• So I think I've convinced myself that I at least want to see it in person. Final thoughts are:

    Those two frames are clearly different. So no worries about it being a repair job. The geometries are similar though, although the DT dent in 'mine' looks more pronounced, but that's hard to tell because of the less than perfect photos. Suggests at least the steep HT and the slight sloping TT are consistent with these frames.

    The dent could be explained as a by-product of the smoothing of the welds. I imagine if the welds were built up with some sort of filler, and then filed down to leave a clean finish, that dent could just be a dip in the filler material rather than a dent in the actual tubes?

    Seemingly perfect paint around the area suggests that it's not been a sudden impact. As do the lack of cracks. As does the fact that I trust Bevin, and he says he hasn't crashed it, and I believe that. It also hasn't exploded with him using it... yet!

    I also went to both Evans and Cycle Republic over my lunch break and had a look at some of the frames in there for reference. Interestingly, the Boardman Track bike (with smooth alu welds) looks like it has a big dent on the TT behind the HT, but feels fine to the touch. Could lighting/the photograph be skewing my/our perception of that 'dent'? Quite likely.

    All that considered, I think I'm going to take the gamble, and certainly at least want to see it up close before I make a final decision.

    Thanks for all of your help this far - huge rep all round, even those that suggested it'd be a death trap :) - stay tuned for the next installment!

About

Avatar for thross @thross started