39
To taco a wheel means you've bent it so badly its a write-off and cannot be salvaged through truing.
This is significantly worse than going out of true, because the rim will be creased or torn, spoke holes will be pulled through on the outside of the taco curve. A damaged rim alone is not a taco, there has to be a folded wheel to earn the title.
...
36
The bike will be fine -- the riding conditions are within the specifications of the bike components.
The bigger issue is you -- you don't want to end up damaging joints and what not by overexerting yourself.
34
Warranties exist to protect you, the consumer, against defects in materials or workmanship, not against deliberate damage. The purpose of a bike lock is to help avoid your bike being stolen, so if it has prevented a theft of the bicycle then it has done its job well.
Perhaps you can ask Decathlon and report back to us by answering your own question for ...
28
It seems that this dent belongs in the bike.
Here are two photos of a similar bike. While they are of low quality, the dent is visible:
However, as pointed out by Lamar Latrell in comments, in your second photo the weld to the headtube has a dark spot in it. I cannot tell from the photo, but you or your bike mechanic should check if it is a damage in the ...
23
Of course things rust in normal use, but rust without moving is worse as things stick together.
Even if the chain is generously oiled (more so than normal) before storage you'll get rust and probably stiff links. Any gears made out of normal steel will also rust (a light coating of spray-oil will reduce but not stops this -- I use GT85 on my outdoor bike, ...
21
If it is damage then no one here can say for sure how it happened.
However, it's in the realm of impossible-ish for a dent that severe to happen without paint damage or a clear mark in the paint from whatever did it. It sure looks like it's there intentionally to buy clearance for the steering mast when folded. If folding the bike up corroborates this, ...
20
A very strong rider will put a lot of strain on the bike doing that. Wear on the sprockets will be slightly increased by grinding a small sprocket, but that's not a big deal. What's more significant is that if a part is going to fail (or a worn part is going to skip), it will fail when under high load. A friend of mine has snapped several chains on the ...
17
If you carry a multi-tool which happens to include a chain tool, you could also convert your bike to a single speed. If you do so, you would have to replace the chain afterwards as well (since you shorten it) but in some situations it could get you out of a rural area.
If you do so, carefully select the gear you would put it in, as you won't be able to ...
17
Some locks offer "insurance" where you can get a payout if their lock fails to protect your bike.
Of course there are caveats like "lock must be used" and "thief must leave lock behind" (for inspection for weakness) and so on, and even "lock must be registered with company"
The only places that can tell you details would be the supplier and the ...
15
I think you'll find that the handlebar 'stem' folds to the left, and will line up with the dent when folded.
If the dent is not supposed to be there, my best guess is that the handlebar was folded then, pressed into the frame, perhaps be the wheel and fork being forcibly turned to the left.
The dent just does not look like it's accidental. There are no ...
14
You'll need to very carefully inspect the area around the boss that's been ripped out, as well as your usual second hand frame check. If the bike was ridden after the damage cracks could easily have spread and you might be well on the way to a two piece seat tube. This groove could be the start of a problem, but it's probably just a scar from where the cage ...
13
We have no way to know what may or may not have been damaged in the accident, especially without knowing details about the accident and the types of components on the bike. Some parts you likely won't be able to determine if they're still functional until you put them on a different bike and ride on them.
That said, you're not going to get much by selling a ...
12
Another suggestion: Scooter it.
The bike is functional but the drive train cannot transmit power.
So one solution is to scooter along with one foot on the opposite pedal, and your other foot pushing directly on the ground. This can be uncomfortable, so rotating your saddle ~30 degrees to the opposite side from where you're standing can give your hip ...
12
It still doesn't hurt to contact the manufacturer, but do not talk to as if they owe you anything.
Do an open inquiry and see if there's anything they can do.
Companies can actually do things out of the ordinary and isn't only bound by warranties. Maybe they'll want your lock back to examine how it survived a theft and give you a replacement.
12
A lifetime frame warranty may not require that you have the receipt.
Take it to a Trek dealer and see what they say.
Several of the shops I worked at did frame warranty work with no receipt.
11
Batteries, especially most types of rechargeables don't work well in cold conditions. The chemical reaction that powers the electric voltage does needs some temperature to perform as intended. If you then have a consumer load that requires a bigger amount of power, they tend to drain rather quickly since they cannot set free much energy when cold.
You could ...
11
There are two reasons why it might not work:
The batteries don't like the cold. Many battery chemistries don't like the cold -- notably alkaline, manganese (heavy-duty), and NiMH/NiCad batteries. To test this hypothesis, put your light (or even just the batteries) in your freezer. If your light gets weaker the colder it gets, this is your problem (...
11
A friend of mine broke a crank (the "arm" of the pedal) in the Alps, so yes, parts can fail under load. It's not always the case that cheap parts fail earlier; sometimes they are actually sturdier: she would likely not have broken a cheap steel crank. Besides, I wouldn't be very concerned about my cheap parts to begin with. (I would be concerned about my ...
11
You need to consult in person with someone local to you who can make a qualified recommendation.
"It is Steel so can be welded" is mostly true, but there are always exceptions. A good welder will give you their professional advice. Don't bother asking someone with a stick welder in their garage.
I've personally just got a quote on welding a crack in a ...
10
Most rechargeable batteries have a certain voltage threshold below which they will get permanently damaged. Li-ion cells should never drop below 3.0V (slightly higher at 3.2V for LiPo). Smart batteries have integrated systems monitoring remaining voltage and will have a way to at least tell you they're getting too low.
In your case, it seems the system has ...
9
I wouldn't say that a single broken strand on a new brake cable would render the bike "totally unsafe to ride," but if it is an option you should bring it back to the shop and have them replace it. This might be a sign that whoever put this bike together or inspected it for sale doesn't have a very thorough shop ethic. If they were careless enough to install ...
9
I think perhaps you could inspect some parts and, if they show no reason to worry, you could use them yourself. But I think it would be unfair to sell some of the parts, "by definition".
So, I think you should NOT sell these parts:
Fork;
Handlebar;
Headset;
Stem.
These are structural parts that are vital for safety and/or are likely to be damaged in an ...
9
The first question is "is the handlebar actually bent?". Brake levers/shifters are just clamped onto the bar, and the clamp may have just slipped. It's not clear from the angle of the picture that the bar may be fine but the clamp on the brifter slipped. You can peel back the hood (back to front) and adjust the clamp if this is the case).
If it is the case ...
9
For similar fine tasks, silk inner gloves are ideal. They are very thin but add a noticeable amount of warmth. Their real benefit comes when you remove the outer gloves and have essentially bare hand dexterity with some insulation. Then you just have to get your timing right to minimise the amount of time your outer gloves are off.
Some people use latex or ...
8
Nobody is going to be able to tell you 100% that its integrity hasn't been compromised from this. Steel can fatigue, brazed dropout joints are strong but not infinitely strong, etc. We all know it's a tough dropout and in all likelihood it's totally fine. But there's always a level of distant hypothetical risk that gets created when things like this happen ...
8
You mentioned that it's your rear wheel and that you tow a heavy load. Rear wheels in these setups get a lot of lateral (sideways) loading from the trailer.
This can put stress on the bead that it's not designed for. A higher pressure would help stop the tire from rolling side to side -- but you've said you're already on the high end of its pressure range. ...
8
That's pretty heavy pitting. If you check the hub inserted race, you'll probably find that it's also pitted, though nowhere near as bad. There's more surface area on the cup, so the cone usually pits a lot more, which is good because the cup is typically not replaceable. If the cup is pitted, however, the cone will prematurely start pitting again, though it ...
8
Sounds like you are running your tire pressures WAY too low or high. If you are experiencing tire failures due to "larger ruptures/slashes" that's indicative of a pressure issue.
If too low, and you hit a root/rock too hard, the tire will deform too much and you'll strike rim, thus compressing the inside of the tire against a sharp surface and/or fold back ...
8
Result DISMAL FAILURE
I attempted to use a large 12" adjustable spanner to gently tweak the rim back to place. On the first pass along it worked okay, and took out about a third of the offset. It was better but not right.
On the second pass along I felt something crunch. It felt like snapping a thin green twig where the fibres break but don't part. ...
7
Pull the post and hold it next to the seat tube to see how far it goes in.
If it does not go in far enough to be into the seat tube below the top tube you are putting a LOT of stress on the top of the seat tube.
Believe that maximum mark on the seat post. A seat post is not that expensive to risk damaging a frame.
This is just one (not cheap) seat post ...
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