Hi everyone, today I bought this MXL at a price that allowed for taking chances. Such as these cracks in the seatstays. My money is on someone using the wrong seat post diameter. I don’t have experience with frame repair. Would this worry you, and is this a quick fix? Thanks!
by HostPersonal8148
8 Comments
https://preview.redd.it/52hyq33d0hqe1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=00f1b7f1d633160a389cbc850a9b313435368097
https://preview.redd.it/llmygpke0hqe1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d3430111088869c196f280c3e2f3d5b8642bf200
I’m not a pro but a framebuilder can definitely fix that for sure. As will it be a quick fix? Probably not.
Yeah the seatstays are separating from the seat lug, which renders the bike not rideable. Re the cause, it kind of looks like the way it’s joined means doesn’t have enough surface area to be strong enough, especially since the Columbus MAX seatstays are already super thin as it is. The tubes are just milled and it looks like the hollow ends were brazed onto the lug – not a lot of contact.
Can totally be fixed by a frame builder and there is someone likely local to you but it will require metal and paint work so the repair will likely have a longer turn around time especially depending on how busy your builder is.
That’s the welds failing. That’s the welds fault, not the post or clamp.
The seat stays to tube joint likely failed due to a lack of brass/silver filler in the joint. Both seatstays have also cracked. You might maybe be able to reflow the joint after thorough cleaning, if it’s silver you’re unlikely to get it clean enough. The real fix is a pair of stays and a respray. You could also potentially fit a set of top eyes/seat stay caps to the seatstays to save the labour of full replacement but it’s not the ideal placement for top eyes
I wonder if that was made at lunchtime on a Friday. Doesn’t look like there was a lot of filler on the back of the seat lug. A framebuilder can fix it fairly easily. Note that the stays are cracking at the end of the section that is still well-attached.