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I was cleaning up the Five yesterday and came across a sizeable dent on the bottom of the down tube, more or less below the pivot.
The dent is soft edged but there's some other small sharp edged scratches in the middle of the dent where the rock (nothing else would have done that damage!) hit it.
So I popped into the LBS and the official line is that it needs to go back to Orange. There's a huge but with that though, and that is that I could be waiting months for Orange to get back to me about it and that I'm liable for all charges involved in repairing it.
Unofficially the LBS says I could probably get away with it fine. So is there anyone out there who has been riding a dented Five frame for a year or more without any ill effects?
Cheers
Someone from Orange is on here, maybe they will offer advice. I would have thought they would also err on the side of caution like the LBS. I'd say it would be hard to repair a big dent, as any work you'd be doing would be weakening the frame. That could mean new front triangle. If you took some good quality pics you could send them to Orange for an opinion. Can you claim on home insurance for a new frame?
get a pic of it up!
I had a similar dent in my alloy frame and over a period of 6 months it stressed the nearest weld ( at a pivot point) and cracked the welds at that pivot point.
It wasn;t entirely ideal.
I put a big dent in the down tube of my old 5, a couple of inches up from the bb, I didn't do anything to rectify it and the bike was fine. Sold it to a friend I ride with 2 years ago and it's had a lot of hammer since then and been completley fine, still going strong. All dints are different tho I suppose.
rich, lakes on 3rd ❓
[url= http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/GkA_bRKaZLT00Bl5K7_bcA?feat=directlink ]Photo of dent[/url]
I can't quite get a photo that does the ding justice. Essentially I can now put a straight edge across the monocoque where the ding is and there is fresh air between it and the chunky weld.
There is also discolouration of the paint where the monocoque folds to form that bottom part of the down tube.
A mate mentioned the insurance option today, which could be quite a good one given that I'm heading out to Canada in two months - not somewhere I want a frame failure!
Cheers
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Unfortunately not Tony, been off a fair bit this year already, wish I was tho. Should hopefully get on a trip later in the year if anyone sorts something.
My dent was worse than that, or at least looked worse. I'd just ride it if I were you.
Richyb. that's encouraging - what sort of use did it get though? Was it used for general XC or rougher stuff too? I use mine mainly for Bike Parks, Downhill courses and anything too rough to ride on my XC bike, so it takes a pounding.
I had a dent on my 5 in the exact same place. Mine was a bit bigger and took a whole lot of paint off. It survived a season in Whistler doing Whistler type stuff OK.
paint strip it just to be certain, but i'd say it looks fine.
It got/gets hammered for about 50 miles a week around calderdale/peak/lakes etc... Think I took it to Spain with the dint too.
Cool, thanks everyone!