I crashed my surly steamroller last night and bent the down tube to the point that the front wheel wont pass under it anymore to turn from side to side. I called surly and they wont do anything and recomended that I do not try to fix it since the structural integruity is so important.
My question is if anyone has taken out a bad bend/ crimp in the frame, reinforced it and had success with the bike.
I crashed my surly steamroller last night and bent the down tube to the point that the front wheel wont pass under it anymore to turn from side to side.
Wow! Hope you're OK. Sorry to hear about the bike. What kind of impact did it take to do that? Got any pics?
It was a fast (25 mph ish) head on collision with a sand filled run away truck/construction barrel. i took a good hit and did about a 15' flip and the bike was toast. i dont have any pictures of the bent frame because the LBS was able to take out the crimp and fix (somewhat) the tube. i am going to weld in some support and go from there. i will post pictures when it is all said and done.
My face was ok amaizingly. The brunt of the hit was to hy helmet (broken) and my shoulder (seperated) and the bike frame.
I am sure I can find someone to fix it professionaly, but the price needs to be reasonable, and thats the hard part. I think i will do the welding my self.
I would do some looking for a book on welding airplane tubing there are certin ways to do repares certin angles to get max strenth without adding a lot of weight.
Can it be welded? Probably Should it be welded is another question. Bending steel changes things quite a bit. The stresses on an airplane tube and a bike are so different as to really not be comparable. There is also the question of cost to replace. An airplane will be in the 10s of thousands if not hundreds of thousands, and a few tube and fabric planes are one of a kinds and priceless. Big difference between tens of thousands and the cost of a bike frame.
Another thing to consider is how much would the hospital bill cost compared to the cost of the frame?? Honestly I'd buy another frame just like the one that got wrecked and save the old one as a reminder of both the good times you had on that bike, and the risks that are involved on any bike so I would stay extra alert at all times. (and to be clear I am not saying that you were at fault in any way nor that you were not alert. What happened to you sounds like it could happen to any one at any time)
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