fatbikephil wrote: ↑Tue Apr 26, 2022 1:28 pm
Visual QC is fine for a welded frame in most cases......looked like an O'level metal work project....
Have you ever seen a Lancia 037 or Delta S4 up close (80s rally cars for the non-petrol heads) the quality of the welding is shocking. Bad enough at the time but an 037 is £200k+ these days and and S4 even more than that.
I'm sure we could fill a whole thread with bikes that have failed, ti ATR V1 anyone
Thankfully, when you get a bike to test, it's easy to check for quality to some degree; three screws need loosening, to be able to look inside the headtube area (folds and bubbles on carbon, quality of welds on alloys). Check alignments (cage mounts for example). Remove the rear wheel and check how the axle sits. If full suss, remove shock and move the rear end. Remove seatpost and check on eg. the ED treatment (if it's a steel frame) etc.. Takes probably less than an hour for a decent look. Well... decent enough to convince me of the quality. Obviously n = 1, so I also like to chat to mechanics who work on those bikes. Details like ease in changing bearings, installing cups etc. give an indication of the craftmanship behind a frame (or parts).
Without needing to watch Mr. Hambini.
A while back I linked one of his videos on here and thankfully some folks on made clear to me, that there are good reasons to not support him.
When I had a custom ti frame made for expedition riding I asked the manufacturer to provide photos of the frame straight after welding (in this case before bead blasting) to see the (lack) of (blue, dark brown) discolouration.
I guess the end consumer can, to a certain degree, check on the quality her-/himself.
Sean's right on the costs. BB30 tolerances are really tight and it needs to be done as a last stage after the frame has been produced ie a high scrappage rate if the BB shell has been distorted slightly in welding and heat treating, fixture use/accuracy etc, minor inaccuracies that could be fine for a threaded BB.
Easiest way to put him out of business is for bike manufacturers to sort out their QC and tolerances
Or for the bike brands to think carefully before adopting standards that may be unrealistic for mass produced frames. Eg Pivot seem to have a good rep on press fit BBs but they're high end frames, not cheap.
