philie

hey,
i have the opportunity to buy a NOS bike frame out of columbus gara tubes.
price would be about 200 usd and the thin is a beauty.
i have heard and read that gara frames arent highest quality ones and i am thinking if the price is too high for a NOS frame.
thanks!

frenchbikefan

...3 steps down from sl, but I think we all need more information and pictures.

RobbieTunes

Pretty difficult to help you out with just above zero information.

Road frame? Hybrid? MTB? Year? Make? Model? Size? Intended use? First bike? Only bike? Your build?

We've got nothing to compare it to, and there is a valuation sub-forum just below Classic & Vintage on Bike Forums.

Juha

And I'm moving this to C&V Value Inquiries (from C&V proper). Carry on...

--Juha, a Forum Mod

philie

actually all i know its a roadframe, racing. make is sancineto and the size is 63cm which is pretty much my size for driving. its the frame and fork only.
thanks!

frenchbikefan

can't give you any advice on so little information. lugs? dropouts? maker? braze ons? bottom bracket? are all the tubes gara? are just the main tubes gara? is the fork gara? do you have components for it? are you building it? is a bike shop building it for you?

philie

well i just ave some infos:

the maker is sancineto
on the frame is a sticker which says gara, the fork and the dropouts are painted in the same color so no chrome and no idea about those ones.

i am only talking about the frame, the price is for frame and fork only, the rest i am building up.

thanks!

philie

anyone?

Picchio Special

The tubes are not the frame (why do people seem to insist on thinking they are?) My inclination is to say that if it's really your size and geometry and brand new, $200 is not too much to pay. Sancineto apparently made some decent frames, so my hunch is that the build quality is at least likely to be acceptable.

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ight=sancineto

wrk101

Myself, I much prefer to buy a complete bike, even if I don't like the components. Sale of the components can go a long ways to building a bike. $200 for a frame not as good as SL? Do you have the time/tools/aptitude/knowledge/space/interest/parts to build it up? Otherwise, you would be likely far ahead just buying a complete bike set up exactly how you want (used of course). NOS? As soon as you build it up, its not NOS any more.

Picchio Special

Sorry, but this statement makes no sense. Again, the tubes are not the frame. A frame made with a "lesser" material like Gara could indeed be a worse frame than one built with SL - or it could be just as good, or even better. It could be better mitered, better brazed, have better lugs, better overall workmanship, better paint, better geometry, etc. This tendancy to equate the tubing material with the frame quality as a neat equation is way over simplistic.

philie

thanks to you for the imput!
i just bought the frame. i just checked some sources and even if this is not a top notch frame i am pretty sure i will be pretty happy with it. if i find it not pleasing i am sure i will geht my money back from it.
and yes, of course i have the possibility of building a bike up, two close mates of mine work in a bikeshop. also i have already everything for the frame at home.
thanks again!

Peacob

regardless of all that, if you want light weight, then yes, the SL is a "better" frame in that aspect...

philie

right now i am driving quite a nice but heavy frame of which i have no info at all. so i think it doesnt necessarily have to be lightweight for me. i`ll see and post.

Picchio Special

The difference is less than a pound, which in terms of the actual performance of a complete bike is basically meaningless. Especially given how many factors are more important in ride and handling than .8 pounds of frame weight. In other words, rating frame quality in terms of weight makes just as little sense as rating frame quality in terms of tubing material.