Lotus907efi

I recently posted about buying a Peugeot PSV10 ( What year is this Peugeot Super Vitus 980 bike? ) so I have received the bike via FedEx and while I am thrilled to get the bike I was greatly dismayed to discover a nasty dent and lots of paint scratches on the top tube. I believe the seller did this while he was trying to remove the stem from the fork/headset. See the photo below to see this damage. Other than this disappointment the bike is in amazing original condition.

Huge dent in top tube

Drillium Dude 

When I go to the link you provided, it says you 'took this out of the shipping box'. You make no mention of a dent or scrapes to the paint; that thread was started 10 days ago. Seems strange to wait 10 days, then begin a completely new thread complaining about damage you claim happened in shipping - which you didn't even mention when you first posted about opening the box.

In any case, if the pics in the linked thread are of the subject bike, just looking at the condition suggests the bike was well-used, perhaps even a little abused, so finding a small dent or scratches on the top tube would not be out of order.

DD

Lotus907efi

If you are looking at the bike in real life instead of in a digital picture it is quite obvious that the damage to the top tube is very fresh.
As far as how long it took to post about this I do have other things going on besides posting things here.
I did take the bike to a friend who owns a body shop and to an expert at a local bike shop for their opinion of the damage.
So far the feedback has been the only way to resolve this would be to repaint the frame.

repechage

Lesson to make an "unboxing" video next time.
Video evidence ( really needs two people ) is terrific for proving a claim.

sorry for the damage- probably possible to roll out the dent, will murder the paint.

depending on the purchase venue, unwind the deal.

cudak888 

First, auto body shops deal in sheet metal, not vehicles where the structural steel is also the cosmetic part. I bet they'd try to pull that out with a stud welder, which will likely create a hot/weak spot on the frame when they tack weld the stud on.

I'd advise speaking to a competent framebuilder instead, even though the need for repainting the area will be similar. They'll probably say they can roll the dent out to an extent, then fill the depression with silver braze.

More importantly, what do you want out of the deal? Your first post didn't give us much to go on, other than you are, understandably, upset. Do you want to square it away with the seller and seek out another PSV10, or do you want to fix the damage?

-Kurt

Lotus907efi

I am looking for suggestions on how to best fix the dent.
I have pretty much written off the seller giving me any satisfaction to the issue.

Soody

I would crudely touch it up, spray a little rust inhibitor inside the tube there, and call it part of the charm of the bike.

Hobbiano 

If you have a frame builder nearby, see if he can roll out & fill the dent with silver braze, which will wreck the paint, Then if the rest of the paint is okay, either pay some to match and repaint the top tube, of go to an automotive paint supplier, and have them mix you up a spray can of matching paint (lots of places do this) and either touch up the damaged spot or just repaint the whole top tube yourself.

icemilkcoffee 

Is this really a known issue? Also- my understanding is that the top tube is not heavily stressed, unlike say the headtube, the shifter mount locations, the ST/BB junction, etc, which are known high stress spots for steel frames.

cudak888 

All things considered, it might be safe enough to pull it with a stud welder - after all, a framebuilder's repair will put more generalized heat in this same area to fill it with brass. Still, the latter is the controlled and acceptable method for frame repairs.

I would say the TT is under a certain amount of compression while the bicycle has a rider on it, but it has the potential to be loaded up when the front brake is applied.

-Kurt

wrk101

If you bought on eBay, then I would file for a return. Unless it was in the original listing, item is not as described.

I don’t think that dent came from stem removal, my guess it was damaged in transit. The thing is, you have to pack bikes extremely well or damage can occur. Fed Ex will likely NOT pay on the damage. Their fall back is “poorly packed” and unless you saved all the packing material and show it was properly packed, they will deny any claim.

as a bare minimum, a top tube dent is a value destroyer. Did you got a great deal on it?

my general advice on buying bikes that are shipped is make sure seller has experience packing and shipping bikes. I’ve had a couple of eBay purchases that were shipping disasters. On one, the seller put the bike loose, with the handlebars loose inside the box too! Bike arrived destroyed. Sellers response: “I used a bike box.” Classic.

Packing bikes and frames is a lot of work to do right. It’s one reason on cheap frames, I’ll do local pickup only.

miamijim

Improperly packaged.

A properly packaged frame/bicycle will NEVER be damaged in shipping.

There are multiple impacts on the TT which means something wasn’t properly secured.

Lotus907efi

Here are some photos from the seller that shows how he packed the bike for shipping.

Lattz

I think, if he really left the handlebar in place without ziptying it to the frame to avoid moving, it could have caused the dent and the chips, but unlikely the horizontal "claw marks".
Unfortunately it is part of the forwarder's job to assume "seaworthy" packaging as long as you don't order such a service from them, which is obviously not existing in parcel shipping.
On the other hand, you see the nicely finished, packed state, but not the before/during ones... I'm not accusing anybody, but in theory he could have decide to 'well pack' it after he hit the tube with aforementioned handlebar already.

John E

The dent appears to line up with where the right side of the handlebar crosses over the top tube.