de bernardi paint/finish issues?
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had a look at a beautiful new-in-the-box db frame today, but here's the thing; at a couple of points at the welds there was some chipping, and underneath the paint was what appeared to be some kind of filler used to smooth the welds. the guy who is selling it kind of dug at it with his fingernail and it chipped away. looked like plaster. it was at the intersection of the top and head tubes and also at one point on the bb.
anyone else experience anything like this? bad batch maybe?
anyone else experience anything like this? bad batch maybe?
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those bikes have notoriously awful paint jobs. they will chip if you look at it wrong. i personally would never buy one unless i wanted to have it repainted anyway.
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you look at the paint on those bikes and it chips. A friend of mine had one and it shipped all over. They are good frames just bad paint.
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the plaster/filler sounds strange though... but if it's brand new maybe it's fine.
is it that one that's been on NYcraigslist for the last 3-4 months?
is it that one that's been on NYcraigslist for the last 3-4 months?
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Nice ride, nice tubing, crap paint. However, the ones that friend's have (and there are three) all have a nice sort of weathered/beater look to them now. Which is sort of nice if you're into that.
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Originally Posted by jayrooney
the plaster/filler sounds strange though... but if it's brand new maybe it's fine.
is it that one that's been on NYcraigslist for the last 3-4 months?
is it that one that's been on NYcraigslist for the last 3-4 months?
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I talked to a guy who had one that had a tube failure on his DB pista. When he called DeBerardi about it they gave him the run a round and finally offered a new frame at wholesale price. Which means they just get to sell another frame at thier full price. I doubt this is a consistant issue and the failure was not the fault of Debanardi but they clearly handled the situation poorly.
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i don't mind a bike looking weathered but if digging your fingertip into the weld area reveals filler then that bothers me.
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Originally Posted by eddiebrannan
yes it is
especially in NY with so many people eager to buy track frames.
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Originally Posted by eddiebrannan
thanks all. oh well, back to the hunt for a small steel track frame…
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Originally Posted by absntr
Nice ride, nice tubing, crap paint. However, the ones that friend's have (and there are three) all have a nice sort of weathered/beater look to them now. Which is sort of nice if you're into that.
Soooo bad at painting, the family DeBernardi. And I'm tired of the weathered/beater thing. I wonder what Jasonsan is up to these days?
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A lot of Italian bikes seem to have crappy paint jobs. My Basso chipped like hell until I repainted it.
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Originally Posted by Fugazi Dave
A lot of Italian bikes seem to have crappy paint jobs. My Basso chipped like hell until I repainted it.
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i cant speak for debernardi's as i've only seen a few, however,
on tigged frames, with unskilled welders, it's not uncommon to apply bondo or what they call "high strength polymer" to joints which have poor weld bead-spacing, or burn holes (scary, as you can literally burn a hole through a thin steel tube in .5 of an extra second with a tig welder. i've seen this practice on very few taiwan made bikes but on some italian and spanish made bikes. and no, it's not a bit of brass or silver fillet, it's bondo, when you ping it with an allen key it's a dull thud.
for horrendous tig-weld quality check out an orbea steel bike. they look like they were welded with a blindfold on.
on tigged frames, with unskilled welders, it's not uncommon to apply bondo or what they call "high strength polymer" to joints which have poor weld bead-spacing, or burn holes (scary, as you can literally burn a hole through a thin steel tube in .5 of an extra second with a tig welder. i've seen this practice on very few taiwan made bikes but on some italian and spanish made bikes. and no, it's not a bit of brass or silver fillet, it's bondo, when you ping it with an allen key it's a dull thud.
for horrendous tig-weld quality check out an orbea steel bike. they look like they were welded with a blindfold on.
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eddie - after all this talk, I checked the lugs (via picture - the frame is on vacation) on mine and see some bubbling near the BB shell. I will check it out and see what the hell it is.
Too bad the framebuilders around here are gone - they could have helped.
Too bad the framebuilders around here are gone - they could have helped.
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Originally Posted by [165]
Too bad the framebuilders around here are gone - they could have helped.
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Originally Posted by [165]
eddie - after all this talk, I checked the lugs (via picture - the frame is on vacation) on mine and see some bubbling near the BB shell. I will check it out and see what the hell it is.
Too bad the framebuilders around here are gone - they could have helped.
Too bad the framebuilders around here are gone - they could have helped.
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Sure would like to know if these frames are painted with lacquer or enamel. Anyone know?