1989 Nishiki Ariel that my girlfriend has been riding lately. Front fork seems to have been replaced at some point and I noticed some signs of stress to the frame. It rides great!
Keep riding or retire this frame?
by Nohurryturtle
1989 Nishiki Ariel that my girlfriend has been riding lately. Front fork seems to have been replaced at some point and I noticed some signs of stress to the frame. It rides great!
Keep riding or retire this frame?
by Nohurryturtle
25 Comments
Yes. As a matter of fact I am an expert frame retirer. You can sand it to me and I will retire the shit out of it.
Yeah I would retire that all day around town
Has someone run into a curb/wall at some point? Almost certainly.
Does the frame show some small signs of stress? Yep.
Would I still ride the bike? Absolutely. It’s steel – and it isn’t fully buckled – just try not to t-bone a brick wall again.
Nah, that stuff is superficial. Keep it going!
Beater bike you can ride to the pub and not worry about getting stolen? go for it. For any off road use ever again? Nah, retire it
I’d remove any loose paint, treat the surface rust, and keep riding. Cool looking bike!
>It rides great!
You answered your own question.
Yes, steel frames can endure a lot of abuse, and can still be ridden with a fair amount of damage(see my post about my wife’s Breezer). Those fractures on top of the downtube just after the gusset are worthy of closer inspection. Scrape paint to get a look at the underlying metal, and try to get a straightedge on the top of the tube to check straightness.
No
I have a Trek 800 in far worse shape than that. I fully intend to abrasive blast it and repaint. Now that assumes the seatpost and bb come out without damage as mine did. Try that first .
Unless there is cracking or concerning fatigue in the metal (not flaking paint), no.
I haven’t ridden a steel bike to failure, but I do know a lot about steel. It does not fail in flexure suddenly. You will see cracking and bending way before you are close to failure.
My daily driver is in worse condition than that. You will be just fine.
1.) don’t tell your gf what bike to ride/not ride based on anonymous advice on the internet.
2.) be stoked your gf is riding this bike with a beautiful soul, cosmetic challenges, and ambiguous safety; it means she has good taste and a lot of patience.
Maybe, I’d probably put on a more road friendly tire, but if you ride trails more maybe theyre fine
This frame has atleast 10 more years in it if not more
That frame will outlive us all
I see battle scars. Until there is a big rust through area or a spicy frame buckle…rock that ho.
Needs a good wash and a ride
It would make a great gravel conversion
keep going. ride it into the ground
Nah if I wanted to give this frame a new life, I’d get it sandblasted. Once it’s raw, inspect for cracks or dents and if it’s all good, repaint it! Lots of fun.
tires look super new actually
Xbikies never say die
I once rode a Motobecane Grand Jubilee 5 miles with only one chainstay connected. The other had snapped at a bad amateur weld repair without me noticing (not my repair). I only realized after I got home. My only thought during my ride was “wow, this frame is really comfy and springy!”
Anyway, you’re probably good to ride it around town without getting too radical.
*Tis but a scratch* https://youtu.be/ZmInkxbvlCs?si=yc5shljmHUobGG8z