Wisper Wisper Bike rack cracked

[oregon]

Hi all

I have a Wisper 2019. In the last year, the rack frame which came as part of the bike has broken on both sides of the bike.

This means the whole rack makes a terrible noise every time I ride over the smallest bump in the road, of which there are many in the UK.

I spoke to Wisper who informed me that the rack frame is excluded from the warranty. Really don't understand that, as it comes as part of the bike as standard.

I was told it would cost £72.50 to buy a replacement and that there is no stock currently. That was a few months ago, I have sent emails recently asking for an update and now Wisper is ignoring me!

I have tried holding the two broken parts together with a clasp but it comes loose. I was told it cant be welded either due to the nature of the metal used.

I have attached photos of the broken rack frame. Does anyone have any ideas on what I could do?

Many thanks

 

[guerney]

What's the inner diameter of the tube, and can you pull the break apart far enough to slide a short copper rod inside, bent in the middle to the right angle? Then drill through the tube ends and copper rod after pressing the break together, bolts though and nyloc nuts to secure? I'm sure others will come up with better suggestions.

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GRADE: C101. SIZES AVAILABLE : 2mm to 12mm. The first 2 cuts are free (tolerance is + or - 2mm), any further cutting may incur a minimal fee. (cutting, polishing, powder coating etc).

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Aluminium rods are also quite easy to bend. Vice > hammer.

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All of the aluminium round bar is supplied in grade 6082T6 apart from the 3/16” dia which is in grade 6063AT6. Aluminium Round Bar. It can be machined, has very good corrosion resistance, can be welded and is good for drilling, turning & tapping.

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[matthewslack]

It looks like aluminium, so it has probably failed due to a fatigue crack originating at the inside of the bend.

I would add a support hoop from the lower mounting bolts each side up to the rearmost bolt under the battery. Stainless steel strip, about 25 or 30 mm wide, maybe 3mm thick.

 

[saneagle]

Hi all

I have a Wisper 2019. In the last year, the rack frame which came as part of the bike has broken on both sides of the bike.

This means the whole rack makes a terrible noise every time I ride over the smallest bump in the road, of which there are many in the UK.

I spoke to Wisper who informed me that the rack frame is excluded from the warranty. Really don't understand that, as it comes as part of the bike as standard.

I was told it would cost £72.50 to buy a replacement and that there is no stock currently. That was a few months ago, I have sent emails recently asking for an update and now Wisper is ignoring me!

I have tried holding the two broken parts together with a clasp but it comes loose. I was told it cant be welded either due to the nature of the metal used.

I have attached photos of the broken rack frame. Does anyone have any ideas on what I could do?

Many thanks

I repaired a motorbike rack that broke when I accidentally tried to drive away with my lock through the rack and wheel. It lasted many years after the repair. I simply bandaged it with fibreglass. It didn't look fantastic, but it was functional. You can always paint it afterwards. You could stuff some inside the tube as well for extra strength.

 

[Ocsid]

I would fit a triangular gusset on each external side, much like but larger than the existing pannier bottom clip ones.
These I would cut from aluminium sheet (like this example) fixing them with pop rivets. I would exploit the full 120mm width of the example sheet, the larger basically here the better functionally enabling say four equally spaced pop rivets on each side of the triangle. On completion Hammerite paint to match or to complimentarily contrast.

Edit: It would IMO do no harm to bed the gussets onto the tubes with a good polyurethane bonding agent like one of the more available Sikaflex products. Obviously having thoroughly degreased the bonding surfaces immediately before making the joint. Then when "set" make the pop rivet holes and fix the rivets again with a smear of the bonding product. I would have very locally scrapped the paint off the tubes, so the bond is directly to the aluminum tube not the paint, it is a stronger joint made that way and the bonding agent will readily replace the corrosion protection the paint had previously given.

 

[Bonzo Banana]

I don't think this was ever a warranty issue. You normally only get 1-3 years max for general parts etc and only the main frame and rigid forks go beyond that. I assume this is a bolt on rack to the main frame. As for welding is it heat treated aluminium? It might be possible to weld it if you have the skill and equipment as it may not be heat treated anyway and even if it is, it might still be worth doing. Also what is the clamp in one of the images is the bike being suspended by a repair stand by its rack? If so surely that would be out of normal use. Apologies if its not that I couldn't make out what that clamp was clamped to the rack.

As for the repair itself many of my fixes aren't very elegent so would probably use wood inside each tube as tight as possible with glue to keep it in shape, then wrap around some thin metal plate (just thin enough to bend around) glued as well and secure with a couple small hose clips each side before painting over. To be honest though most of my fixes revolve around what I can find at the time.

I personally don't think it would be fair to expect Wisper to replace this rack free of charge. It's obviously quite a high value part and well out of its guarantee period I would of thought.

 

[nigelbb]

I agree that after five years this isn't a warranty issue but it's pretty poor that Wisper cannot sell you a replacement rack. It looks like your bike is a Wisper 905 which is a current model. Surely they should have spares?

 

[Waspy]

Why can't a gusset be welded over the broken part of the rack?

Clearly the lower pannier attachment point has been welded on.

I'd be inclined to to the rack off and take it to a welding shop and ask their advice.

Also, you might want to stop using the rack as the attachment point for your bike stand.

But in the meantime if the only problem you're having is noise, how about wedging a piece of rubber between the broken points of the rack?

 

[Ghost1951]

Given that the rack is carrying the battery and that this was sold as an ebike, I think it is a bit much that the supplier doesn't treat it as part of the bike. It isn't an ancillary part added on if you bought it as an ebike and the rack carries the battery. It clearly isn't up to the job of carrying the weight if it broke.

 

[matthewslack]

When aluminium is welded, it needs to be heat treated afterwards, otherwise strength in the vicinity of the weld is reduced. Straightforward during production, not so easy after a repair.

The most common failure with aluminium parts is fatigue, and that always starts at a stress concentration, for example a place where the cross section changes abruptly. Combine that with high load, and failure is only a matter of time.

Zoom in and look at the far side, you can see the crack starts right at the edge of the mounting tab weld, which is right next to the bend that is heavily loaded over every bump as the battery weight acts on it.



Welding a gusset on might give a short term fix, but it is likely to break again at the edge of the gusset weld. A gusset fixed by rivets will fail at a rivet hole.

A gusset fixed in a way not involving welds or holes will be successful!

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Good morning,

We are waiting for those particular racks to arrive, unfortunately we ran out of stock recently, we have two racks that are very similar, the ones we have in stock won't fit older bikes. It may be another 6 weeks before they arrive in the UK. It is possible that we may have one on a bike that's coming back from the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu, I will get the guys to see if it's back yet. We have very little call for them but it is a part we should have, sorry for the inconvenience.

Our frames and racks all go through two heat treating processes, so we dont see many breakages, but it can happen.

All the best, David