I get suspicious any time I see a frame for sale without a fork or with a replacement fork. Why? What happened to the original fork?
My first thought, "This bike has been crashed"! First thing I do is check out the undersides of the top and down tubes behind the head tube for telltale signs of crash damage.
Several years ago I bought an early 80s Motobecane Team Champion frame on eBay with a local pickup. These had Columbus SL tubing and with chrome plated forks. As soon as I saw the fork blades I knew they weren't Columbus.
I checked the dropouts, they were Tange. I immediately felt for the ripples under the top and down tubes. It had been crashed. Someone straightened the frame and used a Tange replacement fork. It looked close to the original fork but no cigar!
I should have rejected the frame on the spot but the guy needed the money so I negotiated a very substantial refund which he later sent me.
Back to the frame in question... The the top and down tubes in the full view appear to be bowed. Could be an optical illusion but check them out with a ruler held against your monitor screen.
Sometimes less knowledgeable sellers aren't aware of problems that cognoscenti can spot a mile away! Then there's always the other possibility... :-(
Quite a while back there was a Raleigh Team Pro frame that kept being relisted on eBay. It looked as if it had spent some time under water. I wonder if this isn't the same frame?
Chas. Colerich Oakland, CA USA
Leslie Reissner wrote:
> This 1981 frame, in UK Raleigh Team colours is up for sale on E-Bay. It looks a bit rough to me, having worn paint and some rust, and has no fork. There is a price of US$ 299 on it.
> http://ebay.com/
> Having just restored SB6032, I am very aware of the costs and it seems this price is on the high side to me. I had my frame repainted and a new fork made and thought I got away very cheaply for $350. Add in a set of decals (US$45) and shipping and taxes and so forth and you have a new-looking 1981 753 frame for around US$750. Does this make any economic sense? Probably not for me since it would have to be shipped across the border ($$$) and I already have a nice SBDU 753 bike (as yet unridden since restoration), but perhaps someone on the list would be interested. (Usual disclaimer--not my bike).
> As a newcomer to the classic lightweight hobby, it strikes me that we are still in the days when hobbyists rather than investors rule. Prices seem pretty reasonable as there are many nice old steel racing bikes out there going for under $2000, and we still seem to be in the stage where it is more profitable to part out bikes than sell them complete. Unfortunately, this means that restoration is something you do for personal satisfaction rather than to get any money back. Will this help or hinder the hobby?
> Leslie Reissner
> Ottawa, Ontario, Canada