I’m guessing this was caused by a crash by a previous owner. There’s no cracks or significant corrosion and I have since given it a coat of rust converter and touch up paint. It’s made of Reynolds 853 steel so it should be able to take a hit, and I really don’t want to junk this beautiful Cotic Soul frame.
by CRA_55
6 Comments
I don’t think its too much of a problem. If you ever crash the bike HARD, probably this will be the failure point, but I wouldn’t expect it to fail under normal conditions. Steel is quite forgiving, would ride it day’n nite.
Man, I wouldn’t worry about that ever.
I mean, you can keep an eye on it if you want, but the disc mount on there will be acting like a gusset adding significant strength.
If you start to see a crack that follows the general line of the weld (will probably appear like a rusty hairline), then you can get it welded again.
Steel is almost indestructible & almost endlessly repairable.
Ride on, my friend.
Probably fine, just keep an eye on it
Clean it up and give it some touch-up paint.
There are rust protection paints, such as Hammerite, in many different shades. They may not be cheap, but they are good. These paints contain a small amount of phosphoric acid. This phosphoric acid converts the FeO (=rust) into a stable phosphorus oxide that does not change any further. Processing is very simple. Smooth the area slightly with fine sandpaper, but do not sand off the rust, and apply the paint directly to the rust. This “repair” then lasts a very long time before it has to be renewed.
Had this been aluminium, I would have been mildly concerned and kept an eye out once in a while. But considering that this is steel, I wouldn’t give it a second thought.
However, as others mentioned, do take care of that rust first.