Frame damage - how much is too much?
 

Hello.

I have a 2003 Raceline Performance Road bike (http://www.racelinebikes.com ), and it has a few battle scars from previous crashes.

The frame is 7005 Double Butted Aluminium.

There is a series of 3 little gouges on the top tube, along with just some paint scratches further on, which are nothing to worry about. The 3 gouges however, are definitely past the paint layer, and I believe it is part of the tube that is not double butted (towards the middle)

There is also about 5 large scratches on the drive-side chain stay, from where I had the deraileur hanger snap off last year and cause havoc, but I believe that this only just past the paint layer.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Sam.

The only kind of damage you should be worried about is a crack, bend, or or kink that would compromise the structural integrity of the metal. Some gouges that go through the paint are nothing to worry about, unless the gouges actually punched holes in the tubes. My aluminum mtb looks like it's been through a war zone, but it's held together just fine over the last 4 years. And since it's aluminum you don't really need to worry about oxidation.

Carbon frames are another story.