Repair or Replace?

Equipment
1

hey folks wondering if yall have an opinion on this situation…

crashed a week ago last saturday & had my 2010 trek madone 5.9 checked out by the local carbon repair shop out of an abundance of caution. unfortunately they found damage on both the chainstay & seatstay, with possible carbon damage on the bottom tube near the cable stop. bill is around $600 with $200 more if the bottom tube is actually not a cosmetic crack.

way I see it, I’ve got 3 options:

  1. pay the $600 and chalk it up to stupidity fee (crash was my fault & avoidable)
  2. ditch this frame & try and replace it with a nice rim frame ($1k?)
  3. relegate this bike to the trainer as-is & get a new disc bike (allez gang probably) ($2200)

any thoughts?

2

With a damaged chainstay and seatstay I would definitively not use it on the trainer. Those parts take a lot of stress.

Replace with a ‘new’ (or used) frame or bike. While you can repair carbon, it won’t be ‘as new’, and it’ll always be on your mind.

2 Likes
3

That’s more damage than I’d want repairing.

Excuse for a new disc bike. I’d reuse what parts I could like saddle and bars, eBay/hoard the rest.

1 Like
4

I definitely vote for option 2.

Don’t use a frame with that much a damage in critical areas. And I agree with @splash, you should not use that frame on the trainer either.

Besides, your bike is 10 years old, that’s ripe for retirement anyway :slight_smile: (Just in case you need another excuse to buy a new bike … :grin: )

3 Likes
5

Before the crash were you already eyeing a new bike?

If you are happy with your components why not just buy a frame?

On the other hand… I’m sure everyone here would support your decision to buy a new one :sweat_smile::sweat_smile::sweat_smile:

6

REPLACE, REPLACE! It’s much more cool to have a new bike than a repaired bike.

Besides…2010? I think the 2009 Trek Madone was actually a penny farthing, correct? 2010 was the first year trek went to the double diamond…

2 Likes
7

Before the crash were you already eyeing a new bike?

sadly i was eyeing picking up a MTB :frowning: having to put that on hold now (at least for a little) now that my wallet is needed for road.

While you can repair carbon, it won’t be ‘as new’, and it’ll always be on your mind.

fwiw i’m not too worried about the carbon repair itself - i have good faith in the repair shop, heard a lot of good things from fellow riders.

think my question largely lies in whether i should think of this as either spending $600 on a bike that was only worth $800 to begin with (& thus not worth it), or if I should view this as spending $600 to keep my existing bike versus spending more than that for a different bike.

I’m also considering picking up a temp bike, mid 2010s aluminum for sub $1k, transfer some parts over, and hold me over til next year sometime when covid is over and everyone realizes they hate cycling.

8

I definitely wouldn’t put $600 into the 10 year old frame. Best to figure out exactly what you want to do with new bikes (Road, MTN, etc) and put the cash towards that.

1 Like
9

If you’re looking for cheap aluminium frame that’s a bit different it might be worth checking out the Bowman Palace 3. You can get it as rim or disc. Supposed to be awesome.

https://bowman-cycles.com/products/bowman-palace-3-frameset

10

My opinion.
I would not risk using this frame on trainer, or on the road, in fact on anywhere.
I would get a new frame and transfer the finishing kit and wheels onto it .
Or ,get another bike, depending on your budget.
Hope you were ok, and not badly injured!

2 Likes
11

thanks! mostly just road rash + 3 stitches on the elbow

12

That is not a trainer bike unless they can do a very rough repair for cheap. Carbon repair is pretty straight forward except for the paint.

Current AL frames are great - way better than the 2010 versions. I’d get a CAAD/Emonda/Allez for $1000 and all it a day. You’ll get more tire clearance too. Watch out for changing standards though.

13

I’d diy repair it for trainer duty and then buy the new bike for riding outside.