his work is tasty, that is if the pics in his ad are his, I'm a welder myself for 35 years and that guys work is good, don't know what he charges but would be worth a ring, regards

Tonyandthewhale

A picture of the actual damage would help. If you mean the derailleur hanger is snapped off then that's not a big deal. It's designed to snap off in a crash etc so as to save the frame. Easily replaceable and not all that expensive.
However it sounds like the damage in your friend's case is more extensive. If part of the frame itself is snapped off or bent then that's a pretty big deal. Aluminium that's been bent can't be safely bent back into shape because it'll stress the metal leading to weakness. Similarly I wouldn't have much faith in a piece of the frame that snapped off completely and has just been stuck back together. Even if you were going to go down that route bends and buckles and the like mean you'd be hard pressed to get everything aligned up properly like it was before. On top of that welding the very thin aluminium tubing used in the likes of a madone is no easy job (though I'm not a welder myself so can't say exactly how hard it is). I'd say best bet would be trying to get the frame replaced on warranty. Or failing that buying a new frame and transferring the components across.

bog_savage

Got a couple of pics this morning. It's actually a Trek 1.5. Might be cheaper pick up a frame than fixing?

minterno

Hi, those lugs are done for, if they had broke off clean without bending they could be welded but they look bent and the grade of aluminum used in them could not be straightened even with heat without being weakened or cracking . its a long shot but if you could source new lugs from trek then they could be welded on. Having said that , if a frame could be sourced reasonably I'd go for it as the repaired one would need painting also

Cee-Jay-Cee

I'd value my own safety more than money and would just bin that frame and buy a new or second hand frame, I don't think i'd ever have full confidence in it knowing its been repaired. The frame itself is nothing special or valuable so why bother risk fixing it?