Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Effing dent in my downtube!!!! !@#$

So I left my bike locked outside my work and when I walk out I noticed that it was a different angle than when I started work and thought "hmmm, that's weird." Two days later I'm unlocking in the morning and the sun manages to hit the downtube just right to reveal a massive dent from the parking meter it was locked to.

I'll post pics later to get some opinions on the ride-ability of the frame but it's holding up so far.

Just pissed right now.

that sucks dude. it's probably just a cosmetic blemish. do you have pics?

lock up as tight as you can so the frame can't get rattled around. i learned that the hard way when i got a ding in the top tube of my iro se from a quick lockjob to a street sign.

yeah, the worst part is that is was probably some ******* knocking the bike around since it was locked with a mini u around the frame, front wheel, and parking meter leaving very little wiggle room.

I'm pretty sure it's cosmetic since there isn't any cracks in the paint and non have developed from riding it for two days since it was dented

pics at the end of the day.

Two days later I'm unlocking in the morning and the sun manages to hit the downtube just right to reveal a massive dent from the parking meter it was locked to.

I'll post pics later to get some opinions on the ride-ability of the frame but it's holding up so far.

Just pissed right now.

That's a real bummer. :mad: Post some pix when you get a chance.

... Brad

lame fest... well, atleast you did your part and got it locked up as tight as possible. i always do either front wheel+frame w/ mini U, or rear seatstay+rear wheel, unless it's a quick 5 minute lock up. i guess that's really all you can do, unless you believe in karma.

a downtube dent is a little more significant than a tt dent, keep that in mind

a downtube dent is a little more significant than a tt dent, keep that in mind

why is this?

why is this?


Look at a girls bike as an example.

why is this?

cause more stress is put on it than the toptube i assume if u look at it from a structual stand point.

wait, i might be wrong. i have heard stuff about the dt taking the most stress etc etc but a little googling found this: http://ask.metafilter.com/34212/Dented-Frame


Your downtube is probably fine: it's under tension (the main forces acting on it try to pull it longitudinally). A ding like that would be of much more concern on the top tube, since it is normally under compression.

Think of it like this: Your down tube is like a soda straw being pulled from each end. The top tube is like a soda straw being pushed on each end- which will buckle first?

This is somewhat reassuring and worrying at the same time. I'll post pictures tonight and try and send off an email to a local framebuilder to see what they say as well.