snoboard2

I woke up this morning to a HUGE dent in my top tube. My mom apparently decided to clean the windows of the door behind where i put my bike. This door is TAPED SHUT for the winter and today she decides to clean it. The only day i have my bike off it's hook in the garage. So now my top tube has a dent more than 1/3 the diameter of the tube deep. It's an aluminum frame. Is it rideable?

blandin

Check with your local dealer for the maker of your frame, and/or send a picture to the manufacturer.
However, given the size you describe, I am afraid it may be a goner.

pinkrobe

Check with the dealer/builder as to its fixability. IIRC, aluminum tubes can be deformed quite a bit and still hold onto most of their strength. If it's a write-off, you get to go frame-shopping, so it's win-win!

2manybikes

Mom owes you a new frame.

linus

pwned

cydewaze

Exactly. Pick a nice replacement.

55/Rad

She must have been awfully mad to have slammed the door that hard.

55/Rad

sunninho

Or... your mom must have Popeye arms to break through that TAPE and make a dent that big

Dead Roman

Sand blast it, cut the dented section out, weld a new section in, will look cool as hell too.

TheDTrain

You have a pic of the victim?

H1449-6

Move out of your parents' house.

Jordan.H

HAHAHA

uga8589

What did your Mom say when you showed her the dent? Did she simply, in one deft move with cat like quickness, Karate chop the tob tube completely in half? Was she remorseful? If she was remorseful, you might be looking at an opportunity for an upgrade! But if she went to the same Mom training classes that my Mom did she's going to tell you that if you had put your bike where it goes it would be ok now!

chzman

do you ride for savage hill? i rode with some of their riders in the century today.

shame about the bike, man.

snoboard2

yeah i ride for savage hill. She didn't tell me, i had to ask her what happened. apparently she knocked it over trying to clean a window above it. when i asked her why she didn't move it before she said it shouldn't be there in the first place (stereotypical mom answer). i plan to move out when i go to college in the fall. cant move out right now, need the money to pay the deductible on my new soloist frame. i was pissed this morning, but now i'm thinking i'll have some fun with it. the only downside will be the week or two inside (i can still ride it on the trainer). the guys at the shop said it would be iffy to ride outside, take it easy, and DO NOT RACE it. sounds like a total loss to me.

i have a new project now. I'm going to build up a soloist team frame with ac 420 wheels and ultegra/dura-ace. Maybe i should start a thread on that. Anyone have insight on the new shimano compact crank?

voltman

What kind of job do you have so young?

snoboard2

i'm a waiter. great job. 1-1500+ a month in tips

TheKillerPenguin

Dude, you so need to do something to her car. If she gets pissed, tell her it shouldn't have been in there in the first place.

hiromian

Sure you can ride it. It might break and kill you though. To prevent that from happening, just splint it with a 2X4 and some pipe clamps or lots of duct tape. Watch Red Green for further examples of what can be done. Make sure Mom sees you ride it like that.

operator

Excellent way of getting kicked out of the house.

superdex

Duct tape. Works every time.

ElJamoquio

What I'm getting out of this - it still isn't clear - is that the OP, instead of putting the bike in the correct location, put it behind a door. Then the bike got dented when the door was opened. Is this correct?

Bike Lover

If you have a death wish, it might make sense to do that.

snoboard2

no. the bike was in front of a door that was taped shut for insulation. I had it there because i had entered my ride stats into my computer from the day before. the bike was knocked over when my mom was cleaning behind it. She didn't move it out of the way and it got knocked over.

ViperZ

We have to place this into perspective here. This was your mother, the person that gave you life and nurtured you. It was an accident, Bicycles are replaceable, mothers generally are not.

Now I may be assuming everyone has a great relationship with their moms, so for those that don't; I suppose you are justified in scratching her car, kicking her shins, making her pay, or what ever you feel is appropriate to get even.

Me, I could never payback my parents enough for all the mistakes they bailed me out of.

Thats just a bit of my perspective


That said, sorry to hear about the dent. How about getting some type of sleeve to reinforce and hide the dented area, like on this Vanilla Bike? It's called a TT protector, and could add some character to your bike.