Originally Posted by
Gary Fountain
Quite a lot has been written about the poor brazing technique and ultimate failure of the Mexican Benotto frames on this forum. I was wondering just who has first hand knowledge of Benotto frame failures?
The ones that are posted (that I recall) have all been structurally sound.
This particular bike looks fine and would be a great addition to anyone's collection.
There have been a number of folks who have pointed out Benotto frame failure here and elsewhere. The prime singer of that song here is MrRabbit, who definitely has (extensive) first hand knowledge. I think your powers of being able to detect structural soundness from photos is quite remarkable. My personal conclusion is that maybe at least some of those bikes are unsound and just haven't failed yet - it doesn't happen the first time they're ridden. Perhaps some of the survivors we see here escaped the overheating problems. Still, I would personally avoid Mexican Benottos, as the evidence of potential problems is, IMO, very strong and should not be blithly consigned to urban myth status.