I’ve FINALLY replaced the downtube of my hardtail frame. If you remember This Post in the Fail Thread, I cracked the 34.9mm Downtube up at the head tube junction November 2024. I left it with a friend in June of last year so he could develop and test his “stuck seat post puller”. He broke 3 versions of that before he could get my seat post unstuck. But about a month ago, he told me he got it out. (grease your seat posts kids)
I cut the old downtube out, and sanded and filed back all the old downtube bits and braze. I measured the distance with a string. (the string didn’t really work but the ol’ eyecrometer did the trick) Cut and mitered the new 38.1mm tube and then brazed it in. Wish I had more photos, but I get in the groove and just charge ahead. I think it’s my ADHD hyper focus mode, let me know if you experience similar.
I reused the cable guides from the old downtube after I torched them off. They are quite crispy, but they only have to hold cables, so it doesn’t matter. And my plans for paint are gonna be quite ugly, so nothing really has to be perfect.
