a tad out of true? decisions....

[mig]

Much to my annoyance my trusty summer commuter had a front end knock in August.

Bought second hand some fifteen years ago, built up and fettled it has done great service and many miles. Not only that it has sentimental value as Mrs Mig's parents lived near Mercian but never knew of it's reputation until I was introduced to the family way back in the midst (mists?) of time. I mostly bought the frame 'for' them.

Strangely the forks are still true.

Pros and cons of having the work done with any festive bonus that comes my way? Scrap?

[roubaixtuesday]

Much to my annoyance my trusty summer commuter had a front end knock in August.

Bought second hand some fifteen years ago, built up and fettled it has done great service and many miles. Not only that it has sentimental value as Mrs Mig's parents lived near Mercian but never knew of it's reputation until I was introduced to the family way back in the midst (mists?) of time. I mostly bought the frame 'for' them.

Strangely the forks are still true.

Pros and cons of having the work done with any festive bonus that comes my way? Scrap?


DSCN7353.JPGDSCN7352.JPGDSCN7344.JPGDSCN7342.JPG

Bad news... it'll probably cost as much to fix that as a new bespoke frame from scratch.

Good news... might as well get yourself a new bespoke from from scratch!

[TrevA]

Replacing the top and down tube likely to cost around £350 plus the cost of a respray

https://www.vernonbarkercycles.co.uk/prices_frames.html

You could buy a brand new Spa Audax frame for the same money. A new Mercian frame would cost considerably more - £1275 for a 631 Audax Special.

https://www.merciancycles.co.uk/frames/audax-special/

[rareposter]

Strangely the forks are still true.

Pros and cons of having the work done with any festive bonus that comes my way? Scrap?

I would not be trusting those forks. Sad to say, that is scrap - or a very expensive and probably still not entirely trustworthy repair.

[hamster]

Looks like a characteristic 531db crash - the heavy fork blades led to the frame folding (there is a similar picture in Tony Oliver's framebuilding book).

Hopefully somebody else's insurance is paying?

[drossall]

It's a Mercian, so really nice. I might ask Mercian's advice, and see what they say. But likely to be done for love of the frame, not hard-nosed economics.

[mig]

Looks like a characteristic 531db crash - the heavy fork blades led to the frame folding (there is a similar picture in Tony Oliver's framebuilding book).

Hopefully somebody else's insurance is paying?

am trying!

equally strangely the front wheel (32 spoke open pro on hope) is also straight!

[Carlton green]

Looks like a characteristic 531db crash - the heavy fork blades led to the frame folding (there is a similar picture in Tony Oliver's framebuilding book).

Hopefully somebody else's insurance is paying?

am trying!

equally strangely the front wheel (32 spoke open pro on hope) is also straight!

Really it’s all down to how deep your pocket is, what Mercian advise and whether the insurance ‘coughs up’. Ideally the insurance will pay for a replacement frame plus forks of equal quality, you should be put back into the position that you were in before the event happened. If the insurance won’t pay then your repair bill could be big and I’d be wondering whether the forks were still in perfect condition or not - not all defects are easy to spot. I’d find the price of a new Mercian frame too steep for me, I’d really struggle to justify the expense, but some other folk would just pay and think nothing of it.

[531colin]

Looks like a characteristic 531db crash - the heavy fork blades led to the frame folding …….,

Exactly that^^^^

I would eye up the forks critically, but I don’t think there is a reason to scrap the forks if they are straight.

Question is, do you love the bike enough so that it’s not about the money?
Is the bike sufficiently “future proof” for you?
( dropout width, rim brake, Q/R not through axle etc)

[mig]

Looks like a characteristic 531db crash - the heavy fork blades led to the frame folding …….,

Exactly that^^^^

I would eye up the forks critically, but I don’t think there is a reason to scrap the forks if they are straight.

Question is, do you love the bike enough so that it’s not about the money?
Is the bike sufficiently “future proof” for you?
( dropout width, rim brake, Q/R not through axle etc)

do i? hmmm nearly but sentiment may be taking over a touch there. the bike is fine for me size wise, the rear dropouts had been cold set to 130OLN, friction changing is fine by me...just a simple, great ride. something of a classic.

the forks have been eyeballed several times by a few pairs of eyes. ne'er a wrinkle nor scratch on the paintwork and hold a wheel straight and true. a miracle survivor it seems.

maybe run it along to 'meet its maker' and see what they say. ain't going to be cheap but the folks loved it and so do i really.

i think.

[Brucey]

oh dear;you are OK I trust? IME that fork should be fine. You can tell the builders at Mercian use the 'open hearth' technique, because only that is likely to soften the tubes so far from the joint. FWIW if the headset is lacking, and the steerer is long enough it can be the steerer that bends first. I guess you have two choices if you want to do anything with that frame; one is to get it properly repaired (which the frame probably warrants), and the other is to do some kind of cut/weld repair. If you do the latter, you can always have Mercian replace the tubes etc later on.

[mattsccm]

I have a Rogers trike that is just the same. Ridden into a fence. forks and wheel fine.

[Bmblbzzz]

I'd say the forks might have a second life but the frame is destined for garage wall art. Or living room wall art, a party talking piece!

[pwa]

It can't make economic sense to have that frame repaired and repainted. But sentiment sometimes transcends economics......

[Carlton green]

It can't make economic sense to have that frame repaired and repainted. But sentiment sometimes transcends economics......

Funnily enough I was just thinking the same and thinking how much additional work was involved relative to building a new frame. Then there’s the reheating of tubes and the potential resulting loss of strength. Rather than replacing the tubes I wonder if they could be cut, trimmed back, sleeved and brazed. A functional rather than pretty repair. Maybe alternatives might be offered.

IF, after thorough examination, the forks are actually still perfect then maybe less needs to be replaced, another cost saving?

I wonder what the (Mercian) wait times for repairs and new frames are.

Edit. I do wonder what the relative costs of a repaired Mercian, a new Mercian and a new good frame from someone else are? The repaired Mercian might not be cheap but, relatively, still offer reasonable value in terms of supplying a useable frame set for (at a guess) circa £500.