Anyone dented beloved steel framed bike?

[onyerbike531]

Hello Forumers

I'll begin by saying that yesterday I leant my prized Peugeot PH11 up against a wall and while I'd turned my back for a second the weight of my pannier bag tipped my bike over and caused it to strike the brick corner of a house wall denting my top tube in the process; rushing away the brick particles revealed scratches and a finger tipped sized dent in. I nearly fainted. The sad thing is it took my the best part of a year to find an old bike in my size, a 57cm frame after a year of riding a bike to big for me.

Up until that point the frame was in perfect condition regarding the tubes alignment and joints etc, great build quality for what I imagine was a mass produced bike back in the day. Where are those little flying saucers from Batteries Not Included when you need them eh?.

I needed to get this out here because it's niggling me and it's all I can see now when I look at the bike.

So I'd like to ask if anyone's done something similar to their bike and do they still ride it; is there a chance it's cracked now, will it fail? What are the remedies to such a problem.

Tell me your stories

Thanks
A Peugeot fan

 

[curyam]

That's terrible. I feel for you. It's too bad the paintless dent repair they do in cars can't be done to bike tubes (too thick) I've read some have filled in the dents and repainted but I understand the proper way is to have the tube replaced by a good framebuilder and a new paint job.

 

[pigman]

Re:

Fill in with car body filler and put a sticker over it - look for a good quality, relevant sticker and possibly put one on both sides to make it look like its a thought-out design.

Just a quick, cheap idea, may not appeal to some

 

[Jamiedyer]

Shame it happens and must be gutting but it's not the end of the world.
If it just a dent and not a split then it is easily repaired or covered. If it is just a small dent and the tube is not split or cracked in any way then it should be fine as is. All depends how bad and where it is to be sure. There are lots of bikes with dents and they survive perfectly well and go on to lead long productive lives.
My Mercian for example has a dent in the top tube from a handlebar banging it I think and it has seen lots of miles since and a lot on rough off road tracks as well and it is fine, never crosses my mind. I was going to get it painted and when I did I was just going to get Mercian to fill it which they are happy to do as a dent like the one on mine doesn't warrant a tube replacement.
Here is a photo with my son, it's about the closest one that shows it, due to no loss of paint it is otherwise not very noticeable.

Jamie

DSC_1435 by Jamie Dyer, on Flickr

 

[dyna-ti]

Picture the scene,2001, me an a mate off on a summer ride out to Loch Lomond.

I'm sporting my new(3 days old) Mavic ceramic rims, all very expensive.

Its a bit of a cycle path and we stopped for a break halfway along. lent the bikes against a wall and had a strech of legs. And during this I see a can sitting on the wall near my bike, but at least 8' to the side of it. I pick up stone and throw it at the can, but being the worst shot on earth I miss.
I miss again, and agasin, so annoyed I pick up a hefty stone and throw it with all my might.
Leaves my hand at a near right angle.

Hits the front rim and takes a fair size of chip out of the ceramic. :shock:
It sat there evermore, accusing. With the wee click when braking.


:facepalm: Shot of the century.

 

[NeilM]

Re:

Find the nearest frame fettler with some tube blocks.

They can be used to pretty much make a dent disappear, or remove the worst of it.

 

[BigFoz]

My beloved Colnago Super Piu - 3 yo "helping daddy" work on his bike. TWANG. Said 3 year old, proud as punch just whacked a dent into it. That was in 1996. In 2012 I had it refurbished and made the painter leave the dent in (he hated me!) But every time I see it I see a 3yo lad looking proud as punch with a screwdriver in his hand... Wasn't amused at the time, but it's gradually become a valued memory.

 

[onyerbike531]

Thanks for all the stories everyone: I've heard people say the odd dent here and there adds a bit of character to an old machine, especially when they're used like they should be.

I took it out for a spin across counties on Friday and put it through its paces with no problems at all, got my local bike shop to examine it and they've said a dent isn't a problem especially as it's a steel frame, I might try and get it filled and resprayed at some point, I will keep an eye on it.

 

[jimo746]

Re:

Steel is incredibly resilient.
I have a Tange Ultimate Superlight MTB built frame that has a few small dents and I've put a sticker over them, it's a bit of an optical illusion and can hide the damage quite well.
Otherwise it's a case of filler and paint.

 

[hamster]

If it's worse then a competent frame builder can roll the dent out with a pair of blocks.
http://www.the-climb.net/2011/03/frame-rolling.html