Originally Posted by
le mans
I started tidying this thing up with good components from scrap bikes, thought it would make an excellent general purpose bike, it's a Giant Yukon aluminum frame. then realized it's bent!
Hard to picture the wheel is on straight at the bottom stays, but it is, if you notice you'll see the rear wheel is inline with the down tube.
Looks like the seat tube is bent to the left, so's the tail, the bottom left dropout is on an angle too, also there's more gap on the left side of the brakes
worth fixing? can it be straightened without damaging the paint too much? if so what's a good method?
ok, forgotten how to post a pic, don't have PB. bear with me
Without pics it's impossible to determine.
Before attempting to assess the frame alignment by looking at the wheel, you should make sure the rim is centered properly. Your alignment can only be as accurate as your reference point.
If the frame is actually bent, then as [MENTION=197614]fietsbob[/MENTION] said, the aluminum used in bike frames is heat-treated to a hardness level, and doesn't like to be bent, much less bent twice. It may not crack straightaway, but cold-setting will accelerate the fatiguing of the metal and cause it to crack sooner or later. You could theoretically anneal the frame, straighten it, and heat-treat it again. But you could probably buy a new frame or two for what that would cost.