Bicycle Mechanics - The Airline Smashed In My Headtube On A Brand New Frame. Can This Be Fixed?

A friend brought me a new steel Kona Sutra frame from the States. Of course the airline lost it. It just arrived with a smashed headtube. Can this be fixed? Does anyone have any experince with claims and airlines destroying frames? Thanks.

Get a lawyer...

Maybe a bad question: Which airline was it?

It looks like a simple repair since it's steel. Don't let anybody apply heat. Modern paints are flexible, so it may not involve any paintwork.

Oh pooh; this ain't nuthin'!

Get yourself an old steel headset (your LBS probably has dozens and will give you one for free) and press it into the head tube. That should round it out; steel HS parts are much harder that frame tubes so it should work as a forming die. Just go slowly and use plenty of lubricant.

And if that doesn't work you can still sue the airline!

Get yourself an old steel headset (your LBS probably has dozens and will give you one for free) and press it into the head tube. Oh sure! :rolleyes: And just how do you prupose getting it started?

Oh sure! :rolleyes: And just how do you prupose getting it started?

Oh come on, sydney, look at it; that thing is barely deformed. Are you really telling me you couldn't handle it?

Ziemas, if the airline doesn't help you out ship it to me; I'll fix it for free.

Oh come on, sydney, look at it; that thing is barely deformed. Someone been smoking the carpet again?

If you guys think that is incredibly deformed, then you haven't been riding your bikes hard enough. :D

On the other hand, it is a NEW frame, and it sucks to start out a bikes life with that sort of damage... I'd persue some sort of claim with the airline, but if that fails (or even if it succeeds), it might be worth a repair attempt. Consult a frame builder in your area, and you may find that it could be fixed very cheaply. If you are handy with some tools, try it yourself.

Rmfnla's suggestion isn't a bad one. If you start the headset from the side and use a mallet to gently tap it into place you could reround the tube. There are also dies that can fit inside of tubing that can be rotated to round the tubing out. Imagine an elliptical bar with plenty of lube. Er... Now that I think about it, don't imagine that too vividly.. ;)

Anyway, good luck. If you don't feel up to it, talk to a pro, and I'm sure it can be fixed for less than the cost of a new frame, if the airlines don't pay up.

peace,
sam

I don't think it would be any big deal to reform it.

I had a frame that had that same sort of problem, took it to the local shop and they fixed it without problem

I don't think it would be any big deal to reform it.

LOL... you think you're real smart don't you. ;)

LOL... you think you're real smart don't you. ;)

Nah, just more positive than many on here.

I had a rack that was smashed by an airline (Alaskan, but under a Qantas ticket). I called them up, they asked me to get a quote for a replacement and then sent me a cheque for the full replacement cost. Took about 2 weeks to settle everything.

If the airline doesn't want to budge, then drop words simular to 'I wonder how the news will like this story...' with all of the airlines hurting for fares, the last thing they want is any sort of bad PR. Just a thought and a last resort.

Just go slowly and use plenty of lubricant.

I just wanted to quote that. :D :p It's Friday before vacation and my mind is in the gutter.

IMO, the headset cup looks deformed, not the headtube. The cup can be replaced with the right tools.

IMO, the headset cup looks deformed, not the headtube. The cup can be replaced with the right tools.Don't look like no 'cup' to this carpet smoker. The poster said the headtube got smashed. Suppose he might be right?

I just wanted to quote that. :D :p It's Friday before vacation and my mind is in the gutter.

:D

Someone been smoking the carpet again?

TGIF...

;)

Getting back to the head tube, we only have this one photo. Our remarks are based on the assumption that this is all the damage there is; it would make a difference if the HT was bucked in the middle or something.

Do it the easy way; call the airline.

IMO, the headset cup looks deformed, not the headtube. The cup can be replaced with the right tools.
OP here. Thanks for all the help. It is the headtube and not a headset cup that is deformed. It's a brand new, never been built up, frame. Only the top lip area of the headtube is deformed.

From my auto mechanic days I have a tool that rerounds out dented tailpipes. You crank it down and it expands outwards keeping a circular pattern. Hard to describe, but if you drop into a muffler shop they may have something to help you out. I'd still file the claim with insurance either way.

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(not really, lol ... smokin' the same thing Sydney is)

'but if you drop into a muffler shop they may have something to help you out'

- just make sure 'help' doesn't involve a commitment to get a new muffler for you car!

From my auto mechanic days I have a tool that rerounds out dented tailpipes. You crank it down and it expands outwards keeping a circular pattern. Hard to describe, but if you drop into a muffler shop they may have something to help you out. I'd still file the claim with insurance either way.

That's right; I remember seeing those in the J.C. Whitney catalogs.

Great call!