Technical & Reference Section > Tech and Restoration

Repair or replace Landing Gear?

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duncan:
Three votes for a repair - that seems to be the general concensus.
I agree it's the right thing to do, save the original f&f if at all possible, but cost would be a factor.

The dropout itself is cracked, not just the weld. Would this be repairable? Cut away the damaged part and weld in a filling piece then mill down?
I wouldn't be happy just filling any gap with weld. (edit: I imagine the crack itself would be 'raked out' then filled with weld - never thought of this!)

Making a completely new dropout wouldn't be a trivial task if it is to match up with the other one, and I would want it to match exactly.
It would take a fair bit of time, and could it be done using the original materials (Cr-Mo)?

I'm not trying to get free advice, I would have to rely on someone else to do this.
I'm thinking about repair costs vs. replacement costs - if it encroaches on the price of a NOS set then is it sensible to attempt a repair?
I suppose it's a case of how much am I willing to pay to retain my original bike, and would replacement forks spoil its feel of 'originality'.

Probably the above are questions for someone who would be doing the repair, I'll ask again when I've checked out the frame condition. Thanks.

oberonspacefruit:
get a few quotes.

should be tigged really

duncan:
Thanks Oberon,
I'll look into that. The more I think about it, the more I see it makes sense to get the originals fixed if possible.

sawzall:
shouldnt be to difficult to do, make a cardboard template(corn flake box) get it cut out in cro-mo then get it tig welded should cost less than a replacement set of lg

duncan:
Good idea, if I can find a piece of Cr-Mo the right thickness this would be an option, I'll check around.

I'm still hoping that the original dropouts could be retained after removal and repair, or similarly I could find a donor set of Landing Gears (perhaps a broken set that someone has) and remove a dropout from them to replace my cracked one.
Are there any inherent problems with re-using a dropout that's previously been welded? Lack of metal where the welding was carried out before (can't tell at the moment if the weld 'eats into' the dropout), or loss of strength from welding twice?

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