Re: Rene herse bicycle has tiny metal spheres in BB
I can't speak for the tiny balls of buckshot but I recently received a Carlton Criterium (complete bike) from England and it had perfect decals but rust scabs everywhere. During breakdown, when I opened the bottom bracket, i found a large hankerchief stuffed into each seatstay. There was also a hankerchief stuffed up the seat tube, as you describe. The bike had taken 2 months to arrive via surface mail from the U.K. My guess was that a previous owner (its a 1977 bike) had wanted to prevent water from entering these areas.
The hankerchiefs were still wet after 2 months !!! They came out in a beautiful shade of orange, quite reminiscent of the tie-died shirts that were the gold standard of 1960's and 1970's attire! One of them was so deep into the seatstays that it took a coathanger to get it out! The good news was, however, that these were alloy hankerchiefs... :-) :-)
- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA