Steel versus Ti

[Roubaix]

Well the Ti most likly wouldnt have broke in the first place so Cooter couldnt get his hands on it. LOL Bet his best welds are on thin walled tubing. LMAO

[mcslain]

you wrote "The myth is than anybody with a torch can repair a steel frame."  i never singled you out as a proponent of this idea though, i just commented on the fact that this idea had been brought up.  its really not a big deal though, daveb.  

regardless... to answer your questions.

>how did "Cooter" do at welding thin wall Cr-Mo

beats the heck out of me.  i'm a rider not a frame builder or even a gearhead.

>how well did he maintain your frame's alignment

well enough that i could ride it w/o any noticeable alignment issues.  

>The bike got you through but I'd be very surprised if it was a good repair

exactly, the bike got me through.  that was the point of my story.  as for whether it was a good repair... it was a garage that looked like it was right off the dukes of hazard set.  of course it wasn't a "good repair."  it was good enough to get me home though, which was kinda important after having put in 4K miles already.  when i got home, specialized replaced the frame for me.  

>BTW, any well-equipped welding shop can also properly weld Ti

yes... but i didn't have Ti, and i wasnt at a well equiped welding shop.

hope this clears up any confusion or hard feelings caused by my remarkably simple story.
-mark

[biker_james]

Actually, its kind of refreshing to hear from someone that this has actually happened to. Lots of stories about it, but not much in real life events involvong fixing a frame on the road. Hasn't convinced me to trade in my Cannondale yet though. I think that even if riding a steel frame, I would WANT to get to a proper welding shop to get my frame repaired, not depend on Farmer Joe to not vapourize a big chunk of steel, or weld it up crooked. I could probably hitch hike or bus to a real town pretty quick. And if the frames not fixable- I'm sure a credit card and a phone can find you a new frame pretty quick, cause either way you'll probably want one.

[Roubaix]

Thats what is nice about Carbon,disposable. Break it,throw it away and get a new onw. LOL BTW,got my new Roubaix and so far its a joy to ride.

[DaveB]

hope this clears up any confusion or hard feelings caused by my remarkably simple story.
-mark

Hey, no hard feelings and I wasn't "attacking" your report.  My point was that this is an extremely rare occurance and I wouldn't choose my frame material based on the likelihood of needing a field repair.

Actually, bikes are pretty tolerant devices and can be ridden adequately after some pretty crude repairs, as your experience demonstrates.  However, as biker_james noted, unless you are in a remote part of the third world, you can get a lift to a town with a well equipped shop and have the repair done properly on any metal frame.  

Carbon is a whole different story and I don't know of any maker of carbon touring frames. I assume there is a good reason.  

[Roubaix]

Really,the only carbon bikes are performance/racing so maybe its a market they just havent scratched yet.