Today I wandered in a shop which is listed as a Soma dealer today to see what they had. Initially, the proprietor said there was nothing to look at, and so I asked him to quote me a price for a new Wolverine frame. Once we started talking, he remembered he had a damaged frame in storage. Looks like attempted theft from a prying attack on the lock around the downtube.
Lo and behold, the frame, without fork, is in my size, and the gent said I could make an offer on it. He said he would have taken it for himself, except he already has too many bikes at home. In his opinion he said the dent isn't a strength or safety concern. I've never done business with this shop before, so I don't have a history, but as I talked bikes with the guy, I grew to like him. FWIW, he indicated he's a certified framebuilder.
This is one of those situations where I think I could get a deal on something I really want, so I KNOW I'm likely not impartial about the decision!
My goal is to build this into a daily commuter (100 miles/week). Would use it for touring, too, and I could see some off-road riding happening. My questions:
- Is it safe?
- How much money would you offer?
I read several other dent-related threads. Many people point out the difference between a simple dent and a "fold" in the tube. Not sure how "foldy" this is.... This dent is also towards the middle of the tube (the downtube), which has also been said to be more of a problem. Others have mentioned that the dent is more serious when it makes the tube not straight. As far as I can see, that is not the case with this dent. I read the thread about freezing the frame, but I'd likely try the rolling-with-blocks method before that. Luckily, since this is on the bottom of the downtube, it's not visible from the riding position!
In case it matters, this is the 2017 V2.0 Wolverine. Tange Prestige tubing:
