headtube damage

visp frame arrived today with a bend in the top lip of the headtube. the frame is aluminium, so can it be bent back ie repaired? i’ve msgd them about the damage but don’t know how good their customer service is. the packaging didnt appear to be damaged and the paint was intact so i don’t think it was damaged in transit (the paint is so crap it comes off just by touching it). any advice would be appreciated.

here’s some pics:


in spite of the fact i have no idea what i’m talking about, let me say - i think that’s probably screwed.

Yep it’s stuffed. As metals go aluminium is notoriously hard to repair as it weakens as it is worked. I had an aluminium frame that got dropped and ended up with a bent derailleur hanger (note to self to never buy an aluminium bike without a removable hanger). Every bike shop told me it was a write off but Mascot Cycles in Richmond was able to fix it, although it never changed gears the same after that.

Given you bought it new and it arrived damaged without any obvious signs of damage on the box I’d say you should push for a replacement. Given the volume that these online stores must go through I reckon it probably won’t be a problem. If they stuff you about it may be worth putting in a paypal claim (I’m assuming you bought it on ebay and used paypal?).

yep it is broken this would be hard to fix even on a steel frame ask for a new one.

I wouldn’t risk it. Send them photos, and keep at them until they replace it!

thanks for the advice guys
just waiting for a response hopefully they’ll send a new one without any additional cost
otherwise i guess i’ll have to go the paypal dispute route

The way to make a million dollars selling cheap bike stuff is to have great friendly staff on the other end of the sales@mycheapbikepartscompany.com address and nobody at the other end of the support@mycheapbikepartscompany.com address. A very popular business model at the moment.

  • Joel

i sent a second email through the address listed in the ad and got a friendly reply in 2 hours asking for my ebay id so a good start. i’m not uncrossing my fingers yet.

I reckon this is the second VISP I’ve seen with this type of damage on this forums.

i found an iro with similar damage when i did a search

I bought a frame from a shop once with similar damage - a speaker had fallen onto it. I got it very cheap and fixed it with a cylindrical flare and a precision press-reamer. It was steel though.

  • Joel

I can see this working for steel, but yeah I’d be nervous with Alu.
They should give you a new frame.

got an email this morning saying a new frame would be sent out within 36 hours.
he also wants me to send the damaged frame back.
any suggestions for shipping to china?

Send it back in the box it came in?? I dunno seems like a dumb idea. I would be asking them to pay for return shipping.

when the new frame arrives put the old frame in the box and a big RETURN TO SENDER on it

yeh, the onus is on the supplier to pay postage. it’s their fuck up, they pay.

would this seriously work?

i’m gonna wait until the new one comes before even thinking about sending the old one back.

it seems like a waste of time and money sending back a useless frame for both myself and the company.

yes 456789

yeah that was my iro, still sitting in my room. sounds like its a pretty common mishap. luckily australia post reimbursed me for everything…and this was after iro sent me another frame.

just keep at them man
they will get sick of u hassling them eventually and send you a new one or refund it