fixing a top tube with a large dent

Its on a road commuter, steel frame 520, large dent in the middle of the top tube, frame still looks straight, is there anything that can be done to fix it. Its only ridden on the road about 80 miles a week.I was thinking cut out the section and weld in an insert or put some sort of metal sleeve over the top?

cheers

How bad is it, pics would assist.

Ouch.

I would be reccomending contacting a builder for a tube replacement. I wouldn’t ride that personally.

That’s not just happened tho, given the rust showing. Yours or possible purchase.

I wouldn’t chance it either.

Just put a sticker over it and keep riding..

That has a crease in it – so much more likely to fold up. You could probably fold that tube in half by hand if it wasn’t welded into a frame.

Not a big job to replace it for a framebuilder.

bought for all the rest of the parts, frame likely to be swapped out for a pompino, but if it can be fixed i’ll give it a try

have you looked closely at the other tubes / weld areas for related damage? its hard to deform just one side/joint of a triangle

That tube is in compression, so it will just fold.
Bin frame or replace the tube.

That damage is pretty common – either the handlebar hits it, or the bike falls over and hits a pole. I’ve even seen it from a side impact where the tube folded around the rider’s leg.

anyone know of a builder in the north west region, as close to cumbria as posible?? will get a price for new tube if rest is ok after a good check

Reynolds 520 is nothing special and pretty close to On-One’s gas pipes anyway. A new frame would probably be cheaper than a new top tube and some sort of re-finishing.

From me, it’d be £85 for the tube replacement, £50 for powdercoating, plus £7.50 per braze-on if you have any cable stops or the like on the top tube.