[misctwo]

repairable?

freaking UPS gorilla must have stood the bike box with the headtube end down and the box went a-bangin' all the way to my office. :madman:

it's a small dent, potentially solved with a nice reaming and facing. headset could even possibly fit to force the tube back to shape.

it's a bad pic, but it is not as bad as it looks-the difference in color to the reaming area is just the light off the small grooves of the headtube surface.

opinions?

it's also the area of the headtube that sees less stress than other parts of the tube, unless i' m running into brick walls. like this ===----> :madman:

the Prude in me says to do the following:
1- call intense, see what they say(i've done that and i just sent them pics, haven't responded)
2- call UPS, get insurance money to pay for a replacement front end
3- wait about 6 weeks for a replacement front end.
4- feel depressed.

The impatient biker in me says to do the following:
1- go to LBS, see what they can do
2- order them to (maybe bend back), ream and face the head tube
3- install headset
4- ride!

 

[crisillo]

the Prude in me says to do the following:
1- call intense, see what they say(i've done that and i just sent them pics, haven't responded)
2- call UPS, get insurance money to pay for a replacement front end
3- wait about 6 weeks for a replacement front end.
4- feel depressed.

The impatient biker in me says to do the following:
1- go to LBS, see what they can do
2- order them to (maybe bend back), ream and face the head tube
3- install headset
4- ride!

Maybe a middle point could work...

You could ask Intense, claim insurance, ream the headtube and ride it while the replacement gets there... how does that sound? (just an idea)

 

[grabau]

If you had to do any thing, I would try and very gently set the headset with a headset press. You could make one easy enough. You might think about using a stout headset like the one used on free ride bikes, because they sit deeper in the tube.

 

[Mike T.]

You have a minor problem here. Get a round metal bar about 1' long and about 1" diameter. Insert it 1/2 to 3/4 the way into the headtube from the dinged end. Place the bar on the dinged spot. Pull the dinged spot out. Ba-bum. Done. If you're really fussy, go have the headtube reamed and faced afterwards. I wouldn't bother though.

 

[misctwo]

You have a minor problem here. Get a round metal bar about 1' long and about 1" diameter. Insert it 1/2 to 3/4 the way into the headtube from the dinged end. Place the bar on the dinged spot. Pull the dinged spot out. Ba-bum. Done. If you're really fussy, go have the headtube reamed and faced afterwards. I wouldn't bother though.

i wish it were that easy. i'm going to look for a wooden dowel about1.5" in diameter, cut out a 'v' at the bottom, to allow for a metal rod into the dented area, and slowly tap it back out.

i doubt that pulling on the metal pipe will do anything but deform the headtube even further. i'm going to need to tap it back out. at least that's what a very good source reccomends.. thanks

 

[Mike T.]

i wish it were that easy. i'm going to look for a wooden dowel about1.5" in diameter, cut out a 'v' at the bottom, to allow for a metal rod into the dented area, and slowly tap it back out.

i doubt that pulling on the metal pipe will do anything but deform the headtube even further. i'm going to need to tap it back out. at least that's what a very good source reccomends.. thanks

It's an old framebuilders'/repairers' trick. Bring it around here and I'll do it for you in two minutes.

 

[misctwo]

It's an old framebuilders'/repairers' trick. Bring it around here and I'll do it for you in two minutes.

wanna meet halfway? going to try something tonight if i can...

UPS will be paying for a new front triangle anyway, so i'll give it a shot.

 

[dpatent]

I had the exact same problem (stupid UPS) as you and I was able to fix it by using an exhaust tubing expander. I got mine from Harbor Freight.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=37352

but to get it to work well, I put it into the head tube about 1/4" and then on the top part I used a piece of exhaust tube to not let the end flair out without exerting pressure on the bike's head tube. You'll see what I mean if you go down this route. Anyway, my head tube was bent by about 0.1" and I was able to expand it out to 0.04" out of round. It was enough that I could press the head set in without problem.

 

[misctwo]

I had the exact same problem (stupid UPS) as you and I was able to fix it by using an exhaust tubing expander. I got mine from Harbor Freight.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=37352

but to get it to work well, I put it into the head tube about 1/4" and then on the top part I used a piece of exhaust tube to not let the end flair out without exerting pressure on the bike's head tube. You'll see what I mean if you go down this route. Anyway, my head tube was bent by about 0.1" and I was able to expand it out to 0.04" out of round. It was enough that I could press the head set in without problem.

wow sweet, that looks like the perfect tool for the job. cheap tool too. :thumbsup:

 

[flipnidaho]

wow sweet, that looks like the perfect tool for the job. cheap tool too. :thumbsup:

I had a similar problem with a frame that I built (but because I screwed up the build by using too much heat on the downtube/headtube braze). After you round off the dent and ream, use a heavy duty headset with deep cups (like the CK Steeset) and maybe some Loctite 609 to seal any voids between the inside headtube and the cups.

 

[el-cid]

For sure call Intense and get some comment from them since they'll be handling any warranty work in the future. Good luck getting a response let alone actual money out of UPS. Bending, then re-bending aluminum seems like such a bad idea to me; I'd think it'd create a stress riser that might be a failure point in the future. The suggestion about a deep-cup headset is a good one. Good luck in whatever you wind up doing, let us know how it turns out.

 

[bikerguy]

Call intense before you screw up the frame trying to do something yourself. Chances are the headtube is laterally ovalized, and you are screwed. It sucks but that is what Im thinking. When you hit a tube on one side, what happens? the other two sides bulge out. get a response from intense before you do anything. BE PATIENT.