linberl

The c/c insurance is for damage from ANY reason. If you buy a smartphone and drop it during the first 90 days, many cards will provide reimbursement. I'm not getting into the cause of the dent, plenty of opinions on that here already. I am just trying to provide the OP with an option he may not be aware of. It's insurance, neither Marin nor Performance take a hit, it's NOT a chargeback.

OP - if your c/c does not offer that insurance, then I suggest buying a nice looking padded top tube cover. If you can't see it, eventually it won't drive you crazy to see the new dent in your new bike. Consensus seems to be it won't affect the ride. So cover it up and protect it (maybe do that anyway since this happened) and go ride.

Nachoman

Just because you didn't notice it, doesn't mean it wasn't there.
Consider that possibility.

Koyote

I take it that you are not a scientist.

Your frame is not airtight, and hence there is no possibility of creating a vacuum inside the frame tubes. The temperature of air inside the frame will be roughly the same as the temperature of the air outside the frame. In other words, your theory is about as airtight as your frame.

Something impacted your frame, and you noticed it while getting your fast food fix. Don't blame Marin, and don't blame Performance Bike. It's not their fault.

nzhu

If there was a possibility I'd consider it. But I wrote a whole paragraph on what it's not.

nzhu

Actually I am a scientist. But scientists are very diverse.
But like I said, the pressure thing was just a suggestion that I didn't take seriously. I didn't know bike tubes weren't air tight. But metal can contract/expand making it weaker without being airtight. But Like I said, I don't know how it happened.

And again, wrong assumption. I didn't go into Wendy's and notice the dent afterwards. I got off to roll the bike over to Wendy's BEFORE entering Wendy's. I noticed the bump before Wendy's sidewalk.

You all like to make dumb assumptions about me and my circumstance all of which aren't true. And if you read my posts instead of skipping to the picture you'd know.

Nachoman

Koyote

If you don't seriously believe the theory about air temps and a vacuum, then you have no explanation for the damage. So why not just follow Occam's Razor and go with a theory that involves the fewest assumptions? Especially since plenty of posters (including me) think that it looks like an impact dent?

I understand that you are pissed. Someone stole your bike, then you got a new one and it got dented. I'd be pissed, too. But you have plenty of experienced people here telling you that bike frame tubes don't just spontaneously develop dents. I've owned plenty of bikes, and spent some years managing a fleet of rental bikes -- dozens of 'em, all with aluminum frames, and used in all kinds of weather - including going in and out of heated buildings in winter. Hell, I still own one of those bikes, and routinely park it indoors, then take it out in sub-freezing temps, then back indoors. No dents.

gregf83 

Sorry your bike got dented but the responses you've read on this forum are the same as you'd receive from any reasonable cyclist.

Occam's razor says your top tube was dented when you weren't watching it. You didn't notice it until later. No manuf would warranty that dent.

Kontact 

If the dent occurred while you were riding, and it has fairly sharp edges that rule out being caused by air pressure, then the only think left is that a bullet must have ricocheted of the top tube while you were riding.

So then the question is - was someone trying to kill you, or was it just a stray bullet?

Bmach

Maybe your bike was the victim of a drive by shooting

Dang kontact you beat me to it.

jimincalif

This is great advice. Chase Visa for example has this protection for 120 days after purchase. Hopefully OP has something similar available.

Bmach

The way he is acting, I hope he is not covered.

Nooner

I bet the bike rides exactly the same with or without that impact dent...

Cyclist0108

It has all the hallmarks, and I ain't talking about the cheesy greeting cards.

A good scientist favors the explanation with the fewest ad hoc assumptions.

Clearly, William of Occam snuck into the O.P.'s office and smited the top-tube with a cone wrench perpendicular to the axis of the high-vaccuum sealed top tube.

linberl

Obviously I would never tell you how to feel, but...have you never had a bright shiny new toy or car and had that first scratch or dent? However it happens, it's always upsetting. What I got from the post is the OP does not know how it happened and he's just reaching for an answer to explain something he personally did not cause. However it happened, I hope he can get it replaced, fixed or move on. No reason to be mean about it....

Koyote

The OP has responded sharply to some other posters who merely pointed out the obvious. So I don't think you can blame people for being a little snarky in their responses.

And by the way, I have (a) dented a new car right after making the first payment, (b) dropped a freshly-repaired camera rig (worth about $1200) from a twelve-foot riser, and (c) wrecked a whole lot of other stuff in my many years on the planet. And I never blamed the object itself, nor its manufacturer or seller. Claiming that P-Bike and Marin "scammed" him/her is ludicrous and deserves to be treated as such.

FBOATSB

Uh, yeah, I've had bikes stolen and that sucks but I didn't transfer that angst forward in life nor towards a bike shop. Not too long ago I actually bought an old bike that came to me with a pre installed top tube dent that I will be riding for the rest of my life if it doesn't get stolen.

FBOATSB

And yes, the credit card thing is not disingenuous at all to take advantage of it is simply insurance provided by the credit card company as a perk. I make most all large purchases by credit card even if I have the cash up front to take advantage of these perks.

Bmach

Linberl, I was the first one to respond to the op and that was his reply to me. Maybe that has a lot to do with why I said what I did.

shelbyfv

Space debris?

Cyclist0108

Higgs Boson-mediated spontaneous symmetry breaking.

Kontact 

I think the Marin/Performance consortium are trying to kill the OP.

exmechanic89

As someone else said, the bike will ride the same. My bike has more than one similar dents. Just ignore the dent and ride the bike, OP. You bought it to ride, right? I'd ride the bike the stop trying cause grief for Performance and Marin, they had nothing to do with this.

Fastfingaz

I think I've heard of that somewhere,,,,,

CliffordK

Watch out riding through those microscopic black holes. You should feel lucky it just collapsed part of the top tube. It could have been much worse...