Classic & Vintage - What's up with the seat stays on this Raleigh?

A CL seller near me (nicknamed MR ALL CAPS by someone on this forum) has been trying to sell this RGP for a while now.

I have never really looked at it very closely before, but today I noticed that the seat stays look kinked or bent just above the tire.

I don't believe it is an optical illusion as they appear the same way in the other pictures, too. Or is it?

http://southbend.craigslist.org/bik/1609331832.html

http://i665.photobucket.com/albums/vv14/rickgtoguy/RALEIGH/DSC_0007-10.jpg

http://i665.photobucket.com/albums/vv14/rickgtoguy/RALEIGH/DSC_0008-6.jpg

http://i665.photobucket.com/albums/vv14/rickgtoguy/RALEIGH/DSC_0006-18.jpg

Seatstays look straight in the catalog pic.
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/retroraleighs/catalogs/1976/images/10-76-grand-prix.jpg

That frame is without a doubt bent.

Maybe it was jumped by someone real heavy at one time. Only way I can think f for the seatstays to bend in that direction. I'm sure the seatstays could be cold set straightened by someone who knows what he's doing.

Chombi

+1 Looks like a rear end collision...

Not worth it at any cost. High Tensile frame.

Price seems way high as well for functionally a parts bike.
I wonder if there's a youtube vid titled "watch this".

I love the setup too... Seat all the way down, Stem 18 inches above the min insertion line... and to top it off the gears are in the most wonderfully crosschained combo

A+

I love the setup too... Seat all the way down, Stem 18 inches above the min insertion line... and to top it off the gears are in the most wonderfully crosschained combo

A+
:roflmao2:

I wonder if he tried the "stand over" fitting method. :innocent:

Looks as if the forks might be bent just a hair as well.

Somebody probably tried to pull something far too heavy with it. Note the clamp-style marks up and down the stays.

-Kurt

Just look at the rear brake!

He was clearly riding downhill backwards at incredible speed when he hit the brakes. That happens a lot when riders get tired struggling to ride up long hills, (usually on fixed gears with rear only brakes) they loose their strength and start slipping backwards. Their feet are locked into their pedals so they cant put their foot down. Before they know it they are going 40mph backwards and panic, hitting the brakes. The result is that tell-tale seat stay damage called "retro-bend". Very common.

Just look at the rear brake!

He was clearly riding downhill backwards at incredible speed when he hit the brakes. That happens a lot when riders get tired struggling to ride up long hills, (usually on fixed gears with rear only brakes) they loose their strength and start slipping backwards. Their feet are locked into their pedals so they cant put their foot down. Before they know it they are going 40mph backwards and panic, hitting the brakes. The result is that tell-tale seat stay damage called "retro-bend". Very common.

With steel rims.

Right.

-Kurt

It definitely looks like this bike tried to pull something.

One night after a couple few beers with my biker gang, the thought crossed my mind that 5 bikes could outpull a big dodge diesel.

My friends fed me more beer and told me to check my head :)

Googled bicycle tug o war and found this vintage looking life.com pic:

http://cache3.asset-cache.net/xc/708519.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=77BFBA49EF878921F7C3FC3F69D929FD7FA25F0CEFD9B0DA1ECF41B1009D2CC52DF60DBAF5350FF2

Price seems way high as well for functionally a parts bike.
I wonder if there's a youtube vid titled "watch this".

There is/was a near-mint version of the same bike on CL here DFW for only $120 if I recall correctly. Remember, too, that this is a 29-lb. we're talking about here. Not worth that much anyway.

EDIT: Here's my post about it from the ebay / CL finds thread. I didn't state the price, but I'm pretty sure the ask was $120.


I don't dare mention this to the wife (after just getting the Schwinn Prelude), but there is a 1970s Raleigh Grand Prix (http://dallas.craigslist.org/mdf/bik/1602576983.html) (I think 1976 (http://www.sheldonbrown.com/retroraleighs/catalogs/1976/index.html) model) that looks like it's in nearly NOS condition. Anyone in the DFW area that's tall (64 cm frame) and wants a classic Raleigh, this is the one.

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c91/cusco-awd/grandprix003.jpg

From the catalog...
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/retroraleighs/catalogs/1976/thumbnails/10-76-grand-prix.jpg (http://www.sheldonbrown.com/retroraleighs/catalogs/1976/pages/10-76-grand-prix.html)

The professional term for this is "borked"... if you could see the bb area I bet you would find cracks in the paint as the bent seat stays have also changed the seat tube angle.

Also looks like the forks are bent and have noticed a trend with damaged Grand Prixs in that the the upper fork legs and crown seem to survive impacts and remain fairly true and the lower fork legs are what get straightened out.

It's nothing that a come-along couldn't fix... :innocent:

There is/was a near-mint version of the same bike on CL here DFW for only $120 if I recall correctly. Remember, too, that this is a 29-lb. we're talking about here. Not worth that much anyway.

EDIT: Here's my post about it from the ebay / CL finds thread. I didn't state the price, but I'm pretty sure the ask was $120.

I bought the exact model, 1976 Grand Prix, from the original owner [actually from his wife!] last year for only $50. The bike is in excellant condition for its age, mainly due to the fact that it hung in the garag for the past 20 years.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3515/3871157736_59bb4f385d_o.jpg

I had an epiphany. I remembered the driveway in the photo and realized that I had once bought a Dawes from that guy in Michigan. I emailed the seller, telling him he may have a compromised frame and should check into it. He said that he would and thanked me.

I think he is unaware of some general bike information, and is more of a flipper than an enthusiast.

EDIT: His posting is now deleted.

I had an epiphany. I remembered the driveway in the photo and realized that I had once bought a Dawes from that guy in Michigan.

This one?

http://i665.photobucket.com/albums/vv14/rickgtoguy/DSC_0008-4.jpg

JEBUS!

Big Brother is watching me!?!

Okay... I've calmed down now.

I realize that this internets thing is just a series of tubes... I just didn't think there were people hanging out in those tubes.

Okay... I've calmed down now.

I realize that this internets thing is just a series of tubes... I just didn't think there were people hanging out in those tubes.

Not when they shoot the power balls through... to clear them out that is. Do you think someone wrote that speech for him?