All replies to this post are good - the temporary field fix, the general issues surrounding steel dropouts and the various factors that can lead to failure, the way Riv lives up to its reputation for supporting their products, etc. But I own a Rambouillet of the same vintage as the OP and if something like this ever happened to it I'd have to find a way to get it repainted the same brilliant orange color as the original, even if I had to pay for the paint job myself. I know this kind of flies in the face of the beausage philosophy, but I love that goldish orange they used so much that I'd just have to keep it somehow.
On Wednesday, June 19, 2013 1:46:32 AM UTC-5, oldmangabe wrote: > > I've seen it happen a number of times with a variety of steel bikes over > the years. It's partly due to the stress of that particular joint (lots of > torque due to the drivetrain placement). The other key factor in these > kind of failures is overheating of the dropout/chainstay junction during > brazing which anneals the steal making it more brittle and prone to > possibly failing like this far down the road. Beefing up the dropout may > help, as will changing the dropouts to socket style versus tab dropouts > (like on the Rambs). More important than the beefiness or style of the > dropout, is tighter control of the torch and heat when brazing. It's not a > sign of a bad bike at all, or of shoddy construction or quality control, > it's just what happens to steel frames sometimes. Luckily it is easily > repairable. Like I said, I've seen this happen to the whole gamut of steel > bikes. No reason to worry about your other frames, or to constantly check > your driveside dropouts now. No besmirching of Riv intended, just trying > to add some info to the situation. It's cool you were able to drop the > bike off at Riv and they were able to get it fixed. Riv is good peoples. > > Gabe > > On Monday, June 17, 2013 8:09:57 AM UTC-7, chris wrote: >> >> I was on a ride last Saturday in the Gold Country in CA and the chain >> stay broke through on the drive side at the rear dropout. I bought the Ram >> new in 2003. Fortunately no injury. I stopped at Riv on my way home and >> spoke to Scott who told me to leave the bike and Kevin would get back to me >> today regarding repair which would involve sending the bike to a local >> builder. Scott mentioned that Riv now beefs up the rear dropout area on >> frames. >> >> Has anyone had a similar experience with their Riv.? I've always loved >> the Ram and it appears fixable. Not sure if there is any type of warranty. >> >> Chris >> San Jose >> > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
