shnibop 

i won this '74ish Colnago Super on ebay recently, it showed up today well packed and safe.

i went straight to looking over the frame for dents and other flaws, it was descrided as straight and clean by the way...

first off there are 4 dings, 3 minor, 1 is fairly long but shallow.

the killer is a 3mm wide hole in the drive side seat stay.

at this point, without removing any paint, what would it take to repair something like this?

replace the seat stay completely? what might that cost (ball park)?

could the hole be welded shut? i would imagine that would be fairly "cheap".






at this point i've contacted the seller, i imagine he won't want me to strip the frame to check for more damage. i don't know that i want to accept a partial refund prior to fully examining the BARE frame. it's a *****ty spray paint job by the way, with decent looking decals applied.


i really would like to get a partial refund for the cost of repairing the damage versus returning it.

i also posted this in the frame builders section to get an idea of what a repair might entail and what it might cost me. hoping someone here might have some insight as well.

repechage

I don't like the thought of what caused that hole, I could probably live with the dings maybe. Colnago seat stays are hard to find today, double taper.
Unwind the deal.

shnibop 

yeah, the dings i was a little disappointed about but wasn't even going to mention it to the seller until i found the hole.

i didn't realize Colnago seat stays were something different, i though a Columbus seat stay was a Columbus seat stay, used by many different frame builders.

lostarchitect 

What on earth could have made a hole like that? Could it just have rusted through? Man. Wow.

bibliobob

I asked that seller if that was a hole (it was barely distinguishable in one of the photos). He didn't reply. Now, I know why he didn't reply. Because of that, I didn't bid.

Completely disgusting behavior. He should provide you with a full refund.

lostarchitect 

If it doesn't seem to be a structural problem, I suppose you could bondo it closed... You might have to repaint the whole bike though.

bibliobob

He answered a few questions from me. Then, I asked him this:

"One more question....

Your third photo (of the right rear seat stay) depicts what looks to be a hole a couple inches above the dropout? Can I assume that it's not actually a hole? I'm sure that I'm being paranoid but figured that I'd ask.

Thanks"

No reply to this question. PM me your email address and I'll be glad to forward all the emails to you. It's completely unconscionable to knowingly sell someone a bike with interior rust problems without full disclosure.

shnibop 

based on the condition of the components, rust through. now i'm worried about the rest of the frame. he did answer 1 of my questions with this "The frame had some light surface rust around the seat stays and bottom bracket that i sanded off and then used Naval Jelly to get rid of any remaining."


holy crap in my face batman!!! after reading your post i went back to check out the pics and you're right. i don't know how i missed that. i asked the seller a few questions but didn't ask about dents, which i usually do when i'm bidding on a frame that doesn't clearly state "no dents or dings".

i'm really hoping this can be repaired!

i have a full NR group ready to go on this frame, so the parts that came with it were to be sold off to offset the cost of a professional repaint. i figured i could get most of my investment back and have a nearly free frame. only problem with that is the parts he described as showing wear but being clean and straight are far from it. the wear is extreme (which i could deal with) but ALL the chrome on the parts is completely shot and flaking off and the rear brake caliper is twisted like nothing i've seen before and basically garbage.


i'm going to call a few frame builder tomorrow and see if i can get a rough idea of the repair needed and the cost. then i will relay that info to the seller and ask if i can strip the frame to check for additional rust damage.

ColonelJLloyd 

JB Weld it.

shnibop 

ok, so i'm looking the thing over again just now and i can hear a bunch of stuff moving up and down the tubes. so i flip it over (hole facing down) and shake this out...




sweet!

tugrul

Hmm.

shnibop 

simple as that?

mapleleafs-13 

i would open a ebay case as soon as you can, don't wait too long, you only have 45 days i think it is from when you purchased the item to file a claim about item description or so on. Or get him to heavily discount the frame if you really want it that bad.

I would honestly just return the frame if i were you.

well biked

+1

realestvin7

Sad day for you. That's pretty crappy. I'd ask for a refund that would make taking on the restoration feasable.

vjp

Sorry to say, but that is not repairable. You may be able to replace it, but as Rep says, double taper stay, not so available and if this one is crunchy I bet the other is also.

send it back

lostarchitect 

Oh man. That rust dust is the final straw. Send the thing back, and if you ever meet the guy, punch him in the schlong.

mazdaspeed

Wow that sucks

shnibop 

3 votes for not repairable unless replacing the tube, and good luck finding a replacement

2 votes for fill it (1 bondo, 1 JB Weld LOL)


well i already sent the seller a message explaining that replacing the tube would be necessary and also mentioned the messed up components and various dings. i guess i'll wait til tomorrow, after i talk to a few builders and see what the say. if i get shut down, i will tell the seller i need a refund stat.

Drillium Dude 

I missed the hole in the pics, too. Dang.

+7 send it back "Item Not As Described". You will get your money, shipping included if you ask Paypal nicely enough (let them know you're not in the habit of paying to get an honest look at the condition of the item when issues like this should be disclosed by the seller).

There are more out there without the issues this one has. Patience will yield a very good example that's solid and worthy of your collection.

Good luck, man!

DD

Otis

Quote from the ad, "I chemically stripped this bike down to the bare metal primed and repainted it." So he had to know what's going on with this frame, or "bare metal" meant leaving a lot of rust to keep the holes plugged.

Henry III

If you aren't replacing that seat stay then it's just a bad band aid. I'd be worry if it rusted out that much from the inside out that its been eating away at that for some time. I'd be worry about it buckling under some tension or a couple of good sprints. At least the seat stay is easily to replace more then all of the other tubes. It's usually the last tubing to be brazed during the build. I would file a claim as eBay/paypal is very pro buyer nowadays. I think for the cost of the repair and repaint it's not worth it IMHO.

unterhausen

Just looking at those dropouts, I hope colnago didn't ship them like that. The dropouts are badly undercut. Do you have pictures of the seat cluster?

I could certainly be wrong, but that looks like a drilled hole. Is it opposite the vent hole on the other side?

bikingshearer 

Undo the deal. Open an eBay claim right now. This frame is not acceptable, not ridable, not safe, for all the reasons stated. It could be made all of those thngs, but you did not buy a frame with the idea of replacing tubes, and it was not listed as needing replacment tubes (even though it clearly does). Send it back.

But don't take my word for it. If repechage says it isn't worth keeping, it isn't worth keeping. End of discussion.

mapleleafs-13 

i hope u didn't lick it.....

so return that thing asap, and maybe buy this ? https://cgi.ebay.com/Colnago-Super-19...#ht_500wt_1367 no painting needed

but on the serious side, if the seller doesn't respond very fast open a paypal/ebay item case asap.