Two years ago I got into a collision with a car which I was lucky to walk away from, but my bike was not. The bike shop declared it to be unsafe to ride due to the dented frame, I got a new bike, and this one has been sitting in my basement ever since because I'm too lazy to sit down and salvage parts from it. This summer, I started wondering if I could put it on an indoor trainer and just turn it into a stationary bike. Would I still run the risk of the dent in the frame causing it to collapse while I'm on it?
by Son0f_ander
4 Comments
You could still really hurt yourself if it collapses while you’re riding it on the trainer. Get a cheap old frame for next to nothing and a cheap front wheel then transfer that and everything on your bike to the frame and use that as your indoor bike. 🤷🏻
I actually think a trainer might be worse for this type of damage because the frame absorbs all of the force rather than transferring it to the wheels/road
Assuming the only dent is that top tube one, I’d use this on the trainer without worrying too much. (But you could also keep an eye on it over time to see if it gets any worse.)
Frames do get beat up a bit on trainers because they can’t pivot so there’s more torque latterally than outdoor. However, with weight not an issue, you can do hacky things like slap a drain pipe under it and wrap it in a mile of duct tape.
It’s probably fine to spin it on your wahoo unless you’re chasing sprint records.