Cracked water-bottle bolt piece...help

[Vandal]

I have a Proflex 5000.  On my downtube, the piece where the top water-bottle bolt screws into the frame has cracked and now spins freely.  It doesn't come out, but it's cracked off the frame in a circle.  I wouldn't care about this, except that whenever I put a lot of force on the cranks, and the frame flexes, it makes a snapping noise.  The noise stops if you hold the peice down with your finger.  I thought about just drilling it out, but I didn't want any pieces falling into the fame and then there being an open hole in the frame.  Or worse yet, weaken the frame.  I thought about trying to epoxy around it, but I just don't think it will hold for long.  
I talked to a welding shop and they said they would weld it.  I think that's what I'm going to do, but I was wondering if anyone else had any advice.

[Rawwill]

duct tape...
well it depends on how much you love the bike...do remmber that after welding you`ll have a ugly sport there...drilling might not be such a not idea either because it might weaken the frame...try and fit a bigger screw into it..not really sure what to advise you until i see it ...post a picture of it and we`ll all evaluate it i guess.. :p

[Matno]

Do you actually use the bolt for a water bottle? If not, epoxy would definitely take care of your problem. If so, I would think it should still work pretty well. Worth a shot. Much less hassle/damage to your frame than welding will be...

[Mike_Farris]

An alternative is to call up some local bike shops in your area to see if they have a Riv-Nut tool. Most aluminum frames don't have welded bosses... they use a boss that installes much like a pop-rivet. Put the boss to be installed in the tool, insert it into the hole in the frame, and squeeze. Voila... instant water bottle boss.

They're a little cost-prohibitive to buy and install yourself... the tool is around $65.  [smiley=dead.gif]

I would suppose that you can drill the old boss out and install a new one with no problems this way.

Hope this helps...

[pimpbot]

I had the same issue with my used '02 razorback frame. The previous owner told me it was stripped, an easy mistake.

I asked around, and somebody on the mtbr.com group told me to take a long waterbottle bolt (steel) thread a nut onto it, thread it in the boss, hold the bolt with an allen wrench and cranke the bolt down to the frame, pulling the boss up against the nut.

It kinda worked, but was still spinning in the frame.

My next step was to get some JB Weld (which I think is an epoxy) and basically glue that sucker in there. No more spinning or rattling!

I would suggest trying a proper fix first. Ask your LBS what they charge to re-crimp the boss for you with the special tool.

[zulu]

  Your LBS should be able to do it with no problem. My brother bought a new bike and it had a stripped water bottle mount on it they fixed it in about 5 minutes while he was trying on shoes. I dont know if they used a tool or what but it is fixed good a new now and after 3 months there has not been any problems. I hope you get it fixed.
[smiley=beer.gif]