In celebration of our brokenness...

[weisan]

first and foremost, please note that we are entering into a judgement-free zone....and our usual disclaimer: DO NOT ATTEMPT to try this at home, the stunts are performed by highly skilled and experienced professionals who have undergone many years of specialized training.

okey dokey, with those two things out of the way: This thread is about broken bikes. Bikes that have flaws and blemishes that only we, ourselves, and possibly a handful of trusted friends know about. The extent of the damage can vary from a minor scratch, one that is so minor that you can only see them if you know where to look or under certain light conditions....or they can be super major....so major that it's a ticking time-bomb and only the crazies would continue to ride em'!

I will start first.

Here are three bikes that I currently own and ride on regularly, that are broken.

1) Paul Taylor. It's my first and only custom steel ritchey-breakaway bike. I have owned it for 10 years now. It has traveled extensively over three continents. It developed cracks in the bottom bracket and the head tube. Local framebuilder Nao Tomii fixed the BB for me several months ago. At first, I thought the crack in the headtube was a false alarm but later it was proven to be cracked as well. I even brought this very bike to D2R2 twice!
Yeah...I know what you are thinking...remember, we are inside the judgement-free zone. Besides if you think this is bad. wait till you hear more about...






2) Cyfac Absolu carbon superbike.
I bought this cheap from a forum pal who have fully disclosed its conditions. He bought it from someone else thinking that he will repair it before riding but ended up selling it to me before he did. The story goes that the original owner had crashed on the bike in icy roads and there were cracks found on the carbon fork and the top tube where the rear brake cable exits. When I first took ownership of the bike....oh btw, it's really pretty, these french guys made it into a work of art, seriously...anyway, so I got hold of the bike, I looked at it for 30 seconds and decided to build it up and ride as is. ....ah ah ah ....judgement-free zone, remember?
I crashed on this bike a few weeks ago. Not a scratch....press on!
At the moment, it's the BEST-RIDING bike in my collection. It's that good.

[weisan]

3) Waterford
So I got this frame for less than a hundred buck. Some would say I paid too much and you are probably correct. You want to read more about the backstory, here it is:
https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=159252

Basically, the seller told me that it was rammed into from the rear on a bike rack on a road trip. There were major dents on the top tube and the seat tube.


Here's the first ride I took after I built it up.


Okay okay...I know, some of you is about to get a heart attack or ready to throw up. If this is too much for you, please kindly exit to the left...

Last but not least.

The latest find.





The horror!


I built it up as my coffee bike performing only light duties, hopefully that would make you feel better.




ok ok...enough from me....where's yours? Don't tell me I am only the crazies around here....I don't believe it!

[classtimesailer]

I got my wife and me matching 1987 Centurion Ironman Experts. Hers had wider bars and I switched em. Problem was, the wide bars were bent inwards on one side about 2cm. You don't know how much pressure it takes to bend those bars back into reasonable shape. More than an hour with a vise and various levers listening and protecting my eyes from the never to come snap. 800 or so miles later...NO FEAR.

[bigbill]

I did a handful of races in 1993 on a Raleigh with a broken lug at the seat post clamp. It was going to be replaced under warranty but not for 3-4 weeks. The seatpost wouldn't clamp and was kind of afraid to tighten it up. I ended up setting the saddle height then drilling two holes, the first at the point of the crack to propagate further growth (I'm an engineer), and the second one through the seat lug and post where I installed a bolt with some washers to hold everything together. It worked.

[tuxbailey]

I think I know who I can sell my snapped Merlin to, when it is all said and done.

[Kontact]

So, the plan is to ride them until another series of crashes? No judgement.


That Paul Taylor should be warrantied. That can't be a proper fillet.

[GOTHBROOKS]

the weigle might be toast but you could probably roll that waterford tube out again.

[FlashUNC]

I can't wait for the companion thread where we compare catastrophic insurance plans.

[sokyroadie]

Originally Posted by Kontact

That Paul Taylor should be warrantied. That can't be a proper fillet.

Good luck with that - do a search - long gone as a builder, hopefully for good.

[sokyroadie]

Where is your dented Giant Defy? Dent not bad enough to make the list?

[weisan]

Originally Posted by sokyroadie

Where is your dented Giant Defy? Dent not bad enough to make the list?

skyrider pal, thank you for the reminder! I almost forgot....

They almost threw it away. I love this bike!!! It rides so well. Interestingly, many mistaken it for carbon until I pointed out that it's ALUM. I like the so-called endurance geometry and the fact that my 32mm Compass tires can get on it no problem, it even comes with fender mounts incorporated into the frameset, pretty neat.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by FlashUNC

I can't wait for the companion thread where we compare catastrophic insurance plans.

Or before and after dental work.

Only if he's lucky..hey, your bikes, yur butt, do whatever you want.

[weisan]

This one I am not 100% sure but it does look like a crack running along the headtube lug, something I only notice much later, not sure why. As you can tell it's a bit small for me running at 53 cm. I have it stripped the other day just because and hang up on the wall. I know there are pals here who have been looking for an MXL for ages. I prefer someone local who can look at up close and decide for themselves.

[Nooch]

With my tongue firmly planted in my cheek, pal, I offer the following:

Man, just think how nice those frames could have been had they not been clamped inappropriately by the tubes!

[weisan]

Originally Posted by Nooch

With my tongue firmly planted in my cheek, pal, I offer the following:

Man, just think how nice those frames could have been had they not been clamped inappropriately by the tubes!

Nooch pal, I can understand where you are coming from, just as I can understand why pals would think I am crazy or stupid to be riding some of these broken frames, and that's ok. That's why you are you and I am me. There are things that I can do easily with my eyes closed that some of you can never do and vice versa. We are unique and we need each other.

Despite the top tube clamping, my safety record for the last 30+ years of wrenching has been perfect. No damage ever done to top tube before. The argumentative type would retort at this point ...but but it would some day. Well, I will let you sleep on the day when you are able to say, "we told you so!" Personally, I wouldn't be holding my breath.

I understand. I disrupt your common sense and create dissonance in your system. Throw some salt into a cup of water and gulp it down real quick, it will make you feel better.