Crash damaged bikes?
Discussion
Are bikes that have been involved in an accident like used cars? Base them on their own merit, inspect them and pay for them minus a % of the undamaged value? Or just best avoided as there could be hidden frame damage?
Only reason I ask is I've seen a Triban for £50 which needs a new rear wheel and shifters?
I'm tempted to pick it up as a project just to learn my way around and see what I come up with and it could be handy for spares.
Surely if it was worth doing the owner would have done it themselves?
Only reason I ask is I've seen a Triban for £50 which needs a new rear wheel and shifters?
I'm tempted to pick it up as a project just to learn my way around and see what I come up with and it could be handy for spares.
Surely if it was worth doing the owner would have done it themselves?
My alu frame has just been written off by a bike shop after being hit by a car. I only took it in to be assessed that it was still true as I read that if the rear triangle is bent by even a fraction, it won't ride the same again. The bike shop said that they wouldn't recommend using the frame again as it could fail under load despite looking fine. The only damage to the bike was a broken and buckled rear wheel and some scratches on the pedal where it slid on the ground.
I don't know if I will get to keep the frame, or if the insurance company will want it, but if not I plan on using it as a commuter, as my route is slow.
I don't know if I will get to keep the frame, or if the insurance company will want it, but if not I plan on using it as a commuter, as my route is slow.
In the early 90's I was knocked off on a roundabout at low speed by a car on a one week old bike - Blind woman t boned me and it bent the pedal arm where the car hit me so far that you couldn't turn the pedals - that was the only sign of damage until you rode it.
When it was put on a jig the frame was 5 degrees out on the rear triangle and crabbed along which was barely noticeable at first. It was only after a few miles you realised it wasn't quite right. The insurance company paid out and let me keep the bike. Stripped the good parts, rebuilt it and sold it for £400 to a friend who knew the history. Winner.
From memory it was a Trek 8000 which was a pretty decent mountain bike at the time, I've been very wary of buying second hand bikes ever since because you can't really fix issues like that (LBS wouldn't try to fix an Alu frame with that much twist - it may be possible though)
When it was put on a jig the frame was 5 degrees out on the rear triangle and crabbed along which was barely noticeable at first. It was only after a few miles you realised it wasn't quite right. The insurance company paid out and let me keep the bike. Stripped the good parts, rebuilt it and sold it for £400 to a friend who knew the history. Winner.
From memory it was a Trek 8000 which was a pretty decent mountain bike at the time, I've been very wary of buying second hand bikes ever since because you can't really fix issues like that (LBS wouldn't try to fix an Alu frame with that much twist - it may be possible though)
j00pY said:
My alu frame has just been written off by a bike shop after being hit by a car. I only took it in to be assessed that it was still true as I read that if the rear triangle is bent by even a fraction, it won't ride the same again. The bike shop said that they wouldn't recommend using the frame again as it could fail under load despite looking fine. The only damage to the bike was a broken and buckled rear wheel and some scratches on the pedal where it slid on the ground.
I don't know if I will get to keep the frame, or if the insurance company will want it, but if not I plan on using it as a commuter, as my route is slow.
either:I don't know if I will get to keep the frame, or if the insurance company will want it, but if not I plan on using it as a commuter, as my route is slow.
a) they measured it and found it to be twisted
2) they inspected it closely and there are cracks or dents which you haven't spotted
or
iii) they are pulling a fast one to sell you a new frame
any damage significant enough to threaten the structural integrity of the frame will be externally visible on an alloy frame
source: 10+ years of experience DH racing (and crashing) aluminium mountain bikes
Personally I would never buy a crash damaged bike regardless of the material unless I knew and trusted the owner - one persons 'light crash' is another persons 'write off'.
CF de-laminates on the opposite side from impact - so the outside of the tube/join may look fine but could be masking a catastrophic internal failure, Alu fatigues on sudden impact and suffers from internal micro fractures that will fail with little or no notice. Steel is a safer bet but transfers energy from the point of impact (assuming a head on) to the weld in the ends of the tube which can result in fractures in the welds.
I would caveat the above by saying I am not a materials expert but spent a lot of time taking to frame builders when I was in the process of buying my Ti bike, all of which told the same story.
That said I would buy a crash damaged bike for the parts if it was cheap enough! I am looking for a Record group set, so if anyone with a CF bike built using a Record groupo drops it I will give you £50 for the complete bike, just to take it off your hands!!!
CF de-laminates on the opposite side from impact - so the outside of the tube/join may look fine but could be masking a catastrophic internal failure, Alu fatigues on sudden impact and suffers from internal micro fractures that will fail with little or no notice. Steel is a safer bet but transfers energy from the point of impact (assuming a head on) to the weld in the ends of the tube which can result in fractures in the welds.
I would caveat the above by saying I am not a materials expert but spent a lot of time taking to frame builders when I was in the process of buying my Ti bike, all of which told the same story.
That said I would buy a crash damaged bike for the parts if it was cheap enough! I am looking for a Record group set, so if anyone with a CF bike built using a Record groupo drops it I will give you £50 for the complete bike, just to take it off your hands!!!
My Merida Road Race 905 road bike has been "written off" after a crash.
'T-boned' on a roundabout, with enough force to break my shoulder blade, the bike is still overwhelmingly "bike shaped". There are three small scuffs on the left hand seat stay which indicate (on very close inspection) some very slight bends in that tube. No visual evidence of damage to the carbon fibre forks either, and I'm fairly sure that if I was unscrupulous I could palm it off on some unsuspecting newcomer to cycling.
Visually, the only obvious sign of the crash is that the saddle was twisted around, which could easily be put right. I haven't, and won't ride it again though. The impact was enough to break one of the most difficult bones to fracture, and the collision was initially attended by the Air Ambulance. There is no way on God's green earth that I would be happy on that bike, so once I've rescued the groupset (four year old Ultegra with virtually new cables and shifters), and stripped it of any accessories I added, then it'll be receiving the attentions of a hacksaw before it goes into a skip, to ensure that no-one can 'rescue' it and recycle it into use again.
Its for this same reason that I'm very much averse to buying a used bike. Even one that hasn't been crashed. I'm pretty certain that the replacement bike (and courtesy of the driver's insurer I have a pretty generous budget for it) will be brand spanking new, so that I can enjoy the peace of mind of the manufacturers warranty, and the knowledge that I'll be the first (and only) person to have ridden the thing. Like others have said, though, I'd happily buy a crashed bike if it's owner sold it honestly as a parts donor, as any crash damage to a groupset is usually very obvious. I could live with that, if I knew right from the off that the frame was going in the bin and the remaining parts were worth the purchase price.
Anyone got a crashed MTB with a Shimano 2 x 10 or 3 x 9 groupset that wants a home? Anything from Deore to XTR, I'm not fussed
'T-boned' on a roundabout, with enough force to break my shoulder blade, the bike is still overwhelmingly "bike shaped". There are three small scuffs on the left hand seat stay which indicate (on very close inspection) some very slight bends in that tube. No visual evidence of damage to the carbon fibre forks either, and I'm fairly sure that if I was unscrupulous I could palm it off on some unsuspecting newcomer to cycling.
Visually, the only obvious sign of the crash is that the saddle was twisted around, which could easily be put right. I haven't, and won't ride it again though. The impact was enough to break one of the most difficult bones to fracture, and the collision was initially attended by the Air Ambulance. There is no way on God's green earth that I would be happy on that bike, so once I've rescued the groupset (four year old Ultegra with virtually new cables and shifters), and stripped it of any accessories I added, then it'll be receiving the attentions of a hacksaw before it goes into a skip, to ensure that no-one can 'rescue' it and recycle it into use again.
Its for this same reason that I'm very much averse to buying a used bike. Even one that hasn't been crashed. I'm pretty certain that the replacement bike (and courtesy of the driver's insurer I have a pretty generous budget for it) will be brand spanking new, so that I can enjoy the peace of mind of the manufacturers warranty, and the knowledge that I'll be the first (and only) person to have ridden the thing. Like others have said, though, I'd happily buy a crashed bike if it's owner sold it honestly as a parts donor, as any crash damage to a groupset is usually very obvious. I could live with that, if I knew right from the off that the frame was going in the bin and the remaining parts were worth the purchase price.
Anyone got a crashed MTB with a Shimano 2 x 10 or 3 x 9 groupset that wants a home? Anything from Deore to XTR, I'm not fussed
fuzzymonkey said:
A slight detour, but in a big crash, what happens to your bike?
Do the police send it off to the same sort of compound as cars or do they end up been left at the side of the road?
Depends on the circs. I've taken bikes back to the owner's home, back to the nick, left them locked up at the scene (owner's request) and left them in the care of a kindly householder (arranged with owner). I'd consider seizing it as evidence if it was a potentially life-changing or life-threatening collision. Bikes that go back to the nick get booked in to the property store.Do the police send it off to the same sort of compound as cars or do they end up been left at the side of the road?
fuzzymonkey said:
A slight detour, but in a big crash, what happens to your bike?
Do the police send it off to the same sort of compound as cars or do they end up been left at the side of the road?
Mine got taken to my house in the back of a Transit by the nice lads and lasses of Hampshire Police, while I went off to A&E in the ambulance. When I got the Garmin uploaded a good while later, I discovered that it had been running the whole time, and it had nabbed itself a good few KOMs on the way. (They were quickly flagged, and I cropped the ride to exclude them).Do the police send it off to the same sort of compound as cars or do they end up been left at the side of the road?
Thanks all. I was thinking of it for the spares and something to meddle with, but then that's because I've got spenditis after buying my first road bike. I'll even take the bike now if it's a five mile journey. Only takes an extra 12 minutes on my recent journey.
The other night I went for a drive and was not really enjoying it. People doing 40 in an NSL and then carrying on at 40mph, or pulling out on you and generally not being able to enjoy the dynamics of the car like you can on some empty roads. So swapped to the bike one night after parki the car and had more fun on the bike. 😄
The other night I went for a drive and was not really enjoying it. People doing 40 in an NSL and then carrying on at 40mph, or pulling out on you and generally not being able to enjoy the dynamics of the car like you can on some empty roads. So swapped to the bike one night after parki the car and had more fun on the bike. 😄
For me it depends on the bike and frame material, I've binned plenty of alu framed mtbs in my time and not given it a second though, most of the time the bars and tyres take the brunt of the fall. I've had friends drop big heavy enduro bikes and then race them the following weekend.
To be honest, if I am buying a second hand mtb, the only bits I'd check as the top tube where any bars would have hit the frame. I've never worried about alignment of the rear triangle.
Road bikes are somewhat more fragile but even then, it would be interesting to put a random sample on a jig to see the tolerance level for rear triangle alignment on welded bikes. I'd be wary of buying a second hand carbon road/mtb bike but certainly not an alu bike, you can check all the welds and tubes for cracks/dents. Now, who wants to buy my Cotic?...
To be honest, if I am buying a second hand mtb, the only bits I'd check as the top tube where any bars would have hit the frame. I've never worried about alignment of the rear triangle.
Road bikes are somewhat more fragile but even then, it would be interesting to put a random sample on a jig to see the tolerance level for rear triangle alignment on welded bikes. I'd be wary of buying a second hand carbon road/mtb bike but certainly not an alu bike, you can check all the welds and tubes for cracks/dents. Now, who wants to buy my Cotic?...
To be honest it's bodged maintence that's the big worry with 2nd hand bikes, I've seen people be chuffed to bits with 2nd hand bikes until 6 months down the line the BB starts complaining so new owner on trying to take it out finds its been glued in with liquid metal as the last owner screwed the threads or the one where the headset never seems to be able to be properly adjusted and then finding moron last owner flared the head tube squashing the cups in at an angle etc.
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