Dents on
 

Hey all, long time lurker.

I bought this Puch Odyssey last night for $130 (seriously not bad for a mixte in Portland, OR). It is in impeccable shape but I just went to remove the kickstand and found this underneath. I don't know enough about frames and structural integrity to say if this is a concern or not so I thought I'd get your advice! An LBS last night told me that the frame is straight as an arrow which gives me hope but the kickstand was still on and blocking these dents underneath when they handled it. What do you all think?

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While not attractive, I'd say it is not an issue structurally.

I'd paint it so it won't rust, and call it a day.

I wouldn't sweat it. Definitely paint it. It gets really wet on the BB shell.

I was pretty concerned about the dent being right on the BB shell but then again I know nothing about this sort of problem. I'll still probably take it in to err on the side of caution but perhaps I'll ride her there rather than walking it. Thanks guys!

+1. I wouldn't mind seeing the rest of that bike, though.

+1 (Unless you weigh 400+ lbs, you're good)

And considering the kind of riding mixtes are usually wanted for, you may wish to put the kickstand back on, after repainting the bare metal.

The bottom part of the chain stays see tension loads under normal stresses. If the opposite was true, i.e. the chain stay were normally loaded in compression, then dents like those would be a bigger concern. As an analogy, think of an aluminum beer can tipped horizontally as representing your chain stay. Now, put a big dent in the can, place one of your hands on each end of the beer can, and then push toward the middle of the beer can with each hand. This is a compression load, and the dent in the beer can actually make it easier to scrunch the can. Now, dent another beer can, and this time, place one of your hands on each end of the beer can, and try to pull the beer can apart... this is a tension load (the sort of load that the bottom half of each chain stay normally sees). Pretty hard to rip the beer can apart, plus, the dent doesn't affect the outcome in a negative way.

Uncle uncle, that was a very helpful analogy. I'm still having trouble putting my full confidence into this thing, though. Maybe it was from my time working in an operating room and seeing the end result of catastrophic failures. My trip to the LBS didn't help when the mechanic was very reluctant to advise me to ride the damn thing because of liability reasons; although he did elude to that exact notion. He did say that he wouldn't recommend I tour on it but felt certain it wouldn't collapse in on itself tomorrow. That's the most straight forward he would get with me, haha.

Here's some pictures of the rest of the thing. The fluorescent lights in my uh, workshop, make for awful photos but the paint and decals are in amazing shape and I love Puch's headbadge. Aside from the tell-tale signs of an entry level road bike; claw adapter, stem shifters, etc, it feels superior in every way over my Univega (aside from braking). I think she might be getting a new saddle, grips, and maybe a set of alloy wheels. I had to adjust the brakes and rear derailluer when I got her but everything else feels well lubricated and well maintained! Despite the dents I feel pretty happy riding it.
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Thanks for the additional pictures. Looks very nice!

omg

that's accepting defeat!

Would you believe the lousy thing can't even hold up the bike? Perhaps the condition of the kickstand has something to do with why it left those dents. Impact maybe? The thing's staying off my bike, broken or not. Maybe it could be employed as a back scratcher.

The stays damage is a common problem for older bikes, but usually nothing that proves to be structurally unsound. That said, I did run across one, out of hundreds, that failed utterly, forming cracks on both stays. In this case, paint it up, check it regularly and ride safe.

Put the stand back on - not a chance, in my book. I hate those bloody things!

Almost all my bikes have dents like that on the chainstays. It used to bug me but since you dont see that part of the bike too often, its outa sight outa mind.

Sometimes I acquire bikes and the kickstands are really good. And there are times where its nice to just prop the bike up with the stand. A good time is when I'm out on a Sunday ride and stop at a popular coffee shop with the local cyclists. Bikes are lined up leaning on the shops windows. I can just drop the kickstand and leave my bike in the middle of the sidewalk. Gives it nice distinguished look, eapecially 'cause its near half a century old.

Some would argue that riding a mixte in the first place is accepting defeat. :)

I have one bike with a kickstand; it was that way when I got it. I'm afraid to remove the thing and reveal whatever damage might be there, since the rest of the bike is dead mint.