So, a small friend of mine has been after a super tiny bike for a little while — 46cm-ish with 650 wheels. She ended up scoring the Peter Bundy from the eBay section, which user Lemontime (really great guy) was nice enough to box up for her and send it on its merry way.
Anyway, she picked it up from the courier depot the other day, and sadly the condition doesn’t exactly match with what the seller said during her eBay communications:
“The bike is in really good condition. We bought it 2 years ago but it has been sitting unused for about 10-12 months as I bought a bigger bike for my son and selling this was on the to do list. It is a great frame, no dents or dings and works well, although the rear tube needs replacing. The frame is top quality and the group set is Sora, which is ok.”
My guess is that it has been sitting OUTSIDE for 10-12 months. A leaky rear tube is the least of its problems… Some pretty decent rust on the top-tube. Not sure how concerned she should be about it, or even how to treat it. Take a look at the drive-side rear-stay too… Hmmmm, dodgy.
Also, something else that is rather lame: a loose cable, no front derailleur and only an inner chainring, but this wasn’t really a surprise as it was visible in the listing.
Hit the rusty areas with some steel wool/sandpaper to clear off all the surface crud. You will end up taking some paint off but shit happens. Once that is done, inspect. If all good, just spray over the sanded bit with some clear, or. Olof or whatever to prevent rust again. Load up the inside of the tubing with fish oil.
Thanks for the advice! Waiting to hear back from the seller before I resort to the feedback route. It’s the eBay gamble I guess, been burnt a few times now. Anyway, let’s hope the rust isn’t too deep, really want to get it all fixed up. Will post back any updates. The thing is tiny, so cute in the steel.
Looks like someone has put an angle grinder to the dropout/seatstay join to clear a large cassette arrangement or sommint. Arsehats. I’d contact the seller and if no joy n,n,n,negative feedback. How many beer tickets was it or is that “classified” info?
Rust converter will only be a temporary fix, once it’s done it’s thing you need to get those spots back to bare metal before painting or it will rust again over time (talking years). If you intend to re-spray in the future or decide you won’t keep the bike for all that long then it will be a good band aid for the time being. The converter is messy stuff so try to keep it and its drips localised.
Also note most primers are at least a bit porous and they need proper paint laid over them to fully seal the area.
Looks like grinder marks to me, hard to see in the photo, but the tube has been opened up, hollow part exposed. About third of the tube’s width has been removed.
The BIN price of $300 was opted for. Couldn’t be bothered haggling, it was actually the correct size and seemed reasonably fair. Wheels are 105’s laced to Open Pros (they need a slight true but spin fine), Campag headset is still smooth, brakes are junk, rear derailleur + scuffed brifters are Sora but shifted reasonably well (considering the crappy cables) without adjustment. Freight was next to nothing thanks to e-go.com and Lemontime’s generosity with the boxing.
Seller seems keen to get this sorted out. Got this short reply from him today:
“To be honest, I didn’t thoroughly inspect the bike, my son washed it and I took the photos and listed it, not considering that there may have been some problems.
What would you suggest to keep you happy?”
Think his son might need a little bike cleaning coaching, it didn’t arrive clean at all… Not quite sure what to propose, haven’t had time to attack and assess the rust (it’s currently on the other side of the river), I’m pretty annoyed about the the rust and general condition, but I don’t want to be an unfair jerk about it and ask for too large a refund. Really didn’t want to get stuck into another huge project though. Argh.
Well that’s kind of what I feel like doing, but I just get sick of the whole fighting with turds on eBay. It can get pretty messy and then I walk away feeling like a jerk when I was the one who got screwed in the first place.
Maybe take it to a local frame builder and get an inspection/quote for any repair work to the stay. Then armed with that info get back in contact with the seller, if its going to cost you $150 for the repair, hit them up for a partial refund.
As others have said, rust convertor to affected areas. Like what Blakey said, or Loctite also make a converter too.
