Sunday, March 06, 2011

The Waltsa


Chris did some destructive testing on his La Cruz - the garage won, though the bike got some good punches in. I thought this picture of the before/after (I replaced the front end for him) was kind of cool. Interesting that the frame buckled in two different directions, too.

9 comments:

La Salsa Nostra said...

what happened to the downtube, above the buckled section? I am imagining that was prior to the incident with the garage?

Mitch said...

Hey Walt- Nice repair. Do you plan any evaluation of the old front end? I remember an entry on Rody's blog about a Salsa top tube repair, and he reported that when he removed the paint he found that the mill scale wasn't even cleaned off the tubes before the frame was welded. I'd be curious to hear your comments on the construction of the original front end. Finally, great blog, but more recipes and non-bike content please! -Mitch

NickS said...

I have to ask:

What was the reason for fixing this frame? I appreciate that the La Cruz was a nice OX Platinum tubed frame and is no longer made.

But as it does not have custom geometry, was it financially better for custom frame builder to to fix this frame over buying another second hand? Assuming one could be sourced. Or perhaps it was not a financial decision and more of a sentimental one?

I'm not criticising, I'm genuinely interested. I certainly have had bikes that have had more sentimental value over financial value, but have never had the dilemma of having to think about repairing them.

Feldy said...

I'd call it the Salt

Walt said...

LSN - I removed the old STI stops and reused them. So that's the result of me applying the torch to the old frame.

Mitch - The existing front end seemed to be built quite competently to me.

Nick - I think there was some sentimental attachment, maybe, but you'd have to ask Chris. I know they are no longer made, so that might have something to do with it.

mike said...

what is the idea behind the extra bit of tubing by the disc tab on the back? stiffness? if so, i am surprised that my frame does not have one, because i put out some serious wattage.
by the way, amazing repair job. good to know this can be done.

Chris said...

Nick,

Looked pretty hard for a used or new replacement La Cruz or a comparable different frame; couldn't find one at a price that made sense.

Walt was awesome; looking forward to getting the frame back this week.

Chris

NickS said...

Chris,

Sounds like a good choice to me.
I'm of the old school of thinking, once you find something that works, stick with it.

Nick.

Fort James said...

Not to mention being able to Reduce waste by Re-using parts of the existing frame and Recycling the remainder. I am impressed that you moved a braze-on cable guide from the old frame.

I would call it a "SAL-t Works"!