Hey Guys. I just bought an early Bates BAR froma seller in the UK. i had a friend ship the bike to me. The finish is rough, what I expected ad it was going to be my commuter.
As i was going over the bike i noticed a sort of hole/crack near the bottom of the right seatstay. barsically one of the fender mounting studs had been ripped off leaving an indent, that looks like asemicircle crack/dent
The stays on these bikes are pencil thin.
im over 200 pounds and will be riding on a dirt road with bags and racks
the seller admitted to knowing about it but didnt think it was a big deal in mentioning it.
Were being cordial at thois point but he wants me to go through all kinds of pics and having pros look at it and all that,.
i paid alot for the bike -not cheap at all- so i expected a turn key operation.
Any one know about having these Bates seat stays repaired. findinga proper fender brazeon is a bear im sure .
In this position im gonna get screwed either way. I have to have it repaired which sucks time wise nd no garuntee i'l get money for it. Its chrome so gonna look like butt.
The other option is to send it back which i'll eat $100 on shipping im sure, the seller pointed out t me that he used the money on a new apartment-not really my concern but sounds like he doesnt want to retur my loot.
bog deal like i saidim on the north side of $1000 for this F & F
Anybody have some suggestions or similar experiences.
ciao Barry Scott
mount shasta ca usa