Am I S.O.L.?
 

I went for a ride last last week and fell after getting sucked into a soft shoulder... I took the bike out for the first time since the fall and noticed it was shifting funny so I brought it home, opened up Zinn's, and began working on my bike for the first time. After playing with the front derailur for a few minutes I noticed the frame was bent... remembering some posts I've browsed earlier I realized what a problem this could be. I'm riding a Trek 1000c and have attached a few pictures. Could ya'll take a look and tell me if I have reason to be concerned :) It is an aluminum frame and as best I can tell, the front derailur got twisted in the fall and somehow bent the frame... seems like it would take a lot of force to do that, but I couldn't have been going more than 9 or 10 mph. I've only had the bike for a month or two... is this something Trek will cover?

I would say that it is safe to ride it... Phone trek, see what they can do. I ride a bike that has a dimple in the frame much like that, works fine.... Phone trek for sure though if you just bought it 2 months ago, trek is known for being nice to deal with.

That's what I was hoping to hear... My primary concern is that I am a 'full figured' guy and am putting quite a bit of weight on the bike... not sure if that matters or not.

Another question, should the derailur rotate around into the frame that easy?

I agree with the part about calling Trek. I have had great experence with their customer service. If you have/want to replace the frame, I think they have a frame replacement deal that is really good. When you call Trek, don't be surprised when they tell you to take it to your dealer for evaluation.

I bought the bike at an out of town dealer (near my in-laws)... My wife is heading down there Wednesday, should I have her take the bike or just head to a local Trek dealer?

From what the pictures show, the frame is probably safe to ride, assuming the frame is still straight and true.

The only problem I could see if that the new front derailleur may not clamp on the the tube as well because it is not a prefect round... give it a try and see...

Toefuuzz, I dont think you are SOL. I ride a 2004 trek 1000 and the is a indent put there by trek. It is to give clearence for the tripple frt derailur. I noticed this on my bike a while back and thought somehow I managed to get a dent there. No chipping of the paint or scratching I figured why worry if its going to fail ill ride it till it does. And tehn I put it out of mind. After reading your post i looked at it again. No different. Had to go by the LBS on my ride today was out of gu. While there I pulled 2 different trek 1000's out of the rack and looked at them.ump in in the same place. Asked shop owner about it and he said a couple of different companys do that to use larger diameter tubing and still have clearence for frt derailur. Hope the helps.