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© Eugene Brennan
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The
results of 6000 miles on bad roads and trails on the spring bar of my
mountain bike saddle! The saddle was nice and comfortable, so as a
challenge, I decided to weld it with stainless steel rods. I lost the
other section, but replaced it with a piece of similar diameter spring
bar from a camp bed. The other bar in the saddle broke later from
fatigue, but I didn't lose the bar and was able to weld it too. This was
in 2014 and so far so good, it hasn't broken since. The reason it broke
was probably because I had the seat cantilevered too far backwards on
the supporting clamp.
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| © Eugene Brennan |
Metal fatigue
occurs when a material is repeatedly stressed, potentially resulting in
failure (like when you bend a piece of wire or paper clip backwards and
forwards and it eventually snaps). Critical components in structures
and aircraft need to be inspected regularly and often X-rayed to
establish whether there are any fatigue issues.
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| © Eugene Brennan |
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| © Eugene Brennan |
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| © Eugene Brennan |
