A sad sad story....

[Joe]

Hi guys, sorry I haven't been more involved here lately. Anyway just figured I'd share my sad story with ya'll.
My Evo had developed a bad creak coming from the nondrive crank with power, so I figured last Sunday to pull out the BB, grease the threads and generally see whats up. So I pull off the cranks, then the non drive BB cup, then move onto the driveside. Well I got it half way out no problem, then it got tough, real tough. I got it 3/4 out and knew why it was so hard. and My baby is probably dead! SAD... so sad. I dont know what happened, honestly, I don't understand the why or how, this happened. It wasnt (couldn't have been) cross-threaded, and it was torqued correctly upon installation last midsummer. I have a thread going on mtbr's drivetrain forum, seeing if anyone had any good ideas on fixes and causes. Some good stuff coming in on possible remedies.
Anyway LBS is gonna give it a shot at retapping but doesn't have much hope, nor do I. It's REALLY bad!!! I played on a Tirade 4 while he and I were talking, I'm thinking it'll be my next baby. It's really plush! He made an inquiry to K2 on the frame cost (thats all I need).
So.. If it is dead... Who needs a blue powdercoated alum swingarm? Is $50 to much to ask? including pivots etc etc? Wait wait thats not set in stone!!! Don't get any hopes up yet!!!!  Take care, Joe

poor baby.......

[Carbon_Angus]

.... [smiley=diaper.gif] sometimes I have seen a few BB where the threads are just a wee bit off. it's goes in..but...but...but

did you put the bb in or your LBS? it looks (to me) that it was crossed going in.

either way your bike IS  [smiley=dead.gif], unless your LBS is a miracle worker

they only upbeat thing i can say is there are many other bikes to fall in   with

sad, yes though

hang onto the swingarm, somebody here might need it...

[keen]

  I am not familiar w/ bike thread repairs but I'd try a re-thread w/ a new BB cup and see if it holds the torque. If not I'd find a fabricator/ welder to build up the aluminum w/ a tig welder then grind/ cut some new threads.

[Vitaliy]

Hi sorry to hear about your bike, my Idea my sound stupid, but I guess it worth a try (If I wrong please let me know).

What if you'l  use JB Weld or what ever that liqid welding thing called. I mean if you put it on, and re tread it. I heard some people used it to repair engine block cracks with success. Also Keen idea seems to be right.

Let Us know how it turns out.

Vitaliy.

[Old Proflexer]

i feel your pain and i hate it when that happens

looks like you picked up a soft spot burr on the way out and it got messed up really bad.

definitely try to retap, looks like a substantial amount of threading is left in the bb housing - maybe find a way to take advantage of the good remaining deepset threads.

yes, please let us know how good the doctors are - retapping is worth a try

OP

[Joe]

O.P.--- Thats what my LBS thinks, I caught something coming out.

Bob (my LBS http://souhegancycleworks.com ) is closed tomorrow, but I'll be down there tues to see if any progress had been made and to find out the $ of a Tirade 4.0 frame. Anyone know the I to I of the shock? Any reviews from mags? Etc etc etc, it was uber-plush, plusher than my baby with a Van RC.
                              Thanks for all the suggestions, Joe

[Phillip]

If the rethreading doesn't work, you could install a new BB with an epoxy like Marine Tex or JB. The BB would be permanently installed, but that's better than throwing out the frame and spending the $ on a new one. You could still get several years or more out of the frame! If you end up having to go this route, buy a new, high quality BB because it's going to need to last the life of the frame. I sucessfully did this to a road frame and it held for thousands of miles, until it was stolen.

[Irby]

Joe, I'd worry less about that problem than a crack in a weld. There are several options available to fix a quality bottom bracket in your frame. I have a friend that bought an XT BB 10 years ago that still spins like it's new. As a last resort, you could epoxy a new BB in there. A good machine shop my be able to replace the threading. I would say in terms of options you could investigate:
a) retap, adding teflon tape to help secure the BB
b) machine shop insert
c) epoxy in a high-quality BB...That'd be my last choice since it would be a "last ditch" and permanent job. You will probably want a new bike by then or will be able to acquire a new/used front triangle to replace your injured EVO frame. Good luck. Dan

[pedro]

I beleive a machine shop can fix that problem. If you give up I may be interested on your frame, with the vanilla rc shock. Let me know..

[Mike_Farris]

There's one other thing you may want to try, if the machine shop route doesn't work out... talk to someone who builds frames. I've been lurking on the Framebuilders mailing list for a while, and it's amazing to see what kind of solutions these guys come up with for solving that seem unfixable.

There's a shop that's associated with Airglow Painting (saw their work, and was thinking of having them do something for me) called Wildframe. Their webpage is at http://www.mindspring.com/%7Esk8mtb/bicycleframerepair.html

Hope you can get your ride back...