Best bike for the money

On 29 Mar 2007 11:46:06 -0700, (Donald Gillies)
wrote:

John Forrest Tomlinson writes:

I've never bought an old bike or frame on eBay, but have to wonder --
how much can you trust a frame of that vintage w/o seeing it yourself?

Both Raleigh and TREK offered/offer lifetime frame warranties. What
this means is that there aren't a lot of defective frames floating
around - they get snarfed up by the supplier and replaced, if it's the
original owner.

Can frames not be bent, or rusted, or dented, or have some threads
stripped or damaged?
--
JT
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John Forrest Tomlinson writes:
I've never bought an old bike or frame on eBay, but have to wonder --
how much can you trust a frame of that vintage w/o seeing it yourself?

(Donald Gillies) wrote:
Both Raleigh and TREK offered/offer lifetime frame warranties. What
this means is that there aren't a lot of defective frames floating
around - they get snarfed up by the supplier and replaced, if it's the
original owner.

John Forrest Tomlinson wrote:
Can frames not be bent, or rusted, or dented, or have some threads
stripped or damaged?

ebay sellers with multiple-sales records tend to be protective of their
ranking and if anything quite meticulous about photographing dents,
describing bent cable guides, rust, etc.

Yes, there are cheats out there but so far ebay has been, as noted by Mr
Gilles, "99% honest".

We sell and buy as agents, we package/ship for sellers and we build for
buyers so we see a lot of used ebay frames from every position. Yes,
there are problems but seldom undisclosed and market price reflects that.
--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

In article ,
(Donald Gillies) wrote:

John Forrest Tomlinson writes:

Can frames not be bent, or rusted, or dented, or have some threads
stripped or damaged?

This brings up a good point about Ebay Auctions. Always insist on the
following pictures :

(a) top-tube, near the front, as handlebar dents are common.

(b) Head-tube showing tops of top-tube and downtube, as paint
bubbling from a front-end collision will almost always be visible in
these pictures. Do not bid on a bike with a replacement fork.

(c) Be afraid of reynolds 753 frames. Be very afraid ... probably
about half of them are cracked or the lugs are cracked by now,
especially from some idiot trying to cold-set the rear triangle.

These strategies have worked for me. I do own two bent frames but one
was clearly disclosed in an ebay auction (and seller actually refunded
part of my winning bid saying 'this frame is a piece of sh*t! you
aren't paying THAT much !'), and the other bent frame was a gift from
a good friend, and I got it straightened.

Again, truly what I'd worry about is a cracked lug or BB coming apart
or something else in an obscure location that's not typically
photographed for an Ebay auction.

Head tube joints and bottom bracket chain stay joints.
The latter can be compromised and even the seller may not
know it. Who thinks to look at the chain stay bridge?
--
Michael Press