Hi, someone bent my steel frame in the bike parking of my dorm. The bend does not affect the rest of the frame, the wheel is still right and it is not damaged by the bent part. I can still use it like that but i was thinking about bending it back to make it look nicer. I don't know if it is a good idea cus it can damage the metal even more and make the frame unusable.
Any tips or suggestion about if i should try it and how i could do it safely ?
by Successful-Stick-994
16 Comments
You cannot do this safely without damaging your bike further. If by some miracle it is still rideable, continue to use it as is.
Not to be a debbie downer, but that thing is toast in my opinion. That rear wheel is tweaked out of alignment extremely bad. Looks to be both seat stays are bent too around the brake mount. I think it’s time you start looking for a new bike my friend
Dang I wonder what someone had to do to do that… did a car back into it maybe? You are probably better off sourcing a new frame and transferring everything over
Where?
Bike co-op nearby? Get a new old frame.
as the saying goes, Every bike is a folding bike if you just put in enough effort.
that bike is dead, don’t ride it.
Is this a fixed gear with a quick release skewer!?
That’s the fun thing about steel it should be possible to bend it back carefully as the steel is quite thin. The seat stay tube is speck to be quite flexible. But it’s best to check with a bike builder if this bike really has huge sentimental value . https://youtube.com/shorts/vOO0dQjIWy8?si=jX2alKRKge1ROa3K
I’d be so upset.
Go to LBS they should have the park fork straighten
Used it plenty of times fixing your problem
https://preview.redd.it/qga19uyrj7zg1.jpeg?width=821&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=60b5acb0c614d942d5200ea92a93ca9ea49f1581
Park Tool used to make a tool specifically for this task, [the SS-1 Seat and Chainstay Straightener.](https://www.parktool.com/en-us/product/seat-and-chainstay-straightener-ss-1?srsltid=AfmBOoqybMRm3VVKo66bKD0yu6KwMJ7IOO7gNI9ktkgTZc_ZMzgJfb40) Perhaps you can find an old shop which still has one, or being in Copenhagen, maybe [the VAR #369 equivalent.](https://www.sheldonbrown.com/var/pages/var0010.html)
I would ask a steel shop to do this, they will strip the paint, heat the part and bend it carefully to remove the material strain on the seat stay. They will return it better than the factory I bet.
Maybe you can try bent it back, then cut off the damaged part and weld new tube on that place. But only for casual recreation rides
Interesting split in the comments between people who know how to fix things, and people who’re afraid to fix things.
If there’s no creases in the seat stats you can pull it back straight with a 2×4 and some string. Sheldon brown’s instructions on cold setting the rear triangle will help.