LG wrote:WyvernRH wrote:
I think you are right sadly. Not unfixable tho if you don't mind losing paint.
I was brought a frame where someone (Mr Monkey Wrench possibly...) had drilled thru the down tube to mount a bottle cage. We fixed it permanently by re-sizing and finishing the holes and ten brazing bidon cage mounts into the tube top and bottom. Bike is still running around 20 odd years later. The owner has plastic plugs in the bottom bidon mounts to keep the water out.
Richard
Along a similar line, my current commuting/touring bike is an old Gemini world randonnuer which I stripped back and repainted a few years ago. The paint had hidden a mistake from the factory where the holes for the bidon cage had been drilled in the wrong end of the down tube (on top of down tube near the shifers) and had been brazed over. Seems to still be going strong after 30 odd years without cracking. Yes, shame about the paint with this one for a repair.
Well.... if you clean the holes up to a suitable diameter and make sure there are no cracks, dags or other stress raisers you could glue the bidon bosses in with some serious industrial two part glue. This would probably work fine as the tube is suitably reinforced but on your head be the results, glues of this sort are dodgy to apply for the inexperienced so I'm not recommending this fix or anything
Richard