# Small dent on top tube



## Johnny Alien (May 15, 2010)

I am in the process of buying a bike and I noticed in a photo there is a small dent in the top tube. With old steel is a dent of this nature something to worry about?


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## old'skool (Jul 2, 2011)

It's a common place due to bar/lever strikes. The top tube is under compression, so it could be a problem.

Put your weight on a beer can (you can do it). Then have a friend use a stick to dent the can, it collapses immediately.

Depends on the wall thickness, depth of dent, your type of riding, etc etc.

I've had a few bikes with same, and never had a problem. YMMV.


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## utahdog2003 (Jul 8, 2004)

I'd ride that thing, no worries...

...and I weigh 225lbs and my ass is huge.


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## Devilock (Feb 28, 2011)

Nothing a little bondo won't fix


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## H_Tuttle (Feb 27, 2007)

i wonder if the hairdryer & co2 trick would work on tubing


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## Johnny Alien (May 15, 2010)

Well he said the photo shading makes it look worse and that it's a small dimple. He had a shop a few years back check it out and say it was fine and he never had issues. I was offered an inspection time for a full refund so all seems to be good. I am not too worried about it now.


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## Johnny Alien (May 15, 2010)

Plus utahdog's ass is huge and he would ride it with no worries.


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## 83stumpjumper (Feb 14, 2011)

A small dent like that is nothing to worry about ona steel frame.


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## CS2 (Jul 24, 2007)

The best dent removal thread online. Good luck

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthrea...-out-Dents-in-frame?highlight=dent+wood+block


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## aerius (Nov 20, 2010)

Nothing to worry about, I had a similar but slightly larger dent in my frame for nearly 10 years before the frame broke somewhere else. Granted I'm on the lighter side as far as my weight goes, but I rode the heck out of that frame and did a whole bunch of warranty voiding things with that bike.

Just keep an eye on it and look it over once in a while to ensure there aren't any cracks forming in or around the dented area. Take a few good detailed pictures of the dented area when you get the bike and use it as a reference for future comparisons. Odds are quite good that everything will be fine and stay exactly the same until the frame breaks somewhere else, but having the reference photos to compare things with will keep your mind at ease and let you catch things early in the unlikely event that it gets worse.


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## iamkeith (Feb 5, 2010)

*my dent removal experience*

Sorry for the late thread revival. I meant to post this a couple of weeks ago, but I misplaced my camera. I spent some time last month trying to remove a similar dent, and documented it with photos. Thought some of you might like to see it.

Ironically, it was on almost the same bike as yours! '93 MB-1 in this case, with paper-thin Ritchey Logic / Tange Prestige tubing. This was my personal holly grail of bikes, that I'd searched for for years.... and then, with the paint still fresh, I dented it right after I got it. I didn't even have a good story to tell - I dropped a damn tire pump on it as I was building it up for the first time! I was so mad at myself that it made me physically sick to my stomach to look at it, so I HAD to try something - regardless of the question of structural integrity.

FYI, I tried the "dry ice / hairdryer thing," before I tried the "blocks thing" shown below, and it barely did anything. It shrunk the dent a tiny bit, but the heat from the hairdryer did more damage to the paint than the blocks did. So my advice would be to not waste your time.

Otherwise, pictures below are pretty self-explanatory. Some notes:

1. I used cherry wood, because it was the hardest wood I could find lying around. 
2. I used a 1 1/8" forstner bit to cut the hole, which was slightly smaller than the tubing diameter if you accounted for the thickness of the paint, but it worked ok anyway. And, as an off-the-shelf size, it was MUCH cheaper than ordering a precision metric size bit that was slightly larger.
3. I used a liberal coat of petrolium jelly to protect the finish, and it worked pretty well.
4. As you can see, this did NOT completely remove the dent, but it's a vast improvement. It pushed the high spots down, so that some filler can complete the job if and when I ever repaint the frame again. 
5. Not sure about the kahsi-max track frame protector. I'm thinking it might prevent it from happening again in the same spot... and it does hide the remaing dent.


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## yo-Nate-y (Mar 5, 2009)

much improved!


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## jeff (Jan 13, 2004)

I want that vice.


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## girlonbike (Apr 24, 2008)

great pictures! If you think mb-1s are easy to dent, the zips dent if you look at it funny. :madmax: Sorry about the dent but it looks great now. I think you did a great job! All your tools and stuff is fun to look at too.


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## Johnny Alien (May 15, 2010)

When I got the bike the dent was WAY smaller than what the photo showed. It was really just a tiny dimple. No real issue at all. I have no issues leaving it as is since it's not really noticeable.


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## iamkeith (Feb 5, 2010)

girlonbike said:


> great pictures! If you think mb-1s are easy to dent, the zips dent if you look at it funny. :madmax:


I take it you know this from experience, Girl. Sorry to hear it if so. My best friend had a zip from new, and that's the bike I originally covetted. He's a clydesdale and rode the heck out of it with no incident for years. Then a delivery truck knocked it over while it was parked behind the bike shop he worked at, and it crumpled like a tin can. That's one of the reasons I wanted the MB-1 instead... that, and lugs, I guess.



girlonbike said:


> Sorry about the dent but it looks great now. I think you did a great job! All your tools and stuff is fun to look at too.


I can't take credit for the shop. It belongs to a friend. Funny, I had actually cropped some of the above photos , to intentionally remove some of the "fun" things in the background. (I didn't want to be responsible for encouraging the mix of power tools and alchohol. Disclaimer: Don't try this at home! )


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## iamkeith (Feb 5, 2010)

Johnny Alien said:


> When I got the bike the dent was WAY smaller than what the photo showed. It was really just a tiny dimple. No real issue at all. I have no issues leaving it as is since it's not really noticeable.


Awesome, glad to hear it! Post a picture if you get a chance. As you can tell, I always love to see pictures of those old Bridgestones - especially the ones with the Ritchey fork crown.


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## Johnny Alien (May 15, 2010)

iamkeith said:


> Awesome, glad to hear it! Post a picture if you get a chance. As you can tell, I always love to see pictures of those old Bridgestones - especially the ones with the Ritchey fork crown.


I started another thread with some photos.


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## chukt (Oct 17, 2009)

iamkeith said:


> ...My best friend had a zip from new, and that's the bike I originally covetted. He's a clydesdale and rode the heck out of it with no incident for years. Then a delivery truck knocked it over while it was parked behind the bike shop he worked at, and it crumpled like a tin can.


I loved that Zip! Here is the true story...

After the truck dented the frame it never cornered well. I put it on a friends (Sternberg Cycles) flat table and sure enough the frame was twisted. We tried to straighten it gradually...two of us perfectionist clydesdale types...but the frame just would not get straight. Had we used the techniques above, I am sure the frame would have been true. We heaved what we thought was just enough and the Zip made the crinkling sound of a beer can. I switched to Bontrager at that point.


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## eastcoaststeve (Sep 19, 2007)

jeff said:


> I want that vice.


Haha Jeff, glad to see I'm not the only weirdo checking out the vice.

mine:


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## outside! (Mar 15, 2006)

eastcoaststeve said:


> Haha Jeff, glad to see I'm not the only weirdo checking out the vice.
> 
> </a>


What is weird about coveting that big manly hunk of a Chas Parker vise?


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