Hello everyone,
I was recently side-collided from the left by a car whose driver failed to yield at an intersection, and it turned out the driver didn’t even have a valid license. Thankfully I walked away with only some bruises, and I was wearing a helmet.
During the inspection by a Canyon Service Partner to assess the damage to my bike, we discovered that the left seatstay was bent. At this point, the bike is considered a total loss (cost of repair exceeds the bike’s value).
I will be compensated by the driver’s insurance for the bike and for the injuries, but since it’s a foreign insurance company, my lawyer estimates it will take about 4–6 weeks for the money to arrive. In the worst case, it might take 3–4 months, especially if the driver was uninsured.
Right now, I don’t have the funds to buy a new road bike until the insurance money comes in.
My question is:
Would you keep riding a bike with a bent left seatstay for a couple of months?
I typically ride around 200 km per week.
Bike: 2023 Canyon Endurace AL 6 (aluminum frame + carbon fork), last picture is the bike before the crash
I appreciate any advice or opinions.
Thank you in advance.
by IZMIR_METRO
7 Comments
I rode a bike for a while after a crash and the handle bar ended up snapping while I was sprinting, most certainly because of damage from the crash that I didn’t notice.
Is the bent seatstay in the room with us right now? Because I don’t see it.
On an aluminum frame, NO IT’S NOT SAFE. if you like your collarbones and ribs the way they are right now, don’t ride this bike
I don’t think I’d chance aluminum. Do you not have the funds to pick up something relatively cheap on the secondhand market to tide you over? I see a few passable road bikes listed near me for $200 to $300. Of course, there is the matter of fit…
Minor bend. I would ride it. But Not if there’s a crease or crack anywhere.
Any other country in the world I would ride it, in the US… not sure.
Seriously, its not a big of a bend, and also the stays work in compression so you could even try and straighten them a little and should be fine if you are not too heavy. Also your collar bone should be fine, If they would collapse you will fall backwards or sideways.
I assume you’e talking about health insurance. In that case, on this bike– wait for the insurance to become effective. You might need it.