What do you guys think? (Area under the “R”, I also have ride wrap installed)
I hit a bump on the road and the bike bounced on my truck’s tailgate. I really hope it is just the paint cause i have a huge bike trip planned for the weekend.
Thanks yall
by Chinesericehat
38 Comments
There’s a massive dent in your down tube… I wouldn’t send this
i don’t think that it is just the paint, you can clearly see a pump in the frame
Oooof that’s rough.
Definitely a dented frame, likely not cracked just paint cracking off the aluminum, but I’m not 100a% sure.
You’re kinda lucky, carbon would have cracked for sure, but you may not be out of the woods yet.
Carbon or aluminium? Looks like a considerable dent along with damage on the bottom. I’d get it looked at by a reputable shop, and I’m typically pretty loosy-goosy on these things.
Do you not see the massive dent??
If aluminium it’ll be paint. If carbon it’ll be buggered
Ditch it!
this is probably fine for an aluminum bike, right?
That’s nasty but I think (and I am NOT a mechanical engineer…) that it probably won’t impact the strength of the downtube for riding that badly, given the type of forces (compression and tension) on the tube. It’s a relatively shallow dent, so I would be amazed if there was enough force during riding to crumple the tube at that point.
As an aside, I always wondered why this kind of damage wan’t more common from tossing bikes onto a tailgate resting on relatively thin downtube sections.
Update to the post: this is an aluminum frame and the “crack” is about 1.5 inches long. Ive been riding with the dent for a month or two, but the ”crack” only happened this morning. I also read that a dent in the down tube is fine since it is engineered to be in tension and not compression.
Thanks for the replies yall.
I had a slightly bigger dent on my down tube from my first AL bike, bike shop said it was fine to ride it. Never had an issue but these types of questions should almost always got to a reputable bike shop.
If aluminum is send. DT is in tension not compression.
I’d retire this frame to gravel riding bud. A failure there is going to lead to a loss of teeth, at best.
Bruhh…
You want people on the internet to diagnose the huge fucking dent in your downtube that’s there because you weren’t careful with loading your bike and securing it while not supplying a direct photo, but completely angled and too far away so no one can tell what’s really going on there, except you have a massive dent there that you don’t seem to be able to see.
If it’s aluminum, I wouldn’t toss the frame over that. Just keep an eye on it, ride it til you can afford a new frame. A dent like that isn’t going to compromise the integrity that much, I’ve had way worse and rode for years. Just be mindful it’s there, and do pre ride and post ride checks. I bet it’s fine, not everyone can just toss a frame over a small dent. That’s just my two cents.
Dent does not look that big compared to the size of the tube. I don’t know what everyone is seeing here. It’s a medium dent with some paint cracking. I’d keep riding it. It’s not going to suddenly explode.
#DENT
It’s a little dent, ride the shit out of it.
It’s just a dent that’s caused paint to crack… I’d suggest a plushier tailgate pad w/ a more secure strap. And also drive like you’ve got a $5000 bike in the back.
if aluminum, it’s ok. but if carbon, it’s toast. carbon doesn’t dent, it cracks.
Bro really need to ask that, you clear hit on something and common sense says it’s frame crack or close to one and will eventually become one
That’s why I never understood why people put their bikes on tailgates. So likely that this will happen. Tubes are very weak in that direction
I’d ask Santa Cruz directly, down tubes are highly stressed (more than the top tube most of the time) and they’re not the greatest spot to have damage like that. If you’re hesitating due to the potential cost of replacing the frame, remember that such a replacement is a one time cost. If you hurt yourself due to this frame failing on a ride, you could do permanent damage to yourself that will follow you for the rest of your life.
nah bruh you’re done
Is it also a rust patch?
It’s a dent in the frame that led to cracked paint. It’s likely your frame has no crack. But, you may want to take it easy on jumps.
Santa Cruz lifetime warranty baby! If it’s an old bike, theyll send you the updated version! Congrats
As someone with 2 years shop experience It’s fine dude just ride it, hopefully someone with more knowledge doesn’t say otherwise but I kinda doubt it.
Should I rant about getting a proper bike rack or just tossing it in the bed again?
Not to use a bad situation as a sales opportunity, but I am selling an XL Santa Cruz Tallboy in aluminum with a bunch of upgrades if you find yourself in the market.
I met a guy a while back who did the same thing on his FS Trek. And it was a major dent and He was still sending it. Just get a padded tailgate bike rack for peace of mind.
Contact Santa Cruz and see what they can do for you.
Paint
I can only speak for myself, but I’d probably keep riding that for a while. I would give it a few miles then inspect it again to make sure I don’t see it worsening. Even thee slightest visual change would be enough for me to immediately stop riding it, though.
Rach out to santa cruz to get crash replacmet
Just a dent. It’s not going to break on you probably. It’s not 💯 anymore but I have a monster of a dent in the chain stay on a Honzo frame it’s still solid and square. You’ll be fine but yeah buy a new bike anyway, you can never have too many
I mean, there’s a huge fuckin dent… clearly that means there’s something wrong with the paint