My Ti Lynskey has cracked!

[Anthony]

So after nearly 3 years of sterling service, my favourite bike of all time has cracked :(

1/2" split, running lengthways down the side of the top-tube about an inch in front of the seat-tube intersection. A tubing failure rather than a weld. I'm only 10st :!:

Email being drafted to see what Chain Reaction have to say regards warranty.

Gutted, I've some fond memories from that frame, I really hope they will repair/replace it. My frame-bag won't fit a new bike

[didnothingfatal]

:( Just think new toy!! :D

[Nick]

That's not right is it, I'd be very disappointed :( hope CR / Lynskey do the right thing.

[Ian]

:( *sigh*

That's the third ti frame failure I've heard of/ seen in the last two months.
Hope you can get it sorted...

[numplumz]

Very sad feel for you, in a similar situation.
Coming to the conclusion that titanium is NOT the material its cracked (sic) up to be for longevity for a mountainbike frame.
Have seen so many Ti tube cracks on bikes that get regular use for the purpose intended (polishing posers dont count)
I work in the power industry and talking to welding specialists they say all welded titanium has to be shot peened to relieve the stresses created in the tubes by the weld process, otherwise its not used.
They also reckon any excess heat in the weld process also seriously deteriates the tubes, heat sinks should be used which I think only really custom builders bother with.

I won't be buying another one anyway.

[Anthony]

If they won't honour the warranty Ill look at having it repaired. It's already looking proper ratty so any sound bodge will do.

At £1300 it has put me off buying ti again I have to say. That and I can no longer afford ti again, it was very much a once in lifetime purchase

[Anthony]

[Bearbonesnorm]

Ian and me had a conversation about Ti frames and the number of breakages around Christmas time. Between us we could count quite a few and a bit of a pattern started to form. Firstly all the frames had been run singlespeed at some point and they'd all been used for bikepacking to an extent ... could it be a factor?

I put a post up last year which questioned the number of Ti frames that were breaking. At the time Aidan said he believed it was more to do with 'race' frames breaking regardless of material ... 8 months or so on and I'm not so sure.

Hope you get it sorted Anthony, it's far too much money to just hang on a wall.

[Ian]

Remains to be seen how mine comes back, but two things are certain and another probably likely:
1) I know it has broken and it will look like it has been repaired, and I will not have the confidence in it post-repair.
2) Its second hand value will be reduced virtually to nil
3) It'll probably break again somewhere else...

If I were to replace I have absolutely no idea what I'd get, titanium or otherwise. The Pegasus is/was such a beautiful frame to ride, I think I'd struggle to find something to better it.

[Anthony]

It's been built-up for everything, that's what I loved- it was/is so versatile. It's been my only bike for over a year now, everything else never got a look in.

Bikepacking, singlespeed, 1x9, uber light sub 20lb xc race whippet, burly 2.5" High Roller Peaks/Lakes bruiser.

I feel a lot sad.

Ian I didn't know your's had gone, where?

[Ian]

Mine went on the Bear Bones 200, as far as I can tell (it went out in style :D ), between the seat stays at the junction with the seat tube.

[Anthony]

Crap, the Pegasus was such an elegant bike. That was ages ago :?:

[Ian]

I took a month or so off after the BB200 with a sore knee and the Peg languished a bit in the garage covered in dirt from that ride. I contacted Singular mid November after I finally cleaned the bike and noticed the crack. Got it posted back to Singular just before Christmas. As far as I know it's now in Italy being repaired, and I'm hoping to get it back at the end of next month...

[Bearbonesnorm]

Out of interest, does anyone have any first hand experience of cracking a steel frame?

[Ian]

There's a guy who rides road bikes in Brecon who breaks steel frames as a matter of routine... He's quite a big fellow though

[99percentchimp]

Washed the Ti Voodoo after Mach n Back today - a bit concerned after all the posts I've seen too on here and STW. Two falls on ice on MnB and I'm a biffa too - I don't think I've seen any issues but when I see mention of cracks under seat stays and the pictures of really fine hair line cracks it make me want to leave the mud on and not look!

[bod]

I've had a Setavento (short lived custom ti frame company made in China) since 2007, it's done over 50,000 miles, mostly commuting but also weekend road rides, off road commutes at times, twice a week off roading when it's not too muddy (because I'm a wuss), fully loaded touring and all sorts of other stuff.
No problems so far touch wood but having said that it is made of plain gauge tubing which leads me my point; sounds like Lynskey et al are using cheaper welded seam tubing and it's failing at the seam. I've also heard of quite a few frames cracking mid tube recently rather than in the more common heat affected zone. I've never trusted Lynskey, all that rubbish about twisted, funny shaped tubes makes them sound like they're all about marketing rather than building with strength and low weight in mind.
Anyway, hope they honour the warranty and you get it sorted soon dude!

[Blackhound]

Sorry to hear your ti frame is broken Ian.

If money is not a factor what about 953? Not many use it so no idea of its longevity. A few builders are using it such as Rourke and Mercian. They could build a frame to match a Pegasus or anything else for that matter.

After my house move if funds allow I may consider a new frame, but it will be steel. Hope to go along to Bespoked for a look around. Leave my wallet at home though;-)

[markenduro]

Ti is rather nice to ride, although I have broken 2 linskey built ti frames in the last few years, one ti456 which had the non drive side dropout failure (quite a few of the early ones did this) and the ti29er cracked on the down tube near to the head tube, the 456 was replaced under warranty and the 29er repaired.
I wouldn't personally buy another ti frame as although they are nice to ride, they are pricey and technology/geometry/standards move on, I struggled to get new forks for the 456 at a reasonable price as it does not have a tapered head tube and the same goes for the 29er, although this is my rigid SS bike now.

[Anthony]

Mark, how long did it take to get sorted?

CRC are picking mine up on Weds.

[Aidan]

Bummer to hear about your Lynskey.

I've had 4 Ti frames fail in 2 years, so I'm not so sure about Ti any more. Rides great, but there don't seem to be many long-lived hard-ridden Ti frames around.

Every non-steel frame I've ever owned has broken. <- There's an answer in there somewhere

[pedalhead]

Sorry to hear about your frame failure. I've had my own Ti saga over the past 6 months (Aidan & Ian know all about it), so I feel your pain. I do wonder whether some of these really lightweight frames are up to the job of hard off-road riding. The likes of Lynskey, and the Nevi Pegasus are coming in at just over 3lbs. There have got to be some pretty thin tubes going on to achieve that frame weight. The "magic carpet ride" of the Pegasus is pretty special, though almost certainly down to the huge amount of flex in the frame imho (not necessarily a bad thing depending on the intended purpose). I've not ridden a Lynskey but considering they are a similar weight I wouldn't be surprised if the characteristics are similar.

In the end I managed to score a custom Ti frame, beefed up with stronger tubing & a few nice little features for multi-day riding. The trade-off was an extra half a pound in weight, which isn't noticeable, and a much stiffer ride, which is. Time will tell if this one survives. Good luck with yours!

[Ian]

After over two months of wating, I got an email from Sam about my frame:

It's here! Just boxing it up now to go out tomorrow. It looks great - also has new chainstays and dropouts and a re-done downtube logo, completely re-finished frame. Basically looks brand new.

After my initial reticence towards a riding a repaired frame, I now can't wait to get it back :D

08/03/2012 05:43:00 :: Out For Delivery :: SWANSEA GB

I'm nearly dizzy with anticipation here

[pedalhead]

Brilliant! About bloody time too though. Enjoy!

[Ian]

Yeah, but if they've done such a thorough job a Sam describes, it'll have been worth the wait :)