A suggestion and a question, question first: Anybody on the list experienced in the shipping of tandems? I've got one for sale, steel but a brand and design not discussed on this list, sooner or later there may be a shipping job to do. Suggestion: When shipping a frameset try to find a Trek frame box. Sturdy as hell and very well designed to both protect the frame from without and stabilize it inside the box.
David Feldman
>
> Over the holidays a frame was shipped to me wherein the shipper reused a
> former bike box, cut it down and retaped it to proper dimensions. The box
> arrived after a protracted length of time with two sizeable punctures (box
> shaped) in one panel. Upon inspection, the frame had suffered an impact
on
> the right seat stay. Said frame was of a material the listmaster does not
> allow discussed here. Suffice it to say that beneath the clear coat, it
> appeared that there were "bullseye" type fractures in the matrix. The
> recepient of said parcel was dismayed (at least.)
>
> After another timelapse, an employee of said shipping firm arrived to
> inspect the article, parcel and packing. While the inspector was not
> impressed with the packing, he seemed to feel it was sufficient, but that
> "wasn't his call", it would turn out to be the insurer's call. It was
> packed as well or better than many bikes are packed from the factory. He
> did feel that the shipping firm (who must remain in anonimity, at this
> time) failed to exercise due diligence in that they had punctured the box
> (standard heavy wall corrugated) not once, but twice. He agreed with me
> that no reasonable amount of packing material (short of a 3/4" plywood
> crate) would protect against something that punctured the box and impacted
> the frame.
>
> Now, three weeks after the claim, I await word of the resolution. Do they
> cover the claim or deny it?
>
> Meanwhile, I delivered the frame to its maker. The learned people there
> examined it and informed me that it was not my imagination, there was
> indeed a fracture in the matrix that had severed a number of fibers. Had
I
> built the frame up, in a short period of time I would have experienced a
> failure. Catastrophic/non-catastrophic, who knows?
>
> Moral(s) of the story :
> 1 Don't ship during the silly season
> 2 Choose your shipper with care
> 3 Pack with care (or hope your shipper does)
> 4 Insure it!
> 5 Don't ship if you can come up with another option