Had a little accident today

[slmaurice]

Well I pushed a nice hard 70 miles on my day off for fourth of July and had a little accident on my caad 8. I was coming through a turn and my pedal touched the ground, causing my front wheel to pop off the ground and lose traction. I went down hard on my right side and it appears the frame is bent. Does this kind of damage look repairable? I'm going to bring it by my LBS tomorrow but I figured I'd get an opinion from you all as well. If the frame is no good, do you all recommend buying another frame and just transferring all the parts over? I'm not even sure where to source a frame by itself.

Here's some pics. In the first pic, you can see the frame is bent causing the rear derailleur to line up wrong. The chain gets jammed between the small gear on the casette and the frame if I shift into it. In the second pic, it appears the shifter / hood is bent? What would I need to replace here?

 

[Pat Stowe]

The brake lever- no damage unless easily movable- if overtightened the handlebar "clamp" will break
'
The frame could be a very bad deal as Aluminum loses (some "experts" say) loses 50% of it's strength, ( a lot in any case) , when bent and will sometimes break when bending back is attempted

If you need to replace the frame consider steel, it's far more repairable, rides smoother, is far more comfortable, and is not that "heavy" anymore. Have a look at Salsa, Bianchi, and Raleigh if need be. If you don't have a dealer nearby, I know one who is honest, quite expert and will take pains to make sure you get the "right bike"

 

[alienator]

...or consider, if you need a frame replacement, just buying a frame that rides nice. Such a frame could be steel, Ti, CF, or aluminum. The idea that aluminum has to ride harsh and that steel has a wonderful ride is myth as the ride is determined in part by rider fit and preference and in large part by frame design, QC, geometry, and construction method.

 

[danfoz]

Originally Posted by slmaurice .

I'm going to bring it by my LBS tomorrow but I figured I'd get an opinion from you all as well. If the frame is no good, do you all recommend buying another frame and just transferring all the parts over? I'm not even sure where to source a frame by itself.

Your bike shop may very well have a jig that determines frame alignment. If they do it's a 7 or 8 minute chore. You may have just bent the derailleur hanger - if yours is the replaceable kind it's a fairly cheap and easy fix. I woudn't want to bend an alu frame back into shape as I would with ti or steel as the material doesn't have great plastic deformation qualities. But unless skew, there are notecable cracks, or their are signs of direct impact, I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Frame's are sourced just like bikes - via an internet distributor or store, your LBS or some other means. Many manufactures sell frames separetely - Specialized, Trek, Felt, Cinelli, Masi, Bianchi, and dozens of others, that can be ordered from your LBS If it's a brand they carry, or if it's a brand available via their distributer. These models can be avail in alu, steel, ti, or CF.

Cinelli makes a relatively comfortable alu race frame for around $800, Raleigh and Ritchey make very nice 853 steel frames between $1100-1500. Felt makes a nice CF frame at a modest price (around $1500 I think). Torelli makes some sweet thin-walled steel frames in the $900-1600 range. I see quite a few CAAD9 and 10's on eBay at fair prices. These are the frames I am looking at for my next bike, there are literally dozens if not hundreds of others. A lot of it is personal preference.

 

[danfoz]

Originally Posted by alienator .

The idea that aluminum has to ride harsh and that steel has a wonderful ride is myth as the ride is determined in part by rider fit and preference and in large part by frame design, QC, geometry, and construction method.

Between the modern construction and tube shapes of my alu framed bike, paired with HEDs 23" wide C2 rims running 25c's on latex tubes at the recommended 85psi, the ride quality is bloody glorious.

 

[slmaurice]

Thanks for all the input everyone. I actually got very lucky in my little incident. The shifter issue was easily corrected by loosening the allen bolt and moving it back into position. It took me a while to find the allen bolt, but it's all good now. As far as the frame goes, the frame itself appears to be in perfect shape. I didn't even notice but the Caad 8 has a replaceable rear derailleur hangar which is the only part I bent. Awesome! The bike shop actually bent my hangar back into shape while we wait for the new one to arrive, and I've since put quite a few miles on it with perfectly normal operation.

The Caad 8 is my first road bike, but I think it does have great ride quality, and it's something cannondale emphasizes. The rear geometry uses "SAVE" technology to increase dampning, and the front has carbon blade forks. It really is a smooth riding machine.

 

[Pat Stowe]

Originally Posted by alienator .

...or consider, if you need a frame replacement, just buying a frame that rides nice. Such a frame could be steel, Ti, CF, or aluminum. The idea that aluminum has to ride harsh and that steel has a wonderful ride is myth as the ride is determined in part by rider fit and preference and in large part by frame design, QC, geometry, and construction method.

Try riding hundreds of bikes and you wil change your tune!

 

[swampy1970]

A long piece of string and a ruler will tell you in your frame is bent. Run it from the outside one of the rear dropouts, around the head tube and to the outside of the other rear dropout. Measure the distance between the string and the seattube on either side - the reading should be the same. Use the same piece of string and run from the outside of the rear dropouts to the outside of the front dropouts and around to the other front fork dropout and back to the rear. Again measure the distance to the seattube. If you have a frame with an asymmetrical seattube (I don't think the CAAD does) then you'll need to find ate center point of the tube, which can often be found by looking at the bottle cage bolts - or at least you can use those as an initial point of reference. Cannondale offer a "buy back" program - or at least they did and I haven't checked recently. See how much you could get. I don't think the price differs that much if your bike is wrecked or "as new"

 

[alienator]

Try riding hundreds of bikes and you wil change your tune!

Wow! You must be a master trained by a pro. Given that you don't know how many bikes I've pedaled, your comments are out of place, presumptuous, and just really stupid. I guess that since I've pedaled aluminum bikes that rode nice and steel bikes that didn't ride nice is only because I haven't "trained by a pro" like you, right, Cupcake? Maybe you should rethink your vast , "pro-trained" experience and realize that your impressions of bikes over that vast, "pro-trained" experience were in fact just your opinions and not actual facts.

 

[Dave Cutter]

Originally Posted by slmaurice .

Thanks for all the input everyone. I actually got very lucky in my little incident.

No harm... no foul. Unfortunately accidents do happen. I am guessing that as well as the bicycle being OK... you mended OK too. When new to cycling it is always nice if the cyclist can ride with experienced riders... or with a group such as a club. Or at least.... spend some time at YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DehM8Ou-mTA&feature=related

 

[swampy1970]

Try riding hundreds of bikes and you wil change your tune!

And you're trying to insinuate what? If you're one of the blow-hard crew that rabbits on about how harsh aluminum frames are, you should go ride an old school Vitus 979 frame - as ridden by the likes of Sean Kelly back in the day. Very flexible with an extreme soft ride. Aluminum construction throughout. I owned one back in the late 80s and raced it for a couple of years.

 

[alienator]

And you're trying to insinuate what? If you're one of the blow-hard crew that rabbits on about how harsh aluminum frames are, you should go ride an old school Vitus 979 frame - as ridden by the likes of Sean Kelly back in the day. Very flexible with an extreme soft ride. Aluminum construction throughout. I owned one back in the late 80s and raced it for a couple of years.

I'm pretty sure the 979's were actually made from Creamette noodles cooked al dente.

 

[swampy1970]

Interesting thought but I'm still going with the theory that they were made from aluminum drinking straws that were left overs from a 1950's sci-fi movie glued together with cheap expoxy...