J_Climacus 

Title says it all. My dad wants this old steel frame, but it has a dent in the down tube by the bottom bracket. I asked for more pictures and they are hard to make out, as these often are. The seller says it doesn't seem creased, or at least not badly, but it's hard to tell because of the paint chip. He said he can run his finger along the inside of the tube and it just feels like a little dent.

My dad is probably about 250 pounds and 65 years old. He doesn't plan to ride this bike hard, but would you be concerned putting him on this even for leisurely rides?

rhm

I would not worry much about the frame breaking at that dent. But, that said, i wouldn't pay much for that frame.

Trakhak

One or two sharp edges, so not just a dent. I suggest clicking the red button on the bottom left in one of your posts in this thread and asking a moderator to move the thread to the Framebuilders subforum for expert opinions, but to me the sharp edges look like stress raisers.

Small dents in lightly stressed areas on frames aren't usually much to worry about. Sharp edges resulting from damage to one of the most stressed areas of a frame are more worrying.

jdawginsc 

The last picture is the one that makes me wonder about it. Looks like something, an edge of something, quite heavily banged into the bike/frame with a good amount of force.

repechage

This is super cheap, yes?

J_Climacus 

It's a good deal on a valuable frame. It's going to cost $500 though.

Trakhak

It was a valuable frame, before the damage. Even setting aside the serious damage to it, you should be aware that, generally speaking, the asking prices of even complete high-end vintage bikes have plummeted in the last several months.

At this point you should get some input from some of the people who post in the Framebuilders subforum, such as unterhausen .

jdawginsc 

What's the frame if I may ask? Is it a weird size?

Schweinhund

That appears to be filled with a bondo like substance.
can you stick your finger in the down tube through the bottom bracket and feel how badly it's dented if at all?

J_Climacus 

It is not a local sale so wouldn't be able to personally inspect it, no. He said he felt inside and it felt small, fwiw.

ljsense

What's going to cost $500?

Even if it were, say, an Merckx 7-Eleven frame in Columbus SLX made by Serotta, I'd say $500 is too much given that nasty bite.

If that frame is not down around $100 or less, just look for a different one.

Nemosengineer 

I would say HARD PASS, there is a ton of paint on that frame, chipping around the bottom bracket shows a extraordinary amount of primer, meaning a spot repair on that dent involving braze would require a total paint strip. plus you don't know what old repairs are under that repaint.

: Mike

J_Climacus 

Ok thank all. Going to advise him to pass. It's a Masi Prestige, btw.

smd4

Your idea of a “good deal” is vastly different from mine!

repechage

if it was a Confente… $500. Is OK

repechage

I have a Prestige that I would hope to receive $400., no dents, typical Italian mid 80’s breakaway paint.

Korina

Good gravy! What would even do that, a hatchet?

smd4

It makes you wonder…

repechage

storage accident, spouse, mistress.

1989Pre 

Without knowing the downtube tubing thickness and composition, or the depth of those digs that we see, what I would do, if the frame were mine, is to send it to a re-sprayer who also does frame repair. Get them to assess it professionally, and hopefully, do the patch and the re-spray. Even after that, I'd keep my eye on it. That is the worst place on a bike to have a compromised tube.

Trakhak

Juggling chainsaws.