Originally Posted by
SJX426
The risk in bending them back is about work hardening (changing the material properties) and the possible impact of undesirable deformation. If you can't see any damage, it is likely ok. You would not be able to tell the difference in the ride before the two bending events and after.
[MENTION=381793]gugie[/MENTION] - Great that you are having fun with such stuff! We are enjoying every thread that you share your experiences. The only thing better would be to do some of that stuff! I would love to build my own frame and maybe some day I will.
A simplistic way of thinking about steel is that it's like a cat with nine lives. Every time you bend it, you use one up. A real big bend, maybe two or three lives.
Compare that to aluminum, which has maybe two lives. Carbon fiber, one.
Oversimplified? Of course. But the takeaway is that bent steel frames, more times than not, are salvageable.