SteveP Posted June 19, 2015 Posted June 19, 2015 Hi guys, Was horrified to discover a ding in the middle of the top bar of the rear triangle of my frame on the right side (drive train side). A rock or something very hard must of whacked the outside of the rod at high velocity because it pushes in almost halfway. I notice it bends in the middle inwards towards the wheel. The kink gap on the outside is maybe 3mm, but does 'appear' to join the axle at its usual position. Hard to tell. Should I be investing in a new rear triangle, or can I keep riding? I am worried it will cave in on a landing and bugger up more stuff that will end up much more expensive. spike
Davedk Posted June 19, 2015 Posted June 19, 2015 Hectic! Any way to reinforce it? Interested to know too.
shaper Posted June 19, 2015 Posted June 19, 2015 Ride at your own risk, I would recommend getting it replaced
Skylark Posted June 19, 2015 Posted June 19, 2015 Although it looks a bit rough I wouldn't think it would have catastrophic failure, I would keep a close eye on it though. I wouldn't see a dent seriously weakening tubing or the welds at either end? But that can depend on your weight, if you one of those guys pushing say 90kgs and up that may change things, a lot more stress is put on the frame.
Ampandy Posted June 19, 2015 Posted June 19, 2015 If you can get that through to me I can pull the dent out and sort it. Bear in mind paint will need to be done.
DJR Posted June 20, 2015 Posted June 20, 2015 You gave it that ding without noticing? Wow! 1. I agree with the above sentiment that it is most likely fine to ride and unlikely to fail catastrophically. If you are a seriously aggressive rider however, you might want to replace, just for peace of mind on those big drops. 2. If someone like Ampandy can straighten it out, great stuff. 3. If you have insurance that will cover crash damage, it might be worthwhile investigating that. Replacing it will help with the abovementioned peace of mind as well as when it becomes time to sell it.
Cube120 Posted June 20, 2015 Posted June 20, 2015 Had a similar incident happen recently to my carbon triangle,however initially there was no visible evidence of any damage or crack.Until it snapped completely while riding!!Replace the part rather.
DJR Posted June 20, 2015 Posted June 20, 2015 Had a similar incident happen recently to my carbon triangle,however initially there was no visible evidence of any damage or crack.Until it snapped completely while riding!!Replace the part rather.I understand your sentiments, but just keep in mind that carbon behaves very differently to aluminium. Carbon is more likely to show no signs of damage, and then suddenly fail altogether. Aluminium is more likely to crack and show signs before it fails. Aluminium doesn't like to bend repeatedly in the same place, or it will work harden, become brittle and crack. If it bends once (during crash) it will not be weakened much if the bend is minor. A ding in aluminium is mostly not a structural problem. A ding in carbon most likely is! But yes, if money is no issue, or if the insurance pays, then by all means replace it for peace of mind.
SteveP Posted June 20, 2015 Author Posted June 20, 2015 Thanks everyone,Going for a ride today. Will let you know how it goes.bestspike
An3 Posted June 20, 2015 Posted June 20, 2015 I had similar damage to my Anthem 29er a few years ago.LBS advised replacement of triangle - luckily I had insurance.Giant no longer supplied the triangle in the frame's colour so ultimately the whole frame was replaced.
BLADE_RSA Posted June 20, 2015 Posted June 20, 2015 I've been told that Giant has a lifetime guarantee on the frame... might be worth investigating through a local Giant dealer - who knows, might get a new one for mahala?
DJR Posted June 20, 2015 Posted June 20, 2015 I've been told that Giant has a lifetime guarantee on the frame... might be worth investigating through a local Giant dealer - who knows, might get a new one for mahala?That does not cover crash or accident damage. It covers frame failure, cracking or breaking under normal riding. Seriously doubt that they would replace a frame like the one in question.
JXV Posted June 21, 2015 Posted June 21, 2015 That seatstay derives its stiffness from the tubular shape. The impact has collapsed the shape and the structural stiffness of that seatstay is now reduced. The stay is also bent so the rear wheel alignment will have been affected, albeit only slightly. Although it may support your weigjt when sitting and riding gently I suspect it will flex a bit over bumps and rocks.....this will ultimately fatigue the material and I predict it will crack at some time in future. The damage looks to be repairable so give that a try....
porqui Posted June 21, 2015 Posted June 21, 2015 Replace especially if you are on the heavier side. It might not result in a catastrophic failure but a failure might be catastrophic.
SteveP Posted June 22, 2015 Author Posted June 22, 2015 Thanks for the advice. I will be checking it in for a possible repair, or replacement. I did go for a ride on Saturday (red route at Lebanon MTB in Grabouw) and it withstood some solid pounding down the single track. However, I am on the heavier side (86kg) so totally take your points that it's a weak spot - best deal with it before any cracking, or worse. Still can't understand how i did it without noticing though! Cheerss
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