Bicycle Mechanics - Racer Sportif

This is the NEW frame I got from Racer Sportif on Dundas West in Toronto. When I

bought it, I asked them to install the headset, face and chase the BB shell ( Italian

threading ). When I picked up the frame I did not notice the BB shell was stripped

because there was a layer of grey rubber on the threads. After I cleaned the BB shell

I discovered they had wrecked the frame. Racer Sportif has not offered any

restitution for this error. I am sending this to let you know my experience

with Racer Sportif, and should anyone be thinking of

buying from Racer Sportif you should see these pictures so you don't make the

same mistake I did.

Sincerely,

Laszlo
Brampton Ont

That looks like old damage.

That looks like old damage.

It may well be, I bought the bike as NEW and I attached the jpeg of the complete frame that you may see there are no scratches on the frame or score marks on dropouts etc. I did not notice what they had done to the threads until after I got home and cleaned out the crap in the shell ( a layer of grey rubberlike grime ). I think that when I left the frame for them to install the headset, and prep the bottom bracket shell somebody goofed and covered up his mistake. Irregardless, a bike shop should stand by the frames they sell and the job their mechanics do- no customer should be allowed to walk out of a bike shop with a frame ruined like that. For them it is a legitamate tax deductable write off and good business practice, for me, well, I just got burned.

My post his two purposes-

1) when you buy/ pick up a frame from anybody to double check things like that; especially Italian threaded bottom brackets because of the reverse thread

2) because Racer Sportif let me walk out of their shop with a stripped bottom bracket shell and did not offer any recompense for their error, to warn fellow cyclists about them

I would contact Aquila and report this dealer to them directly.

I have already done that too. Obviously if a retailer is giving your product the short end of the stick it would be wise to switch retailers.
As it is I had an Aquila Strada before and it was very nice- it got killed by a car one day- so when I saw this frame with the same geometry I jumped for it- no tinkering with position, set everything up with the same measurements as before and GO !!!
When I was cleaning out the BB shell the other night and noticed something was wrong I grabbed my old BB and it just went right in ( no turning )- I almost cried and I'm a 41 year old man.

i coulda told u sportif sucks. they have a ridiculous elitist attitude, and on top of that they suck. there are way better stores in toronto: la bicicletta, duke's on queens, etc. take your frame to bici and see if they can do anything..

sd

True, but, I wasn't buying an attitude, I was buying or did buy a frame. I only bought Aquila frames from Racer Sportif and a few odd parts if they weren't available at La Bic down the road.
I did some research and got some Loctite Fixmaster Steel Putty (1lb for $33); the literature says you can tap it but I believe the sheer strength ( 11.7 N/mm2) is less than what the required torque for a BB. So I basically gunked it inside the shell on the drive side (stripped) and the threads of the drive-side cup for a cartridge BB and basically shoved it in. The frame is basically lost- so why not ? I might be able to replace the bearing cartridge from the other side. I let it cure for 2 days and took it out twice since up Winston Churchill to Terra Cotta and across on the King sideroad, and it held very solid up the climbs ( low-gear seated )- as I gain more trust of the repair I'll do more, but right now I am a bit cautious about going too hard/ too far. Hopefully, this post will also help anyone else who has a stripped BB keep riding for a bit longer.

Stronglight makes a BB that doesn't need a threaded shell. Might be worth a look-see.

I did not know that. Thanx a bunch.
If the steel putty fails I'll use that.