Giacomo brings up a really good point here for us neophytes (me too!) who are looking for a classic steel frame.
Racers are tough. Anything not steel, that has been raced hard on (by a big guy!) can be bent after just a season. Had a customer come in with a carbon fiber bike that the rear wheel wouldn't even line up properly anymore. She got it from a racer. My upstairs neighbor has got serious bottom bracket sway in his scandium Quattro. Scott is a stocky, powerful, 400+ mile a week guy.
Steel is more resilient, but my SO - big ring grinder that he is (man with knees of steel!) has broken a few frames - broke (era content here) an early 80s Merckx seat tube near the bottom bracket, and did a job on a Paramount.
So I know I can always get things aligned, and we can usually tell when something has been bent in a crash, but how much risk does one take when purchasing a classic lightweight that has been raced hard? When do steel frames fatigue? Or do they?
I know I'm at less of a risk with my interest in smaller frames that fit, but something like a 56cm could be really beat! How do you tell?
I figure people like Dale, Brian and Richard, who actually get into things with torches can provide some insight here.
Ann Phillips - Atlanta GA likes bicycles of drinking age!
>Date: Wed, 5 Mar 2003 06:26:53 -0800 (PST)
>From: "James \"Giacomo\" Bellora" <bellovelo@yahoo.com>
>To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
>Subject: [CR]Skinny Racers?
>Message-ID: <20030305142653.42041.qmail@web21301.mail.yahoo.com>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>MIME-Version: 1.0
>Precedence: list
>Message: 15
>
>Believe me boyz, not all racers are 5' 3" and weigh 135 lbs. Just look at
>the Belgium Classics riders who brave Flanders cobbled bergs or
>Paris-Roubiax's Arenburg Forest. Cipollini ain't not skinny
>wanker. George Hincapies is 6'1''. Half the USPS team are 'tempo
>monsters' who are -170-190 lbs and torque the crap out of their
>frames. Better yet, track riders are even bigger (esp. the match
>sprinters). Many of the pro race frames can certainly handle large
>powerful riders--as long as you choose the right one and not the one with
>the prettiest paintjob. The Virginia/DC/MD area is mainly punch climbs
>(rollers) and dead windy flats. The majority of the dudes I race against
>are definitely bigger than me (5'11"-160 lbs). Not many Pantanis around
>here. The bicycle companies certainly have to design bikes (and wheels)
>to handle the bigger dudes too. This is why I race on a DeRosa Planet,
>beefier than the tincan UD or Merak.
>
>
>Giacomo Bellora, Falls Church, VA