When is a dent too little..

[Tangoup51]

So I stacked my bike against a lamppost last night (in a hurry as something had taken place)

The bike had fallen, the lamppost being a quirky one and having these decorative rings that protrude nearer the bottom of the post; the front wheel rolled backwards and the bike had hugged the lamppost with the top tube as it slid down, smacking the top tube into this protruding ring.

There wouldn't of been a ridiculous amount of energy in this, and it had only managed to put a <0.3mm Dent in the (What i suspect) close to thinnest part of the Triple-butting top tube.


Here is a picture of the dent (after filing)

I wanted to post this thread for any other people out on the internet who are concerned about a dent that is so small you have to really go microscopic to see it.

the rough dimensions are about 0.2-0.4mm Depth and about 5mm wide while being 3mm tall,


The top tube tapers to a point (bigger from left, smaller to right) and according to my expensive Calipers they can't detect the Dent as the profile of the tube gets smaller inboard as the further right you go.

as for keeping my eye on it, I ran it damn hard (unknowingly that i had this dent) after I picked it up from the ground 'til i got home, so I don't think any frame flexing/impacts are going to change it any time soon. Is this a potential weak spot though? .. Or in the real world, there's probably some imperfection on a weld somewhere on the bike thats more problematic than this?

 

[fossyant]

I would have left it, and put a sticker over it if it bothered me. I assume you are going to try and paint the frame now you've got a big patch missing ?

Won't make any difference to the frame's integrity.

 

[Tangoup51]

I would have left it, and put a sticker over it if it bothered me. I assume you are going to try and paint the frame now you've got a big patch missing ?

Won't make any difference to the frame's integrity.

Mhm! I had gotten the correct paint previously but the problem is, I need to use alot of layers of red paint to prime and cover the background of the alloy, by the time I do that the paints thicker than, what i suspect is a red decal and stands out alot more.

So i put these nifty carbon (cheapo) stickers over it for now

Thanks for your input!

 

[screenman]

Mhm! I had gotten the correct paint previously but the problem is, I need to use alot of layers of red paint to prime and cover the background of the alloy, by the time I do that the paints thicker than, what i suspect is a red decal and stands out alot more.

So i put these nifty carbon (cheapo) stickers over it for now

Thanks for your input!

You need the correct primer colour to get red to work well.

 

[Drago]

Fill it, smooth it, slap a sticker over it. Good quality tube can be as little as 0.5mm at that point so its easily done

 

[Tangoup51]

You need the correct primer colour to get red to work well.

Thanks man

 

[screenman]

Thanks man

Surprisingly, sometimes it is a light grey others a dark grey, seldom red. It certainly confused me when I first started Dupont. They have a list of 7 vary shade primers use the wrong one and it sticks out badly.

So do not feel bad about not getting it right, red is a hard one even for professionals

 

[I like Skol]

To be honest you have probably weakened the frame more by sanding it back to bare metal than the original damage. Metal is pretty resilient to such minor damage, the guys who nailed the frame together in the first place won't have been so careful and if you removed the paint on a couple of similar frames I would bet at least one of them will have filler hiding similar damage.
EDIT: Let's face it, your bike isn't made of anything stupid like carbon........