Head-on collision: is this the end m?

I rode my fully loaded 23 yo Reynolds 531 Condor ‘expedition-tourer’ (rim brakes, 26” wheels), into some street furniture outside Selfoss in Iceland. I looked stupid and the top tube has paint blistering some damage on the top and underside of the top tube and a small but noticeable dent on the underside of the down tube. All the ‘damage’ is adjacent to the head tube which is not obviously damaged, like the lugs and the fork.

Judging by the subsequent toe rub on front pannier, weird angle of handlebar and front rack rails, I’ve squished the frame, shortening the wheel base by some inches.
I’ve done some research and spoken to frame builders: maybe £650 with a powder coat and replacement of everything forward of the seat tube: down, top and head tubes and lugs.

If I pedal-on and hope for the best, I’m assuming the frame is weakened but won’t suddenly break? The bike’s job is touring on mixed surfaces with camping gear in the middle of nowhere so I don’t want to risk disaster and want the piece of mind of strong reliable frame.

Should I bite the bullet and shell-out for a new front end or is a bit of damage all part of life’s rich pageant? Or buy a new bike?

Thanks

Forks can also be pushed back a bit :(

You have bent the frame and forks a few cm

New frame wouldn’t cost much more than to repair this one. New face will cost a lot more.

Although I’m a sentimental old fool. I think it’s time to hang this one up and move on to another 20+ years of touring on a new bike.

A bike shop I worked at in the 90s had one of these
https://www.parktool.com/en-int/product/head-tube-straightener-hts-1

Get a new frame

What happened to me when I did the same thing (can’t remember which forumenger drew it…)

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spoken to frame builders

You can't really be sure what your repair option is unless one of them sees it.

It's not going to snap without warning, it's not carbon. And it will be good as new after repair. Giving it a second life adds to its history. If you have an emotional connection with it, are you relaxed about scrapping it?

Ask @nef about steel snapping without warning

As someone who had a catastrophic failure with no prior warning (on an admittedly vintage and well used frame) I’d recommend getting a professional opinion at minimum. I’ll show you the bike and save you the photo of my readjusted face and teeth.

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A small ripple in top / down tube plus a minor bump in the road turned into this. The only one to benefit was my dentist.
I no longer ride frames with dents.

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Needs added poo

Look under the post van

Ah, good. That was one of lufguss’ greatest ever threads.

Have we really all stopped crashing? Needs more updates.
https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/152897/

Thanks everyone. Informative and often hilarious. I will be using h2o’s cartoon and Ned’s pic in persuading ‘er indoors that I need to throw money at the problem.

Wow this is some scary shit.