Take an idea from how the Trek Empire packs all of their frames; a kind of cardboard "A" folds over the frame inside the frame box with two holes going through it across the plane of the frame. Very, very stout pieces of cardboard tubing go through these holes and brace the frame box sideways; Trek ships frames by UPS and knows the gorilla factor involved. David Feldman
> Hi all. The best packing job I've ever seen on a frame came courtesy of
> Brian Baylis. I could have drop-kicked the box and still not have done
> any damage to the frame (although I would have needed surgery on my
> foot).
>
> These days I think it's critical to pack a frame under the assumption that
> the shipper will drop it, put other heavy objects on it, sit on it, throw
> it across the floor, kick it, etc. When this assumption isn't made, the
> result can be very distressing. This past summer I got an extremely nice
> frame from a prominent builder who did a good but not a great job packing
the
> bike. The box got abused, and when I pulled the frame out, it was clear
> that the rear drops had gotten bent.
>
> Jonathan Cowden
> Ithaca, NY
>
>
> On Fri, 9 Feb 2001, Brian Baylis wrote:
>
> > Daniel,
> >
> > Sorry to hear your sad story; seen it happen a few times before. Packing
> > a bike frame (or worse a whole bike) is an art form. Some people have a
> > knack for it and others just want to get the bike out of there. Last
> > year I fixed a dent in a down tube on a Raleigh Team Pro built with 753
> > tubing. Really deep dent right on the decal. Depending on the nature of
> > the dent; it's usually better to use filler, especially in the thin
> > section of the tube. The heat associated with brass in that location
> > would probably do more harm than good. If the dent isn't too deep one
> > might get away with silver, but still the heat will anneal the metal a
> > bit, which may or may not effect the tube in a significant way. Also,
> > filing after the brazing has to be done by no less than a master in
> > order not to do any more than minimum damage. Personally, I would be
> > very angry about the dent because it is due to insuffecient packing; but
> > it's probably better to seek a quality repair that you can feel good
> > about in the end and move on.
> >
> > Unfortunately, the only way to insure 100% integrety of the down tube is
> > to replace it and make sure the repair is rebrazed using silver braze
> > material. Most likely not what you wanted to hear nor the therapy you
> > were seeking, but there it is.
> >
> > Brian (ouch) Baylis
> > >
> > > Dear CR Members,
> > > I could really use some advice from my brethren. A couple of days
ago my long-awaited Hetchins Nulli Secundus arrived from England. It was
first sold in 1954, and still has 95% of its original paint, which is a
beautiful dark bronze (where the paint has been protected, the bronze runs
to a deep burgandy).
> > > Despite foam pipe insulation on all tubes, the axle of one
tightly-packed wheel rode on the downtube for thousands of miles, and has
put a dent there, right through the original paint. The dent is about the
size and shape of a screwdriver blade, running perpendicular to the
downtube.
> > > Here's where I need your advice, or, at the very least, the
assistance of any mental health care professionals who might be on the list.
> > > What do I do about this dent? I confess I am a bit anal
retentive. Many of my friends would simply fill the dent with putty and
touch up the paint as best they could, and forget about it. But there's
something about filler that has always bothered me. In antique frames with
dents I have usually have the dents filled with brass or silver. Would it
be completely insane to lose the original paint on the Hetchins downtube in
order to fill a minor dent in this way?
> > > When I buy a bike in the states I almost always ask that the
wheels be shipped separately, in order to avoid this problem of downtube
damage. But since this bike was coming from England, I tried to save a
couple of bucks and had everything shipped in a single box. I've no idea
why plastic caps were not placed on the axles.
> > > The transfers on this Hetchins are mostly gone (one can see only
the "shadow" of the Hetchins name on the downtube), but the paint is
wonderful. I wish I could keep from staring at the dent, and appreciate the
bike in its entirety.
> > > This must have happened to some of my fellow collectors at one time
or another. Do I need counseling? Should I seek assistance from mental
health care professionals? Any advice and comfort, technical and/or
spiritual, from my CR friends will be greatly appreciated.
> > >
> > > Warmly,
> > >
> > > Daniel "Maybe I think too much about bicycles" Dahlquist