Panasonic Titanium eBike frame fail

[Timpo]

Well this is not good, even titanium isn't super durable I guess?

 

[Nova Haibike]

The broken frame appears to be a 90's bike, the Titanissimo TX-1000. Those were recalled by Panasonic.
Panasonic Recall Notice

 

[rich c]

It's not the titanium itself that is not durable, that's a welding process failure when it's that close to a weld. According to the American Welding Society, "Titanium is a reactive metal that forms compounds with less than optimum properties. Heated in air, the part surface contains brittle carbides, nitrides, and oxides, each of which can reduce the fatigue resistance and notch toughness of the weld and heat-affected zone (HAZ). Not only do you need to protect the surface being welded, you also need to protect the back side of the weld, which is just as sensitive."

 

[JRA]

The original pic has a funky weld like thing going on at the joint. If you compare it to the welds on the other bike which is a more classic stack weld. It looks like some sort of flange?

I agree that it got too much heat there that made it brittle. I’ve owned several Ti bikes over the years and seen them made by “hand” (with machines) and never image that could even occur. I hope the owners okay...

 

[Sifu Ben]

I bought my Litespeed titanium bike because I talked to a racer who crashed bike in a race and it came out undamaged and factory straight . I wouldn’t trust that Panasonic ti frame. It looks like they didn’t know what they were doing.

 

[indianajo]

Sounds to me the argon flow was insufficient to keep the air away from the weld arc. Cheapskates. Titanium oxide & titanium nitride don't have tensile strength. Panasonic surely checks one out of a lot of frames for strength, but if a worker forgot to turn the argon on after a break or missed that a bottle was empty a few frames would be sub-standard strength.

 

[theemartymac]

That's an old one for sure. Look at the basic aluminum V Brakes as well. If it lasted 10 or more years of hard riding before failing (and it does have MTB tires), that's not terrible for an ultra lite frame. It doesn't look overly cared for.

 

[Sifu Ben]

I had a Litespeed Catalyst from 1994. Maybe because the tubing was straight gauge with no tapers, but it was/is pretty indestructible. My brother has it now. I’ve watched an A-10 with titanium plate armor being shot by a cannon. Hardly a dent on just flat titanium plate.

 

[FlatSix911]

Well this is not good, even titanium isn't super durable I guess?

This is misinformation... Titanium is one of the most durable bike frame materials if fabricated properly.
When you weld titanium you have to shield the metal with an inert gas as it cools, otherwise it can absorb O2 or N2 from the air.
If the titanium absorbs either gas it becomes brittle and will crack over time. Most Ti frames carry a lifetime warranty. YMMV.