Please see my post further down for the conclusion to this story.
So, the bike had a little accident today and it ended up with a dent in the frame. Personally, I think it will be fine but was wondering what other people think. Check the pics and let me know. Thx.
i reckon it’ll be fine until it breaks, at which time it’ll be less than fine. or not. just ride.
its a question of how much your life is worth. mine is worth more than a bike frame. But that’s just me.
If that was my frame…it would be disassembled this evening, delivered to the lbs tomorrow afternoon and a new frame ordered. I would find myself very uneasy about riding that frame!
If it were a helicopter, would you fly in it?
I will ride it without any problems… if you decided to put it away … just send me… I pay for the freight…
In general seat stays and top tubes don’t see a whole lot of stress. Downtubes and chainstays do. I Would keep an eye on things around there if I were you, but I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it…
<< If it were a helicopter, would you fly in it?
If it was a helicopter I would not ask people on an internet forum to decide.
I will invite a surveyor/mechanical engineer etc., to asses.
And I would most definitely not ask a guy who sells helicopters – never ask a barber if you need a haircut.
“Should I be worried???!!!”
Yes. Clean that bike.
I feel all dirty inside now (and not in a good way.)
<<I feel all dirty inside now
Try using cream
.
Well, I ride a Guru and think their quality is about the best. Looks like a dent - watch closely for cracks/stress risers. I would probably ride it, but I sure hate having that “what if” in the back of my mind. On my tri bike, I’d probably ride it. Training bike, road bike in the hills - probably not.
I would use this as an excuse for a new Guru Tri Ti - with a Titanium frame, this likely would not have happened 
You got any mech engineer friends?
Yes.
Don’t screw around with a dent in aluminium.
Does this count? I dont have my P.Eng yet but I have a B.Eng and am working on my M.Eng in Aerospace engineering…
I havent done any stress/structural analysis of a bike frame but I would tend to think that seatstays are generally under compression and if you have something like that on a slender column under compression - it tends to be unstable you could get some buckling. The other thing that concerns me is that the dent appears to be across the entire width of the seatstay - which makes it significantly worse than if it were a smaller dent…Also you wouldnt be able to tell if there are any microfractures as that dent is also pretty deep…if that were a Helicopter/Aircraft part it would be tossed like last weeks garbage…sorry to break the news to ya…=(
I would agree that you should have it checked out at your LBS - if you had a car accident you would most definitely take it to the body shop and not drive around with structural damage (I hope)
You could also try contacting guru as they are generally very helpful on the phone - see if they can help you out with a crash replacement?
I know it hurts the pocketbook but - how much is your life worth?
Good luck and let us know how it turns out…
Let me say this to everyone who would never ride a frame with a dent,does your frame have bends/bows in the chainstay/seatstay? how about your beloved s-bends is the tubing bent??? Really go look at what ever frame you ride back yet??? are you supprised at all of the neat bends and crooks in you frame tubing? I work with metal everyday i have build frames,unless the tube was bend till the metal was overstressed i am sure it will be fine, I have bend tubing to clear tires, chains etc.
That’s like going to the plate with strike two. There would be no warning if it buckled… like stepping on a pop can with a dent in the side.
Yes thats a great comparision two hundred pounds stepping on a soda can verses sitting on a bike frame that has a seat tube and a seatstay holding your weight up,i know most of you guys have never seen a piece of tubing or a bike frame cut in half,even the thinest frame tube is much thicker then a soda can.
so yes, a soda can is much thinner than a tube of a bicycle frame. But the point was that even a slight bend in the structure reduces its stability by MUCH and can cause it to break. Are you saying you would ride it? how are you so sure that this frame will hold up? I would rather say that this frame could fail and not ride it, then ride it and see it fail.
I would look at this from an insurance perspective. A new frame is insurance for it not to fail. If you crash and end up in the hosptial with a huge bill, miss work, etc. you would be willing to pay $2000 for the situation to be solved. Now add to this that your health is worth much more than ANY dollar amount and a new frame sounds like a bargain.
Unless i could see that it had been stressed past were it looks in the picture i would ride it, hell the paint is not even cracked,again go look at the bends in a bike frame,many are pretty close to this,you look at a big tubed alum frame where the rear tire goes by the chainstay and you will see some nice bends. I know most of you guys have so much more experience then me about these things, I will just laugh when i see you post later how do i change my tire
(so yes a soda can is much thinner than a tube of a bicycle frame)
a soda can is not even the same kind of aluminum and is not designed to hold up weight a bike frame is,plus how do you know a new frame will not fail on you first ride?? we really need to start to build these frames out of heavier stuff.
One has to anneal before bending an aluminum tube. (At least the ones I’ve read about.) One also heat treats the entire frame after welding ( and the bending). The frame was bent without the benefit of either of those treatments. The owner should contact the manufacturer.
This is why most steel and Ti can be cold set (Ti should be left to pros from what I remember - extra long lever arms needed and not sure about 6-4 Ti) and aluminum should never be cold set.