The exploding orange

[TGCOTF-dewey]

I've seen a few frames let go over the years...indeed my old riding group had a head tube from a failed frame mounted on a base as a crash of the month trophy years ago.

But blimey, that lets go in spectacular fashion.

https://youtu.be/l0SwNvdv198?si=B-E9jZGs6z9PTXvn

[trails]

nuts isn't it...looks like he rode over a claymore!

[TGCOTF-dewey]

Isn't it just. It fails in so many places, it's bonkers.

Makes you wonder if it's weld (heat) related on the monocoque thickness just isn't thick enough. He looks a beefy fella.

[gazza285]

He says he was catching his pedals a lot more than normal on the start of the run, sounds like his rear shock was too soft, which then bottomed out on the heavy landing. This would rotate the seat tube, leading to the frame failure, once the triangulation is lost, then breaking other bits off is not surprising with the forces involved.

[5s Alive]

Repetitive heavy stress loading must eventually take its toll and there could also have been a pre-existing manufacturing defect.

I have one of the original Boardman F/S that has been subjected to impacts just as hard but undoubtedly not as often as this. The Boardman is a cross country bike and not designed for enduro type riding but has been hammered over the last 10yrs or so and is still holding up well. Carbon, titanium and aluminium everywhere - I was a bit of a weight weenie and only a few lbs over 10st myself.

I do check regularly for fractures as I cracked the first frame at the top seat tube pivot in less than a year but then discovered that the bottom shock mount was out of line on the replacement frame also! This caused a twisting moment of the seat tube under full compression, leading I think to the weld fracture. I shimmed out the discrepancy with a nylon washer on the replacement frame.

I've had two heavy impacts on the second frame, one blew the rear shock and the other shattered the seat post clamp, fracturing my sternum in the process. The frame however escaped unscathed.

[TGCOTF-dewey]

What made suspect heat stress was where it's failed. Stress risers around the welds.

You could both be right though if the bottoming has put too much turning moment through the frame.

[5s Alive]

With the shock valve core removed and pushing the rear suspension through it's full travel, I could feel resistance from the bearings and shock at the bottom of its travel. Not much but it was there and disappeared once shimmed. I've no doubt that there were also stress points at the welds.

Anyone tackling the gnarly stuff needs to closely examine their frames after any hard hits.

[mike9009]

Wow, that is catastrophic.

To me it looks like the welds did not fail?? A couple of the pieces look like they failed mid section, unless I am not understanding it correctly.

Years ago when I was a teenager, I had the head tube welds fail in an altercation with a fallen tree's trunk. Luckily I was flung into the fallen tree's (conifer) foliage and had a soft landing. So, I was completely unscathed other than some minor scratches.....

I am not so brave nowadays......

[5s Alive]

Yes, the weld fracture was my bike. The Orange has failed at the point of the top and down tubes subjected to the highest loads by the fork/ headtube assembly. Fatigued through long term high impacts I suspect, possibly aided by a manufacturing defect.

ETA
There doesn't have to be a manufacturing fault, there are limits to what any frame can withstand.

Edited by 5s Alive on Friday 11th October 17:47

[joema]

Hate that sound of being winded.

wtf though. Pretty poor show from Orange if that is the case. I've cracked a few in the past and they've always helped but that was 20 years ago when they weren't in financial bother.

Guess there was a pre-existing failure and that drop was the final straw. No idea where you would be pursuing them for compensation. Not sure I'd be happy being injured as a result of something I paid for in good faith. And then not even getting a new frame as a result.

The recent video from Pivot detailing what the issues were when Bernard Kerr snapped his prototype seemed a sensible route forward when detailing negative press and agree with his suggestion of investigating it.

[Craikeybaby]

It is bad form from Orange. It was bad timing as Orange were going through their restructuring/whatever it was, so I can see how stuff like that slips through the cracks. When when they already have a poor reputation, they should really keep on top of stuff like this.

On the other hand, they proactively warrantied my frame a few years ago when I sent it back to the factory for a colour change - I had checked it over before sending it back, and hadn't noticed anything untoward. But they found something and replaced the frame, in the colour of my choice FOC.