I had a European recumbent bicycle on order through the US distributor. The distributor just told me they got it, but it was damaged in shipment - one scratch on the frame. He says everything is straight, i.e. things line up and there are no stress fractures visible on the paint. He’s offering to take $50 off from the $2500 sticker price.
So, does that sound like a rigorous enough way to determine the frame is straight and safe? Do you think I should take delivery of this bike or demand a replacement?
You don’t say exactly where on the frame the mark is, it might make a differance or not.
It does look superficial, and more of a quick knock striking against something, rather than a bending force.
The things that put frames out of true may not even show up at all, the enamel may have a row of fine cracks at right angles to the bend but not always, depends upon how hard or old the enamel.
As for taking their word for it, that depends upon how much you trust them, are they a high end specialist with a reputation to lose ?
If they are a frame builder then they will almost certainly be right, your other option is to take it yourself to a specialist frame builder, unfortunately their frame jigs are very unlikey to fit, but there are ways of checking for frame truth using cotton thread which they may do.
Twisted frames usually show up by steering better one way than the other, especially when you take your hands of the bars, but if you are not used to the feel of a recumbant, you might not notice it until you ride another similar machine.
Has to be said though, even if the frame is not exactly straight, a good frame builder can rectify that, though I would not recommend you watch them do it !
The damage is on the BB boom. It’s a telescoping boom, and it was shipped (and photographed) with the telescoping part removed. It’s the most highly stressed part of the bike frame, but I agree that it does look superficial.
They did say the whole box was badly damaged, and that the rear skewer is also scratched (which I don’t really care about in itself).
The distributor is not a frame builder. I think he’s a bike enthusiast who recently decided to go into this business - but he is the one and only US distributor of this brand, and he’s very active on message boards and mailing lists (which is why I’m not asking this on those places).
For now I asked the distributor to send the photos to the manufacturer and get their opinion. If they say it should be safe, I think I’ll take your advice and take it to a frame builder. It’s an aluminum frame though, so I don’t think it can (or should) be bent back into shape…
Just guessing, of course, but I’d imagine a surface scratch on an aluminum frame isn’t much to worry about. Carbon-fiber, on the other hand, would’ve been a whole other story.
Well, I got an offer to knock off $200 from the price. They also promised to get themanufacturer to e-mail me about it, and to take it back if I take it to a frame builder and they find any problems with it. I think I’m happy with this. Thanks all.
Now I know which part of the machine it is from the pictures.
It appears to me it has a steel sleeve inside it, at least in your picture, if that’s the case then I’m fairly sure you will be ok.
As long as you have a good few inches of tube inside the damaged bit you will be ok, but if you get to less than 2-3" then I think I might not be too happy.
I wonder how much mileage you’ll put onto it, if your a serious mile eater, upwards of 10k per year, well my view on such things is that stuff breaks through stress and time, if you expect to do less than 5k per year then thats another thing altogether.
The other thing is your weight, if you are under 180 pounds you will be ok, bike stuff in general just breaks up above this weight, once you get to over 230 pounds you start having to look at tandem parts.
I’ve managed to break frames, cranks, hubs, axles along with the usual assortment of spokes and chains over the years and when I was racing I weighed in at around 140 pounds,its not like I’m a powerful or heavy handed rider, I’ve taken 18 spoke time trial wheels in cyclo-cross no trouble, and the ultralight version of 531 frames over trails, but the sheer mileage, up to 20k a year eventually crushes stuff.
It looks a peculiarly unsupported mechanism for the bottom bracket so I can only guess that this area is quite heavily constructed.
If I were paying $2500 for anything I would insist it is in brand new condition. The shipper should have insured it against damage, and if not they bear the responsibility to deliver a new undamaged item. At that price point I would be a real hardass about it. Because there is no way you can personally know what other hidden damage might be present, there is no reason you should take the risk, especially not for a measly 2% discount. Maybe I’d take it if they knocked off $500.
Tell 'em to ship it back and get you one with no signs of damage.
My wife ordered a teak dresser and when I got home the delivery guy was patching up a spot on the top where it had been gouged. I said “no way” and made them put it back on the truck. It was very heavy and had gone up then back down a flight of stairs. They hated me. But you pay for new you should get new.
Actually, it’s probably a plastic sleeve. The other recumbents I own have either a plastic sleeve or nothing at all. Still, I’m a shorter-than-average rider and the boom will be inserted deep into the frame, so I’m not too woried.
I’m slightly over 180 lb, but I expect I won’t ride this bike for more than 3000 miles per year. It’ll be my “fast bike” for weekend rides, not a commuter.
It’s a pretty common design. Some manufacturers have had problems with boom failure, but it’s usually at the base of the boom, right in front of the headset.
If you could get a $25,000 car with a small scratch for $23,000, would you? I think I would, and I think I’ll take this bike too…
I would guess that it would be fairly easy to get a piece of billet aluminium machined up into a collar if you are concerned, should then be not problem, and it you get it anodised in some cool finish it’ll improve the look too, amybe then everyone will want one, such is the sheeplike fashion trend of some cyclists, you could call it a flex energy minimisation system, or something like it.
Actually, in truth, I think that collar would be a good idea.
