I'm building a 2000-ish satin black Colian that I recently bought from Sjpitts here on BF, the group with be black Veloce. I'm going full batmobile--all black!

That is a sweet bike. Looks more my size than the other one!!!!! And yes I'll aways own AT THE VERY LEAST, two Merckxs.

Thanks! I should be picking it up from my friend sometime this week. The one from ebay hasn't shipped yet, hope it will soon.

I had to sell my favorite film camera to afford the sudden Merckx frenzy but I think it will be totally worth it. As they say, you can't ride money. Or a camera.

Oh! That sounds pretty awesome. If you do a build thread I'll definitely be following and looking for tips.

The corsa extra has arrived!

Sweeeeet. Not the best packing ever. Is it ok?

Definitely not the best packing but frame seems straight. Seller did put something between the dropouts at least, upon my request, so that is good. It does have some rusty spots, as expected. I will post pics in a few minutes. The worst of it is under the BB along where the cables were.

There is also something (very small) loose inside the fork - audible when you move it around -- is this a big deal?

Probably just a little piece of brass from the brazing process. I wouldn't worry about it. I have seen that a few times.

I just got a corsa extra and I can also hear something very small in the fork blades and the seat stays. It seem norma, no need to worry.

Nice bikes!

^Thanks for the input, I won't worry about the rattle.

But, brace yourselves, the bb shell is downright ugly. I don't care about cosmetics, but I want to ride this thing without worries. I am in the process of uploading pictures from my camera. I would really appreciate it if those of you with a far more comprehensive understanding of steel frames and their slow corrosive tendencies could weight in on this...

Bring her on!

I've ridden some pretty gnarly stuff in my day, so not much worries me.

Alright, here's some pictures: https://www.flickr.com/photos/7646891...7629521453074/

Holy... How did that happen?! Did the seller disclose that? If not, this needs to go back for a full refund right away. I would not ride that.

First of all, your new frameset is one of my favorite Merckx schemes.

But I do see your point.

It's almost like it had water running through it for a period of time.

Here is what I would do.

PM FTWelder, Repechage, or John Thompson and have them take a look.

I have no idea how much you paid for this frameset.

Any recourse?

How was it represented from the seller?

I certainly would have made it very clear about this issue if I were the seller.

Actually, bottom brackets can have more material removed than that, and still be fine. I would clean it up, file it to clean metal, treat it with Boesheild or Weigles, and not look back. As long as the thread portion is good, no worries. If the threads are bad, I retract what I said.

I feared it was bad. From the seller: "Purple, Pink and Green... by far the prettiest paint scheme I have seen I have seen on a Merckx. I rode it for about 6 years until the stiffness of the frame and my ruptured disc forced me off the bike. Since then she has been hanging in my office. She has a bit of rust and pitting on her and is by no means in pristine shape. She is still a beauty."

So I suppose it is my fault for assuming the rust was superficial. No returns, but there is always buyer protection, if I have a case... I paid 415 + 45 shipping, the auction is still up if you search for "corsa extra slx frameset" under completed listings.

Will do, thanks for the suggestion.

Ok, I will give the threads a closer look.

You should have asked for pictures of the rust. Lesson learned. Still a nice frame that is probably just fine to ride, even if you over paid for it. The seller disclosed rust, you didn't follow through.

It is your fault, and if I were the seller I would fight any claim (I'm not the seller).

I am aware of that, truth is I came upon the auction late and decided to just go for it, since I had been looking for a Weinmann Merckx - obviously a spur of the moment decision that didn't go too well. I feel a little sick about it, but in the end 400 bucks, though a large sum of money, is not going to ruin my life.

Gomango, I PM'ed ftw and john thompson, will await their reply.

I would get some evaporust, soak some rags and let it sit there for a couple of days. It is no hazardous so no need to soak in vinegar and it works. After that some clear nail polish and keep an eye on it. Good luck.

I disagree, "has a bit of rust and pitting" would never lead me to think that there is a ****ing hole in the bottom bracket shell. As a buyer you have some responsibility in asking for additional photos if a description mentions something unseen in the pics. But as a seller you have a moral responsibility to divulge anything and everything you think might be of interest to a buyer. Especially considering 99.9% of purchases on eBay are sight unseen, at least in the physical sense.

File a claim. They might fight it, but they'll lose, guaranteed. You will get all of your money back if you choose to go that route.

I would chase the BB threads, make sure things are solid. At the very least a partial refund is due.

The hole is for cable routing. Not a big deal. There are two, if you take the time to look.

Pictures were shown in the auction: https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...vip=true&rt=nc

Not doing due diligence and impulse buying are no reasons for a refund.

Edit: The buyer made multiple bids, deal with it.

Wow, that's a shame about the frame. When I saw the photo in the ebay link I think I drooled a little. That is by far my favorite Merckx color scheme- it's the one I always wanted. I hope you can save it.

If it makes you feel any better I got sucked into buying a Merckx on ebay and ended up overpaying also. A little different situation, I was looking for a frame only but saw what seemed like a good deal on a complete bike with Ultegra STI. I thought I would be able to sell off the components for a few hundred and end up with a cheap frame but when the bike showed the frame was is good shape but the components were all beat up. I ended up only getting half of what I thought on reselling them.

Yeah, the hole started like that, but it's been expanded a lot by the rust. "A bit of rust and pitting" does not describe the damage, the seller was intentionally deceptive. She should get a refund.