celesteguy 

So I picked this up the other day because the price was good, even for wall art. No clear intentions other than I couldn't pass it up. It is my size, however.

Not sure the year but I'm guessing mid 90s, Columbus EL OS (my favorite tubeset) Tecno. I believe its fully chromed. Gorgeous lugs, details, etc.

It is in perfect shape except for a 1 inch long and 3/16 inch deep dent in the middle of the downtube due to a car door impact. No other crash damage.

What would you do? Resell? Ride as is? Hang it up and stare at it? Replace the tube? Roll out the dent? Trash it and sell the fork? Trash it and keep the fork? I'm thinking of trying to roll it out (no experience), but the dent gets pretty sharp at the ends (no cracks), and not sure how this would affect the clamping/rolling process.

Thought about posting under "frame builders" but this is where I hang out the most.

Any and all comments welcome.

Velikus

Ouch! Hell, I'd ride that frame, but then I'm like that, already ride a dented Davidson. Is the frame straight (string test)? What model is that, Tecno?

celesteguy 

Where/how bad is your dent?
Yes, this is a Tecno.
String test shows its off by 1/8" crooked toward the dented side (or course).

P!N20

Paging bulgie , Doug Fattic , gugie

I believe dents to the seat tube can be pushed out from the inside so the paint isn't destroyed, but I'll let the experts chime in.

Gorgeous frame too, deserves an attempt at repair.

Velikus

Mine is a shallow, long dent on the top tube drive side. No sharp crease though, just like the bike got hard leaned into something. Looks nasty but the frame is straight, bike's a beast.
That Tommasini is a beautiful frame, I'd ride it. But don't take advice from me, wait for the experts to chime in...

sloar 

I’ve got a DeRosa with a small ding on the toptube. I’ve been trying to sell it for a great price with zero interest. If I still have it this winter I’ll probably fix it and repaint it. The ding bothers me enough to sell and I guess bothers everyone else to buy.

SJX426 

Ouch! Beautiful frame set, event he unicrown like fork is acceptable.
Can't see a repair without paint loss.

cudak888 

A framebuilder who knows what they're doing should be able to roll ~80% of it out and fill the remainder with brass. 100% sure the hit also affected the main triangle alignment, so figure in the need to have it aligned on a frame table too. In fact, check the whole thing first for other hidden damage or alignment issues before even considering the dent repair.

If downtube repair works out, the chrome lugs give the painter an advantage. The only seam line between the original paint and the repaint would be the BB shell, one of the most obscured areas of a bicycle. The most visible area would be where it meets the chrome lug rather than matching paint, allowing slight variance to sneak by.

Remember, between repairs and paint, you might wind up in the hole further on this one than if you keep it as wall art until the right one comes along.

-Kurt

mhespenheide 

What to do you want to do with it?

If you want it as wall art, hang it up with the dent facing away from you and call it good. You can't fully repair that dent without also needing a new paint job.

If you want to ride it as-is, it'll probably work just fine.

If it we me, I wouldn't have bought it. Or I'd sell it. There's an essentially infinite pool of non-dented frames out there, and if I didn't already have a sentimental connection to this particular frame, I wouldn't invest my time and energy. Both of which are ultimately more valuable than the outright cost. That is of course your own call to make.

gugie 

There was a recent thread over at the Classic Rendezvous site on this very subject. Bottom lline, a sharp bend in the tube was considered to be higher risk to frame breakage than a somewhat curved one. Top tube breakage from a dent is much less likely than a downtube, since there's more force on a downtube. I've seen a few cracked downtubes in the middle, typically around brazed on bottle bosses and very thin wall tubing. From the OP's pictures, it would seem to have two strikes against it (downtube, sharp dent). Rolling out the dent won't get rid of the sharp crease, and would be for cosmetic purposes only. Filling with bondo/JB weld/brass/silver after rolling it in frame blocks would get you back into shape, but then the beautiful paint job is ruined, and a repaint would far exceed the price paid for it. IMO, @mhespenheide's post, above is dead on.

Doug Fattic 

If a dent in a tube has a crease then that tube needs to be replaced because it is likely to fail in the future. No sensible professional frame builder will want to roll and fill the dent because of liability and not because they can't do it.

If this frame had sentimental value and wanted to be ridden again, I wouldn't replace the whole tube (which would mess up the chrome on the lug) but rather splice in a new section of the tube using an internal sleeve. This is what I did on my own frame when it came off of the roof rack on my car. Of course then the paint is destroyed and replicating it is really expensive. If the repair is a spliced in tube, mostly just the down tube paint is destroyed. But that doesn't mean it is possible to repair just the down tube paint to look like the original again. The mismatched paint on the down tube compared to the rest of the frame may be tolerable if its ride quality is then only consideration. Repainting a whole frame with chrome is a lot more time consuming (read much more expensive) than if there is no chrome. It can add hours to the job. But that is the only way it can be structurally strong enough and aesthetically pleasing again (even if it doesn't look anything like the original).

celesteguy 

Thank you everybody for the comments, especially those with framebuilding knowledge/experience. Just wanted to build a dialouge around this to consider my options.

I have a framebuilder friend that I can check with to see if he can splice the tube/labor cost. I have another friend who paints so I just have to buy the paint and he hooks up the labor. I think I'll try a splice and repaint rather than rolling it out. If it is cost prohibitive, I'll list the fork and get my money out of it. Ideally I'd like a rider. I don't mind laborious projects (time sucks?), I just spent 14 hours hand sanding and polishing an aluminum frame to mirror polish so that shows you where my priorities are I guess. I like projects. Just not ones where I end up eating my teeth when trying to ride the finished product.

I'll update the thread with whatever happens.

mpetry912 

the crease is the tell as Doug points out. While minor dents can be rolled out with frame blocks, that one does not look salvageable.

/markp

zandoval 

Who needs paint!

Bend it back if ya must and ride the dam thing...

kunsunoke 

If this was my bike frame, I'd probably save my coin for a while, make an appointment, then take the bike to Red Rose Imports in Lancaster or Bilenky in N. Philly to have the downtube replaced.

tendency

Busted up DT is a replacement job . Find a good framebuilder and get ready to spend $$$.

Or, do it yourself :

MooneyBloke

This thread upsets me so much. I really have no idea how much was payed for the frame, but I think that the buyer will pay far more for a competent repair and refinish than it would cost to find a flashy Italian factory like this bike without fatal compromise. I would never have purchased this, and in the poster's position, I would think long and hard about cutting my losses.

I have bikes by Peter Mooney, but if I were still hardy and foolish enough to enter crashteriums, I'd buy an Italian factory bike flashy or not. These are meant to ride in anger and be treated as disposable. They are weapons, not jewelry. What is sad is that these days, we're expected to think the same way of bikes that cost five figures or close to.

Doug Fattic 

I'll post some pictures of the top tube I replaced by splicing a tube into the middle on a frame I made for myself. I originally made it as a request by Hank Folson to show off his Henry James lug at a bicycle show. I chose a Hellenic style of seat stay attachment because that method showed off his seat lug without any seat stays attached to it.

The reason I suggest splicing a tube with an internal sleeve is because a full tube replacement will destroy the chrome on the down tube lug. Furthermore many Italian frames were held together with pins before brazing. It is necessary to find the pins and drill them out first before trying to pull the tube out. In addition, any brass residue inside the lug can be challenging to remove. An added complication is that lug has little side fingers and it is likely they will break off the lug when enough heat is applied to free the tube. They might stay with the down tube instead of stay on the lug. A lot more heat goes into releasing brass brazed lugs from a tube than was used to put it together in the 1st place. Splicing part of a tube in with lower melting silver does a lot less damage. Of course not all framebuilders have a lathe and know how to use it to make the internal sleeves. Unfortunately I couldn't find any pictures I took of the sleeves to illustrate how they work.


The dented top tube has been cut out

The new spliced tube is ready for one end to be brazed in with silver

Any extra silver has been filed and emeried away

My frame after I repainted it again. I've ridden it many miles since this picture was taken

jetboy 

how about just cut it at the dent and use some S&S couplers? then you have a kick-butt travel bike.

Chr0m0ly 

I was JUST going to say that!!

scarlson 

^^this

I was just going to say this. It will probably cost the same as getting sleeving or tube replacement done. I mean the dent is in sorta the right place. Might still need to splice some more tubing in if you want get it closer to the BB where the coupler should be. But would be easier because you don't need to get the internal sleeves in there, and you only need to make one sleeve, you can see inside the tube ..etc. Or just put the coupler in the wrong place. It's fine. Will probably still pack down pretty small.

If it were my bike, of course, I have the frame blocks so I'd probably roll out the dent and see how it went. I know it's creased and it would probably develop a crack, if not while rolling out the dent then afterward while riding it. But steel fails gracefully and you could keep an eye on it. Don't get it painted though. And rolling out the dent would wreck the paint in that area.

rjhammett

I would be tempted to try high strength hot g*n glue sticks. Try using multiple full lengths ones along the dent and give it a pull. I have removed a top tube dent using frozen water in the tube but you have to be very careful doing it.

himespau 

That's an interesting thought. Make it look intentional.

jetboy 

I admit I have had an eye toward finding a high end frame for cheap because it has a serious dent in the correct place and no one wants it- and go the S&S route. The OP's frame is not in the perfect place, but its not terrible- it will still pack well and if one has a grail frame in hand... why not give it a go?

repechage

I know the top tube is oversize, the downtube?
also, there is an even chance the whole frame is chromed.
Overcoming that is just added work.
processing, health and safety of guy with the torch.

sometimes just best to hang it up as is.