Fixing a broken/disintegrated clamp


Whilst searching for the source of an annoying squeak, Andi, however, found a much more serious problem: A clamp holding the chassis and frame together hat all but disintegrated!

Major parts missing
Major parts missing

 
This might come from the fact that from time to time I’m driving my TWIKE slightly outside of its design envelope…

For example here in Poland for hours on end..

And here in India…

Fortunately, there is a simple solution to this problem that doesn’t take long to implement and will definitely last for a long time. A second clamp goes around the previous one and holds the remaining pieces in place.

New clamp in place
New clamp in place

 
New vs. old clamp close-up
New vs. old clamp close-up

 
This option is far better than the one usually employed which consists of drilling holes through the original crossbar and main chassis support tube. Yikes!

Following image shows you a clamp before it has completely disintegrated i.e. how mine looked like before 🙂

Pre-emptive repair example
Pre-emptive repair example

 
From now on, I’ll be checking the other clamp regularly…another thing on my ever-growing list of important TWIKE parts to check from time to time.

Upper part of clamp, Tidy assembly.
Upper part of clamp, Tidy assembly.

 
Inside the TWIKE, the modification is barely visible. Definitely a solution I like.

Ready for another 234'000 km?
Ready for another 234’000 km?

 
Well, at least we’re ready for our second yearly pan-European TWIKE adventure, TDST2017!

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