Not what you were expecting :lol: :roll:
I recently picked up an old Dayton (Firestone Pilot) ladies bike to fix up for my Mom. I didnt even notice until I had it broke down but the seat tube had a nice kink in it right at the downtube joint.
I didnt get a decent pic of the damage, but this shot shows a little of what I was up against...
Im sure there are many methods to repair something like this, but this is what I did. First I found a piece of tubing that fit fairly snug in the headtube, then I placed a hydraulic bottle jack on it with an extension that butted up against the seat tube. I started jacking and the majority of the kink came out, but whenever I let the pressure off the jack, everything sprung back a little.
So... I figured that even if I overjacked the damage out, it would return down the road after a few rides, really cant have that since Its gonna be my Mom's rider and I dont want it folding up on her. I decided to install a piece of tubing inside the seat tube as a doubler. I scrounged an old seat post that fit just right, then I drilled the frame so I could plug weld the extra seat post in place.
I drove the seat post down until it was just above the bottom bracket, and mig welded it in place. I also did this while I still had pressure on the jack so that it wouldnt spring back.
A little work with the file, and sander disc...
Now its STRAIGHT... and STRONG, goodbye kinky lady!
I recently picked up an old Dayton (Firestone Pilot) ladies bike to fix up for my Mom. I didnt even notice until I had it broke down but the seat tube had a nice kink in it right at the downtube joint.
I didnt get a decent pic of the damage, but this shot shows a little of what I was up against...
Im sure there are many methods to repair something like this, but this is what I did. First I found a piece of tubing that fit fairly snug in the headtube, then I placed a hydraulic bottle jack on it with an extension that butted up against the seat tube. I started jacking and the majority of the kink came out, but whenever I let the pressure off the jack, everything sprung back a little.
So... I figured that even if I overjacked the damage out, it would return down the road after a few rides, really cant have that since Its gonna be my Mom's rider and I dont want it folding up on her. I decided to install a piece of tubing inside the seat tube as a doubler. I scrounged an old seat post that fit just right, then I drilled the frame so I could plug weld the extra seat post in place.
I drove the seat post down until it was just above the bottom bracket, and mig welded it in place. I also did this while I still had pressure on the jack so that it wouldnt spring back.
A little work with the file, and sander disc...
Now its STRAIGHT... and STRONG, goodbye kinky lady!
