mattkime

i was hit by a car while riding my caad10. (was a few months ago, was fine) recently I got a derailleur alignment tool which worked well and revealed that the stays aren't correctly aligned anymore - otherwise the damage to the frame appears minimal.

should i take it in?

FBinNY 

I'm a bit confused about how DAG tool show that your stays are bent. Or if you meant that the derailleur hanger got bent, that's no surprise, but not indicative of anything else. Unless your frame is carbon fiber there's no concern about hidden damage. If you don't see dents or scratches, and the bike rides OK, than it's good to go.

joejack951

Is your insurance claim still open? Regardless of fault your insurance company (or the at-fault party's) should replace the frame for you. No one is going to want to try and straighten those aluminum stays.

mattkime

I had no trouble aligning the derailleur vertically (12 and 6 o'clock) but it was quite stubborn horizontally (3 and 9 o'clock). its shifting perfectly now although i didn't correct the horizontal alignment. there's a very subtle bend in one of the seat stays.

unfortunately insurance isn't buying me a new one. just isn't workign out that way.

FBinNY 

It's very normal for a derailleur hanger to require more force to align forward/back compared to top/bottom. The latter is a simple bend, while for/aft is is a twist through the hanger's mid-section.

But I still don't understand how this has anything to do with the stays. If you didn't mean the stays, then odd are they're OK. Hangers bend easily, stays don't. IMO one better indication of possible stay damage is the condition of the rear wheel.

It's possible for wheels to bend without the frame bending, but it's rare for the stays to bend with the rear undamaged. So if the wheel did OK, it's likely that the frame did also.

mattkime

working on the derailleur put me in position to take a close look at the stays. like i said, very subtle.

FBinNY 

Since compensation for any damage isn't an issue, I suggest you complete building the bike and see how it rides. Ultimately this is all that counts anyway.

fietsbob

if you will not ride it again., it can go into a corner and sit there.

then go buy a New Bike. start fresh..


I cannot see it from here , So, why not?