Can this frame be saved?
 

I picked up a 1980 Schwinn Voyager 11.8 frame today -- nothing particularly special but it was cheap, it was my size and it had fancy head tube lugs so I decided to get it. I always forget the things I need to look for before buying a frame, and this one should have been pretty obvious. The fork is bent, but worse than that so are the top tube and down tube.

If you have a good eye for these things maybe you can spot it in this pic from the seller's ad:

https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7220/2...256793fa_z.jpg

I missed it and even from this picture I didn't see that the fork was bent:

https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7547/2...877f72f15d.jpg

I noticed it as I was putting the frame in my car but I paid so little for the frame that I didn't bother to go back. Here are a couple of pics that show the damage:

https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7410/2...030cb4a3_z.jpg

https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7386/2...c876aac4_z.jpg

https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7398/2...79ebe7b6_z.jpg

So my questions... Can anything be done to repair this short of replacing these tubes? If not, is it safe to ride this as a beater or would that be broken teeth waiting to happen?

Safe to ride.

The appearance of the metal can be improved with rolling blocks.

Deformation so slight it looks like it may not require a stretch.

Fork can be put right with the aid of a fork alignment jig such as the Park tool:

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=521524

I've been riding a frame with worse damage without crashing and dying for a couple of years now. This post probably contributes to confirmation bias, though. ;)

One of the odd things about this frame is that it is apparently "due tubi" 4130. That is, there's a sticker saying the "top and bottom" tubes are 4130, so I guess not even the seat tube.

I'm just finding myself getting really attached to it because it looks like it was Agent Coulson's bike:

http://schwinncruisers.com/catalogs/...d_voyageur.jpg

How could you not love that?

If you saw it first and were asking if you should buy it, I'd have said pass. But that ship has sailed, and you're now the proud owner of this gem. So my answer is now, build it up and ride it to your hearts content.

Odds are the wheelbase is only slightly shorter, and it might still track true, so you can ignore the issue entirely. OTO - if it doesn't track, you can invest a bit more effort and deal with it.

I agree, build it and ride it. Might ride just fine.

Are you talking about the bike in this thread? http://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...rame-gulp.html

I came across that this evening as I was obsessing about my options. I'm going to take my frame in to an LBS tomorrow for a hands-on assessment. I spent twice as much on pizza today as I did on this frame, so I figure I can spend a little bit on repair before I'm in the red.

Unless it was a frame that i was *very* infatuated with, i'd see what it would cost to straighten (if possible) and go from there.

It's rarely a good thing to throw good money at a bad investment.

No offense intended, but this is self-contradictory. If I really cared about a frame, I might look into the cost of a repair. But otherwise, I wouldn't toss dough at it, and either ride it as is, or scrap it.

I have owned two frames which were bent back and subsequently pulled back into shape. Both eventually ruptured near the front of the downtube, but neither caused a catastrophic failure nor threatened my safety in any way.

That's the one. I've touched up the frame with nail polish but left the underside light to make any worrisome cracks easier to spot:

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2...i_dt_paint.jpg

If your shop has the Park Tool straightener thingy or something like it, I bet your frame could be made pretty close to original geo.

No offense taken friend! It's not really self-contradictory if perceived from the view point of a full-on infatuation! If the repair cost is reasonable and i like frame, no problem go ahead and fix it. If the cost is unreasonable, then i'd ride it if possible until i couldn't.

If I'm really taken with the frame then just about anything can be fixed - price be dammed!

By way of illustration, I had (have?) a bit of an obsession with older Minolta 35mm cameras (preferably non-battery except for light-metering). I'd see one of my favorite models and buy it. If it was worthy, i'd then send it off to my favorite Minolta tech and have him work his magic on it. If needed, i had back-ups to swap in nicer bits (which did happen on occasion). I have a couple darlings that need to be sent in (in particular an XE-7 in absolute MINT condition except for having the film advance drive train cleaned up), but that's another expense line Mrs. PolarBear is thankful i'm taking a break from!

The shop I took t to didn't have the Park tool but they did have a mechanic with a sharp eye who in about 10 seconds spotted problems with the fork that I hadn't noticed, like it wasn't in line with the steerer side-to-side either. It would certainly need more work than a fork that takes a 21.1 stem deserves. There may be a DIY alignment attempt in this frames' future.

I stopped by a local co-op and grabbed a fork that I think doesn't look terrible with the frame. I was wondering where I could get really cheap long reach brakes, then I remembered that I had some center pulls in a junk box in the garage.

https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7679/2...eae81611_b.jpg

This is definitely shaping up to be the kind of bike that no one will weep to see turned into a single speed.