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Straightening tubes - worth the effort?

by simonmb
Sun, Apr 28, 2019 07:28
10

I've picked up an old (early 80s) Peugeot UO5. All original parts. Not super-classic, but could look cute and make a nice cafe-bike if I spend a bit of time on it. The thing is, someone's obviously ridden it into the back of a car at some point - the top and down tubes are pushed back. 

Is it fixable in the right hands? Is it worth the fix (for whatever it might cost)? Would a fix be reliable enough to trust on a ride?

Photo in my comment below...

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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10 comments

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peted76 | 4 years ago
0 likes

Yep, not worth it soz.  FYI I sold an old 1984 PX10 Peugeot complete for £80 the other month. Sold because it was ever so slightly out of alignment (but perfectly rideable) and was annoying me by taking up space.

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Drinfinity | 4 years ago
2 likes

Thanks for that Sheldon Brown link, an interesting read as always. If it was mine I’d try lashing up one of those straightening jigs, just as a fun project. Nothing to lose.

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OldRidgeback | 4 years ago
1 like

As the others say, the frame might as well be binned. But the decent bits off it could be stripped for another project. And you should be able to get a frame from a similar vintage for not very much.

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hopster | 4 years ago
0 likes

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/steel-frame-repair.html

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Dingaling | 5 years ago
2 likes

Looking at that picture just now took me back many years (must be around 55). I used to ride to school (like most kids back then). On a bitterly cold and foggy morning my eyes were streaming and I had my head down for a second when there was an almighty bang and I found myself in a heap on the road. I'd run head on into the front of a milk float. I got back on my bike to find it felt weird and, when I checked it, the top and down tubes were bent just like in your picture. The fork was also bent back. My bike was in the bike shop for ages and never got properly straightened. I think the bike shop owner didn't know how to straighten the frame or didn't have the tools or it was not possible to fix it. I think heating the tubes to straighten them is a risk to the brazed lugs. The other problem around getting the frame fixed in this day and age is finding a shop that is willing to take on the liability issue.

I've always thought how lucky I was that the milk float was parked facing the wrong way on my side of the road. Being flat fronted my front wheel hit first and then I hit a flat surface. If it had been parked right way round my front wheel would have gone under the rear and I would have hit the milk crates.

 

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consistent21 replied to Dingaling | 4 years ago
1 like

Dingaling wrote:

Looking at that picture just now took me back many years (must around 55). ...

I've always thought how lucky I was that the milk float was parked facing the wrong way on my side of the road. Being flat fronted my front wheel hit first and then I hit a flat surface. If it had been parked right way round my front wheel would have gone under the rear and I would have hit the milk crates.

I have managed to damage two frames by running into stationary vehicles.  I once ran into the rear of a car while trying to keep up with my sister when I was 10 or 11 (about 45 years ago now).  The second time was when a car pulled out from a stop light when I was going down a hill at 50 km/h during college.  Luckily I hit the side of the car at the bonnet and not the driver's side door.  I ended up on the far side of the car on the ground and my CCM bike was unrideable. 

I was lucky in both cases.  After that my sister made me wear helmets on my bike, well before it was "fashionable".

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Welsh boy | 5 years ago
4 likes

Fixable?  Yes.

Worth doing?  No.

For much less than the repair cost you could buy a much better cafe bike.  Restoring that would end up being a bit money drain.

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simonmb replied to Welsh boy | 5 years ago
2 likes

Welsh boy wrote:

Fixable?  Yes.

Worth doing?  No.

Damn. I hate it when I come on here and people tell me what I secretly knew was the truth but didn't want to hear. 

I fear you're quite correct @WelshBoy.

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Welsh boy replied to simonmb | 4 years ago
2 likes

simonmb wrote:

Welsh boy wrote:

Fixable?  Yes.

Worth doing?  No.

Damn. I hate it when I come on here and people tell me what I secretly knew was the truth but didn't want to hear. 

I fear you're quite correct @WelshBoy.

Please don't hate me, I have just given the the perfect justification for buying a new bike!

Think about buying a new best bike and demoting your current bike to your cafe bike.  What could be simpler, a win-win situation.

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simonmb | 5 years ago
0 likes

Fixable?

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