View Single Post
Old 06-18-03, 01:26 PM
  #8  
sch
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Mountain Brook. AL
Posts: 4,002
Mentioned: 14 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 303 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 136 Times in 104 Posts
531 frames are double butted, they have a thinned out section in the middle and are thicker on the ends. It there is no kink in the tube and the bends are smooth, it may be feasible to "bend them back" with heavy pressure. There is a risk the tubes will crack at some point. I had this happen with a 531 touring frame in the mid '70s, the frame about 25yrs old at the time. Initial insult was hitting a curb instead of the wheel chair cut out. Frame lasted a few hundred miles before cracking in the down tube above the shifter. Bike 'rode funny' for a few miles before I got off and looked at it and discovered crack. Subsequent weld failed, had a strange ride home with 14g electric wire holding the completely separated down tube to the top tube. Web sites for frame painting and repair a few yrs ago were ~$200/tube for repair and paint would be $100-250 depending. So $700 is ballpark. The fork needs a close eyeball as you really don't want a fork failure.
Bending is likely to damage the paint so, by the time you factor this in and LBS frame alignment you are probably closer to $100 or so for a bend job and more for paint repair. If they take the bike apart and rebuild, $150-200 is more likely. Frame alignment requires some disassembly. If a complete repaint is suggested and you agree you are upto $400 or so. In for a dime..... I might opt for a complete tube rebuild if you are really attached to the bike. Steve
sch is offline