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Help on inspecting your bike post crash?
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Hi everyone

I was wondering if someone could talk about how to asses you bike after a crash. I had a crash back in september on my bike. Being the concerned bike parent I am I took the bike to my LBS... (don't like the shop... love the mechanic) He checked the alignment and what not and he gave it his once over trued my wheels etc.

My concern is the there is a noticable dent in the top tube and a smaller one in the down tube. The bike is a pre trek thick aluminum tubed Klein. (super thin walls) and I am concerned about the future viability / safety of the bike... what can I do / look for to avoid catastrophic destruction of my beloved bike while I'm on it

Do these guidelines apply for all types of bikes (aluminum, steel, ti, carbon) what capacity exists for repairing bikes (for those of us who have not yet won the lottery and can't really afford a new bike)

thanks ahead of time
Last edited by: taku: Jan 9, 03 19:16
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Re: Hey Dan... article on inspecting your bike post crash? [taku] [ In reply to ]
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maybe i'll write an article. good idea. for the time being, here are some things to consider:

1. the most likely place for a frame to fail is near the head tube. so, if your dents are more toward the BB or the seat tube, i'd be less concerned.

2. then there's the area where the dents are, and the likely cause of them. if the dents were caused by your bike striking the ground, or an object, probably you're fine. if the dents are caused because you ran into something head on---a car, a curb, a pothole--and your bike came to a sudden stop, causing the front wheel to compress backward, then you've go a BIG problem. in this case the dent wasn't caused by an object, but because the frame itself is buckling. things to look for are a buckling of the underside of the downtube right behind the head tube, and a rippling of the down and/or top tubes just behind the head tube. you'll also notice that the head angle is a bit steeper than god and your frame builder intended.

likewise, if your frame was damaged in this way it might've also damaged your fork, and you won't see it by looking at it. most forks fail at the steer column, inside the head tube, just above the fork crown.

so, to recap, if your frame is dented or buckled because of forces applied to the wheel, you're in trouble. if your frame is slightly dented because it fell against something, you're fine. trauma to a small area is fine. trauma to the whole system is NOT fine.

Dan Empfield
aka Slowman
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