Originally Posted by
eddiearniwhatev
The chainstays look "squished", paint cracked and some nice dents. That's good news though, and confirms what I read elsewhere, that such damage isn't frame stability threatening. And that welding something new onto the stays would weaken it. Thousands of miles touring over the last ten years and only now do I learn the danger of kickstands to bike frames.. the hard way! oh well! thanks!
...if you rehabilitate olde bicycles regularly, you run into this from time to time on some really nice bikes from the 70's. I have a couple that I still ride. It's mostly cosmetic, and yeah, the welding thing sounds like a bad idea unless your frame material is mild steel, and even then it will damage the paint.