Frame Dents and Repair - Kinked, Dinged or Bent Top tube, Dent Down tube, etc

Is this dent definitely not factory fitted?

i need advice on this one.

could buy a nagasawa but with a dent on the tube near the chain
(sorry don't know how to explain it as my native language is dutch)

is this a no go? and what would you spend on it?

thanks for your advice!

everythingzen

i need advice on this one.

could buy a nagasawa but with a dent on the tube near the chain
(sorry don't know how to explain it as my native language is dutch)

Its called chainstay.

is this a no go? and what would you spend on it?

thanks for your advice!

everythingzen

As long as the frame is not twisted I don't see what the issue is.. other than perhaps how the ding got there.. Important is to make sure that there are no cracks or other, more serious, defects.

Is it a dent, or a crimp introduced as part of the fabrication?

it's been a crash with this as result.
edwardz thanks for updating my vocabulary.. so whats the name of the other side (chainstay non-drive side?)?

thanks for the replies already!

left chainstay:)

I say do it!

My left chainstay is a lot more fucked than that.

well after i asked to pull of the sticker a little bit this is the result:

so nothing to complain about :)
gonna buy it.. . soon it will arise in the current projects thread

thanks everyone!

hi all
second question today:

there is a small kink about 1MM under the top of the down tube (the top tube has bowed up 2MM too) on what was my steel commute bike, I went over the bars in slow-mo after hitting a plastic bollard - very slapstick! Anyway, i was unaware of it and continued riding for another 5 weeks before noticing it. Is the frame just plain unsafe or usuable as a pub poodler?

And please can somebody educate me as to how to add a picture from my computer.

cheers

pat

I was riding my bike yesterday when I heard a rather loud 'ping!' and all of a sudden I experienced a very strange feeling.
I got off my bike and had a look at it. Look:


I suppose I was bloody lucky that I was just one or two pedal strokes from my house and not going hard.

Fuck! Do you know if it'd been crashed before?

That will be fine to ride. The long wheelbase will make it more steady and if you had any toe overlap issues, they will have vanished.

I've crashed it a few times.
I put it down to years of hard riding, some rust and perhaps being pulled in this area when it's locked. Not to say I was expecting it.
That said, a few weeks ago it did get a bit of a wobble on, which was unusual and a couple of times since then I thought it felt a little different at the front, but I didn't realise it was a warning.
It's Raleigh 18-23; obviously it's not worth getting the dt and the now bent tt replaced. I need a new frame.

Shit!

That's seriously unlucky, 2 frames killed within a couple of months of each other.

Hi all,

Quick question, recently some bugger tried to steal my mash and tried jimmying the lock against the frame, it held but it's dented and slightly buckled my top tube. The dent is approx 3mm deep and the buggle approximately 1mm bulging.

I'd like to know the following:
How much does this sort of problem affect light aluminium frames longevity?
How much does it impact the resale price (other than this dent the bike is perfect)
Is it possible to fix? I work with composites and thought I could CF wrap the tube, has anyone tried this method or are there easier ones already?

Thanks
Dan
p.s. kinda now want to sell this frame.....

If you don't feel it's safe could you sell it in good conscience?

Hi!

I've also got a dent in the top-tube of my Mash, which was dropping it against a door jam rather than via theft.

Small dents like this rarely affect the overall structural integrity of the bike, unless it's actually snapped the aluminium. Mine is completely cosmetic.

Resale price kind of depends on who you're selling it too. Personally I wouldn't worry too much about buying a frame with a TT dent if it was superficial, but other people might shy away. That's understandable, as they can't really know how serious it is or how it occurred. Like DJ says though, do you feel comfortable enough about it to sell it to someone when there might be a potential for failure? You're looking at a pretty big price cut to make it sellable, really. I very much doubt I'd pay more than £250 for a frame with a dent, and that would have to be a very nice frame.

Mash frames specifically are difficult to fix because of the triangular TT. They're a nightmare to replace and not very easy to pull - there are also few aluminium frame builders in the UK who will take this kind of stuff on. I made some inquiries with Kingston Kustoms who did TP88's Bianchi but it's not really worthwhile. CF wrap can't hurt, but it's more of a sticking plaster than a fix.

Hi both,

You're confirming my initial suspicions but thought I better check just incase. I would sell the frame in good conscience now that it appears merely superficial like Mechamorgan suggests. I just wanted to make sure.
I also really wanted to know how the value was deminished, as personally I recon it's been obliterated, which based on your reactions it has.
Bugger. Guess it's time to start bunnyhoppin the shit out of it and locking it up in shady areas!

Thanks very much for your help guys.

This is just what happens to bikes you ride and lockup around London, especially one's as distinctive as a Mash. It doesn't sound like a safety problem. Why flog it and be down a wad to just buy another one that could well meet the same fate. It rides fine.

Embrace the slow demise to hack/beater.

I'm actually in Bristol not london.

However, I will embrace the beater, or the insurance. Which ever happens first!

I had an aluminium Langster with a dent in the top tube, that I rode for 5 years. No issues whatsoever. http://static.lfgss.com/attachments/63138d1359378195-l1100298.jpg

So an old frame I'm hopefully going to spray on the weekend and it had a small ding in the top tube. Reasonably heavy steel but I still want to repair it as the bike has many years left in it. I'm guessing it's just a case of sanding back to metal and then some sort of filler?

Easiest way?

wet paint or powder coat? powder coat needs a conductive filler material for powder to stick.

sand it down, apply milliput or other epoxy putty, wait a day, sand down again.

wet paint or powder coat? powder coat needs a conductive filler material for powder to stick.

sand it down, apply milliput or other epoxy putty, wait a day, sand down again.

The frame isn't anything special so will just be rattle cans.

Is this dent fixable? It's been like this for a couple of years now.

How do they fix it? Do they cut it out and replace it with a brass bush of some kind in or do they pull it out fill it?

Where do you recommend getting it fixed in (preferably North or NW) London?

https://www.dropbox.com/s/t4tqqwiq3g56scn/bike-dent.jpg