Seat stays - what can go wrong ...
I have a 1970 Raleigh Super Course. A crack began to travel from the oval cap-area of the seat stay, and luckily stopped at the vent hole on the side of the seat stay (said bike had a vent hole on the side of the seat stays, at the top.)
I had 3 x 1974 Raleigh Internationals repainted, and ALL had cracks in the paint forming ALL AROUND the oval insert at the top of the seat stays. These inserts were not structural, so it was not a problem, but it scared one list member enough that he had stripped some paint was about to have it welded, before realizing it was of no consequence.
I am fairly that Raleigh stopped doing traditional seat stay caps, in order to solve this problem, and also, in order to create something distinctive. Recall that very early Team Pros have a raised ridge in the middle of the caps, to make there distinctive.
With the oversized caps, there may still be cracks in the paint of TI Raleigh Team Pros, but any cracks (from flexion) would occur on the UNDERSIDE of the seat stay caps - out of sight, out of mind.
- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA