Hello everyone. I own a 1986 Maruishi Record, and noticed something after the purchase that does not bother me terribly, but I'd like some other opinions on it none the less. Looking at this picture, it would appear the bike has suffered a frontal collision at some point. This is because there's a noticeable bulging on the bottom of the down tube at right before the butting to the head tube. The fork appears perfect, though most likely replaced. Here are a couple pictures of what I'm describing. I know it appears to be obvious, but I was wondering if there could be any other cause to this down tube bulge, besides a frontal impact.

Nope. That's been front ended. Likely to have toe overlap issues riding it. Frames probably not worth having repaired correctly.

...yes, that's a sign of a front end crash, and there are not a whole lot of other possibilities. The fork does not always bend on those, so probably not a replacement that someone went to the trouble of color match painting. I have a similar bike, and I like the way it rides...they were a very fine production bike out of the glory days in Japanese bike exporting to the United States (the Maruishi's also show up in Australia, for some reason.) I have realigned frames that were similarly damaged a few times to make them ride more closely to the original design. It's not especially difficult, but you can end up making the problem worse if you have no experience with cold bending bike forks and frames.

IN essence, the procedure is to remove the fork and headset, then insert some dummy steel headset races in the upper and lower ends of the headtube. (this is to prevent ovalizing the head tube.) It's easier to do if the frame is stripped of all wheels and components as well. Then you slip the head tube over a piece of steel plumbing pipe that is just small enough in diameter to fit through those dummy races, upside down. The pipe is held in a sturdy bench vise, and you need clearance at the bench so that you can exert some downward force.

Clamp a scrap rear hub or rear axle into the rear dropouts(it ought to be disposable, because the axle can bend, but usually does not.) Then take a long 2x4 ( your lever) and run it up under the edge of the workbench, and over the dummy axle/hub in the rear. This gives you a relatively controllable lever for exerting bending force in the opposite direction from what happened in the crash. You'll never get it exactly perfect, but you can get it aligned almost to the point where the head tube angle duplicates the original, and most of that bulge underneath disappears. It does take quite a bit of force, but be careful not to go too far.

Or if you're happy as is, enjoy riding it.

You can also roll out the bulge with aluminum blocks that are made for that purpose. I have a set and if you want to borrow them let me know. This will ruin the paint in the affected area so be aware of that. And +1 on the top tube. You might not see a bulge so feel with your fingers in the area immediately behind the lug.

Frontal Impact... wasn't that a Clint Eastwood movie?

I have a frame that had that kind of damage. The fork needed a little adjustment to be made straight, and I had a frame builder replace the TT and DT, then repaint. It's great now, but the HT angle is a little steeper than original. The result is a great ride!

I guess I'll be the bearer of bad news. I'm sorry but the frame is toast. The bulge is a clear indication of a front end collision, and it creates a weak spot precisely in the most stressed part of the bike frame.

You could certainly ride it around town for beer runs and whatever, but it's days as a race bike flying down bumpy mountain roads are over. It's a safety hazard. If you do keep it, inspect it before every ride.

I don't know that this is a safety hazard, but that frame will eventually fail at the site of the bulge, which is a high-stress point on any frame. My first Capo was in a frontal collision (my only bike-to-car incident, which also got me a double fracture of the left clavicle and a concussion). I had the head tube pulled back into alignment at a local shop, which had a fixture for that purpose, and rode it for 5 more years. I was climbing an 8 percent grade when I noticed a crack starting to propagate around the downtube, starting at the bottom. The rupture centered on the bulge site, right behind the end of the butting. I gingerly and gently rode it a mile to my destination, and subsequently 3 miles back home, and promptly retired the frame. A friend who was teaching auto shop and bicycle repair cut it up to demonstrate double-butting.

Sounds a little salacious too.

Too bad that steel wasn't .023 in thickness. Very sad to see such a good frame damaged like that..

Your post and implies you bought it recently. If so did the seller disclose this otherwise you can try to get a refund from them. Its very unethical to sell damaged goods without full disclosure.

I never checked or noticed until now, but the bottom of the top tube is very slightly bulged at the bottom. It's easy to miss if you're not looking for it, but I can feel and see a very slight bulge at bottom of top tube. It was not disclosed at the time of sale, and I no longer have the sellers contact info (purchased across state lines). However, I kind of blame myself for not noticing it before buying the bike. The bike rides awesome, and I wasn't aware of how serious this damage actually is. I take it out for short hill climbs close to the house and don't travel far with it. It's also good to know that I should be continuously checking it for cracking in that area. It is a shame though, cause I love the bike so much. I guess it's a lesson learned for me to check bikes more thoroughly before buying them. Thank you everyone for helping me with this, and be safe.

Yup, last guy hit something, and in selling it, dumped it in your lap..

there are some heavy duty tools to spread it's head tube angle back to where it was..

It will take considerable force..

I front-ended a Motobecane and it showed less bulging than yours. I rode it for about 8,000 more miles before the down tube started to crack.

So if I rolled it out with those aluminum blocks (which I have seen before), would the life of the frame then be increased? Or would the repair be mostly cosmetic? I wouldn't be happy about losing the paint, but if rolling it out would significantly increase frame life over the current condition, I'd think about it. I always hear about being able to bend steel frames, and that being one of their advantages. It looks like I'd be able the fit the blocks on there before hitting the lug. At the same time I'm telling myself the frame will never be the same again, and just don't bother.

I'm not a metallurgist or frame builder but IMHO the difference would be mostly cosmetic. That assumes the geometry of the frame wasn't affected by the impact. You could ask around the framebuilders forum or maybe someone knowledgeable will chime in here but as long as the bike is stable the way it is I think you can continue to ride it. I'd keep an eye out for cracks forming at the lug edges but as long as the metal doesn't crack I don't think the strength will be affected, with or without bending or rolling out the bulge.

NB; continued flexing at that bulge will have a crack forming , there..

I'll probably just keep it as an example, and reminder (as long as I have the space). One day, I may find one of it's non molested twins to bring home with me. There's just something about this bike I love, and that something is the paint color. I really like this color of these Maruishi Records. There's no other shade quite like it.

I am fairly certain that steel can flex within its elastic limit virtually forever without fatigue. That is how springs work and they rarely fail unless rusted or damaged. They're your teeth of course but all steel bikes flex to some degree. It they didn't they wouldn't have the feel of steel.

Springs are tempered specifically to handle the repeated stress. That bike frame wasn't. The damaged area is now work hardened, and therefore brittle. The flex inherent in a bike frame will now start to take a toll on that area, and it will crack. When? No one could pin it down with any certainty, but it will.

Perhaps. The analogy of a spring was probably a poor example but as you mentioned, a bike frame constantly flexes and thus acts as a sort of spring. My point was that steel can sustain virtually infinite flex cycles as long as the material isn't pushed past its yield point. Whether the bike in question is compromised in such a way as to be dangerous I can't tell. The subject is way too complicated for me to fully comprehend and without knowing the alloy composition of the metal, the temperature the tube reached during brazing, the thickness of the tube wall where bulged vs the taper of the butting, whether the tubing was drawn or seamed, etc, it's all guess work. If I liked the bike, I'd continue to ride it, but that's just me.

Definitely a hard front impact. Frame is ruined imo and I'd trash it. There are other great bikes out there, get one of those.

...they do exist in some numbers in the United States. Like I said, I have one here, in that same coral pink colorway.

Oh my gosh, what a nice one you have! I'm saving that picture to my computer, cause it's such a good example and picture! One day I'll find another one. Thanks for posting this picture of yours, as it's one of the nicest I've ever seen. The dream is kept alive...