# '91 Alpinestars Cromega DX



## was (May 28, 2004)

Thought you lot would appreciate this:


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## scant (Jan 5, 2004)

hi Was, yeh thats the same as mine!(mines a 16in) I'm shortly selling mine to a friend as it'll fit him a lot better 

good work!

ta

scant


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## Tracerboy (Oct 13, 2002)

Unfortunately this quality machine is now lying under a tarpaulin in the back garden.
The new owner should be ashamed of himself.

I will try to rescue it from F as soon as possible, don't think it will survive a winter here.


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## scant (Jan 5, 2004)

basil, u r havin it off fluff? he changes his mind so much!

ta

scant


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## darth tracer (Jan 13, 2004)

man i love alpinestars not sure why but just do i broke 2 al mega xt back in the day at the head tube downtube junction


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## EBasil (Jan 30, 2004)

I know of two Cro-Mega LX rigs, in original but used condition (one still with the stock tires) in San Diego. I took my buddies to buy them on a 2-for-1 clearance. Gret deal, but neither bike got a lot of mileage before they either quit or upgraded. I rode an Al-mega at the time.

The Cro-Mega's are heavy like boat anchors.


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## Elevation12000 (Jun 16, 2004)

*Alpinestars Al-Megatroubles*

Inspired by this thread I recently bought myself a ´91 Al-Mega XT. Probably you know it: The Elevated alloy bike in the early nineties paintscheme. A paintscheme I like so much (and many others dislike so much). It´s really near mint except for one thing: There is a crack in the left seatstay. 

I checked the bike very carefully when I bought it cause the reputation of Elevated bikes is not always good. After I inspected the welds and noticed that there was hardly no wear on the entire bike I concluded it must be OK. I paid and left.

Great was my surprise when I cleaned it and noticed a crack 8cm above brake the brakeboss. The crack went almost round the tube. Strange is that it is not near a weld. 

Does somebody know: Is this common for Al-Mega´s? I consider having it welded. Is the frame worth the (small) investment or will it probably collapse again in a few months/weeks/days?

I will post a picture of the bike in future. It looks awesome.


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## Tracerboy (Oct 13, 2002)

*Are you sure there is only 1 crack?*

If the A*s has such a big crak it implies it may have had some serious abuse.
Before getting it welded up I would check throughly the rest of the frame and fork for damage.
From a purely financial point of view it might not be worth getting the frame repaired but if you wish to preserve a little bit of MTB history then go for it.


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## scant (Jan 5, 2004)

gees ange you're getting kinda sensible in yer old age, not like when we worked your proflex over with a cricket bat eh ;D

ta

scant


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## Tracerboy (Oct 13, 2002)

*Proflex was too strong!*

Yes that old Proflex 550 circa 1990 was well built.  
After a severe beating a cricket bat I sold it to an idiot in Girlings and bought the Klein.  Which got nicked!


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## Elevation12000 (Jun 16, 2004)

Basil Brush said:


> If the A*s has such a big crak it implies it may have had some serious abuse.
> Before getting it welded up I would check throughly the rest of the frame and fork for damage.
> From a purely financial point of view it might not be worth getting the frame repaired but if you wish to preserve a little bit of MTB history then go for it.


Thanx for your help!

Probably it´s hard to imagine but besides this crack the bike is really near mint. I ckecked the bike again but couldn´t find another crack.Minimal wear on XT components and the paint is also in very good condition. Why there is crack at the seatstay is really a big questionmark fot me. 

I have to consider weher to restore it. I made a phonecall with Hagen Cycle. Those people also built my Rafty Funnel (see pictures). They ask 25 euro for the repair. As I won´t ending up bankrupt after having it repaired fot this amount of money I will probably have the repair done. Or somebody should standup and tell me that even 25 euros is to much for that, what they consider, piece of sh*t.














































To be continued

Melvin


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

*Wow, 25 Euro for a frame repair*

That's quite a deal!

I would be a bit leary of repairing aluminum frames. I have been told by several small builders that it is not really cost effective to do as the frame should be heat treated again and following that of course it would need a repaint.

I have seen aluminum frames that have just been rewelded fail on 2 occasions.


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## Elevation12000 (Jun 16, 2004)

Shayne,

25 euros is indeed not much, but I have to admit that that is without repaint. I will do the repaint, for as far as needed, myself. The repairer did nothing say about heat treating. 

I will take your knowledge into account and confront the repairer with it before I decide to continue with the ´Alpinestars Al-Mega XT project´. 

Other people out there having experience with repaired alloy frames? I am very interested in hearing your stories.

Melvin


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## Elevation12000 (Jun 16, 2004)

Maybe it´s better to make a separate thread for this subject. I´ll name it: _Alloy frame repairsoes it make sense?_


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## Elevation12000 (Jun 16, 2004)

*My recently acquired Al-Mega XT*

Here a pic of my Al-Mega XT. The crack can´t seen on this picture (to small).










I still would appreciate receiving info on cracked Al-Megas or repairing alloy bikes in general.

Melvin


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## Elevation12000 (Jun 16, 2004)

*Alpinestars Al-Megatroubles*

Basil Brush,

a few days ago you wrote:



> Are you sure there is only 1 crack?
> 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> ...


Today I removed all the components. After that I inspected the frame and fork a bit closer. It seems that what you faired is actually the case. At some places very small things can be seen in the surface of the paint. Probably they are there cause of minor cracks under the paint(of which none of them are near a weld!  ). I am not 100% sure wether they are cracks or the irregularities are just in the paint, but honestly I don´t give my Al-Mega the benifit of the (little) doubt. I could remove the paint to be 100% sure, but that doesn´t make the make the bike look prettier (especially when you consider I lose some decals) and I will end up with even more work. I think it is Al-Mega RIP.

This project made me aware of one thing: This frame and fork may look nice, but they are probably the crappiest ever made. Imagine: Near mint XT groupo, rims almost not touched by the cantis, original tires which look almost never ridden, bright paintwork (except for those very small things cause of cracks) and the frame is totally gone!

So I end up with a frame and fork I can display on my closet. Fortunately I also end up with more valuable parts which I can use on another frame or as replacementpart on one of my other bikes.  If I go for the first option I definately would consider a CroMega. That steel rig really can stand some abuse. Unfortunately there aren´t many in Holland.

A GT Bravado or Psyclone would be a nice option to. Or maybe another Fat. A Wicked preferably.

Melvin


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