This damage is from seat tube mounted child seat (Thule Yepp Nexxt) – how bad it is to the structural rigidity of the bike? There’s extra long (alu) seatpost inside, but the seat tube widens from top to bottom so there was still some extra room to clamp it like this. Thanks!
by OkAcanthisitta6258
30 Comments
Don’t ride that. Period. It could fold over under your weight at pretty much any moment.
No one online is going to be able to give you a proper evaluation, take it to a shop to be sure.
But based on the photo, it looks like tube has fully cracked/broken. I’d say 99% chance that frame is toast.
That frame is cooked…
I would say that’s pretty bad. Part of my brain thinks if you used a long seatpost you might be able to push most of that damage back out, but aluminum has a funny way of fatiguing and cracking when worked back and forth like this. I think your frame might be toast.
R.i.p.
Ouch. I think that frame is done, mate.
Thank y’all for replies – pretty much confirms my expectations. What would you recommend to prevent this from happening except for getting titanium frame? 😀
This looks cooked.
No one here can say for sure, so bring to LBS. I also had a frame that I thought was toast, but my LBS assured me it wasn’t a big deal and I’m back to having fun on the bike
She’s dead.
Unless you like sharp, sheared aluminium up your bum while riding your bike.
There is one very nasty kink in the tube. From the photos – I’d say the frame is scrap.
The risk that the frame bends and breaks under load is too high.
Trashed.
A Thule child bike seat did that?
The child aeat clamp ppinch point created a crease which now acts as a stress concentrator. Thini-walled tubes derive strength from their roundness. Your seat tube is no longer round.
Danger to ride. Perhaps donate to a bike charity so theu can scavenge the parts.
The most common failure mode for long slender members in compression is buckling. That is exactly what a good buckling failure wants to help get things started.
https://preview.redd.it/93jr35qwvhre1.jpeg?width=600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=946f391ea36f0419b1d80da1edf53533445e69cf
That’s a real shame that an expensive seat like that can cause damage like that without warning. Thule stuff isn’t cheap, and I just looked up the instructions. Zero warnings about using it on an aluminum frame and zero torque specs for those clamps that secure to the seatpost. The only warnings are to not use the seat on a carbon fiber frame, and/or not to use it on bike frames with triangular or square tubes.
I’d expect more out of a brand that prices their equipment at a premium price point like that.
Should clamp seat post (the thing that slides up and down to fit your saddle height) not seat tube
Think about it, once you like your saddle height, you tighten a wedge or clamp on the seat post. They are therefore designed for it and easier to replace
Donezo
This frame is totalled. No question. There’s a substantial enough risk of the seat tube failing, you crashing and ripping your femoral artery open on the sharp metal lmao. Not worth it.
I have a frame like that continued to be raced on HARD for years and nothing bad ever happened to it. That area takes some compressive loads but it’s spread through the triangles formed by the seat stays and top tube. Because of that consideration, I’d still ride it… carefully.
Doh! That frame was never meant for a child seat and is now completely destroyed. Some aluminum MTB frames could handle that clamping, but not your lightweight (thin wall tubing) frame. Do not ride this!
Don’t overtorque the clamp on aluminum.
Especially don’t overtorque the clamp and then put a child’s worth of weight on it.
This is the end [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXqPNlng6uI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXqPNlng6uI)
I agree with others. I would not trust that.
I’m always super careful about clamping forces on bicycle tubing because I’ve had exactly this same thing happen to me in the past.
Wow! That didn’t happen with my Old Norco Tango Susp MTB 20 yrs ago! Both are doing well today.
Congrats you have a full time trainer bike if you still want to take a risk on the integrity.
You’ve heard from a bunch of others, but yeah, frame is done. Maybe a local co-op has a frame you can swap everything over to.
This is best called “tuition”.
It’s not safe.
She cooked 👌🏼
That was a frame…now aluminum scrap
Aluminum recycling
No bueno