Vintage frame: Bent or intended shape?
 

Hello all, I am planning on building a bike so naturally I joined the forum after a year or so of lurking.

I seem to have run into trouble at the first hurdle. I bought an old 531 frame which the seller guarantees completely straight and dent-free, however upon inspection it seems that on of the seat stays is slightly bent. Being no expert on frames, would anyone be able to tell me if this was common in racing frames, or have I been fleeced?

Thanks in advance. Paul

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=350988http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=350989

As you can see from the photos, one is relatively straight whilst the other curves off slightly towards the bottom.

Its bent but I wouldn't fuss about it.

+1 Bent, if you paid money...get it back; if it was free, take it to a shop with a frame table and have it aligned.

Does the intended wheel fit in there as is? with the dropouts nicely perpendicular to the axle? If not, some alignment is needed, so go for it. But if the wheel already fits with no issues, just go ahead and build it up. You won't know how it rides until you ride it.

This informatin about checking a frame/fork set might prove a bit helpful. The short of it is the drops, at least one, are bent. You need to know what else is bent before progressing with any kind of a build, in my opinion.

[MENTION=73614]rhm[/MENTION] The wheel seems to fit fine but the perfectionist in me is telling me to send this back. I paid 50 quid plus postage. I have also noticed that this has been resprayed and had a 531 sticker slapped on it which may open up another can of worms. Thanks for all your help guys.

It looks bent to me, too. If you're not happy, now is the time to decide to fix it or send it back - since he said it was straight and apparently it's not. Riding it as-is will drive you nuts.

Could very well have been straight when it went in the box, then got bent in shipping. Still the seller's responsibility to deliver what was promised though.