SDHawk

I picked this up the other day because it was cheap and had some Campy parts. I think mid to late 80s based on the components. It's a 58 cm and the fork is bent backwards ... actually the steerer tube on the fork is bent right at the bottom race. The general consensus seems to be replace the fork, tho some say it can be bent back.

Anyway, my question is whether the frame is worth much by itself? Just the frame, BB, and seatpost. I will remove the bars, stem, and lock . I'm planning on donating it, but if it's worth hundreds, well, you know....

Thanks in advance. I know nuthin about vintage road bikes.

obrentharris 

The kind of impact that will bend a fork can often deform the top tube and down tube near the head lugs. Looking at your second photo it appears that there might be a bulge or ripple in the top tube an inch or so behind the head tube. That part of the image is not perfectly in focus though, so it's hard to tell. In any case it would be worth carefully running your fingers along the top and bottom of the tubes to see if you can detect any deformation.
Brent

Mad Honk 

I am not too sure about the value. A Faggin sold recently for $65 for F&F. They are normally nice riding bikes, but you may have a crash damaged item which would reduce the value considerably. This is an example of the kind of frames I bring into my shop to try and revive. If you decide to donate it I am interested in having it to try and restore as a ridable bike. Lemme know.... Smiles, MH

Mad Honk 

BTW is that an Olhausen table?

3alarmer 

...
...at this point, I wouldn't worry about this one having a whole lot of value. Faggin made and sold some very nice bikes in the 80's. I think they gave up on being famous in the US after five or six years of increased production and marketing. They sold both full SL frames, and three tubes versions (for less money). They were famous for some very flashy paint jobs. I'm pretty sure that yours was repainted, before someone crashed it and bent the fork.

Fork might be repairable, or it might not. Here's the kind of paint/chrome I'm talking about. It was a little fragile, so it's not unusual to see them repainted.

SDHawk

Good catch, thanks. Yes, there is a small ripple on the underside of the top tube where you noted. The lugging appears fine, no cracks, separation, etc. Down tube is ok. Does the ripple render the frame toast? I am planning on giving it to a collective, and of course will point it out. But if you folks think it's unsafe, I guess I'll have to toss it.

The odd thing is that the wheels, which match and seem original (Mavic MA-40) were fine. Maybe the fork was bent during storage/moving with the front wheel off?

Thanks for the offer, but I will either toss or give it local depending on the verdict above.

Nah, it's just a no-name one I bought new online 20 yrs ago. It's the smaller 7 foot "bar size" but it plays alright.

StarBiker

What an awful name......

obrentharris 

It's not uncommon for the front wheel to come through unscathed in a front end collision that bends the fork and frame.
The frame is not in danger of failing catastrophically. Depending on the severity of the bend in the frame the handling may be minimally affected. An experienced frame builder with an alignment table might be able to tell you if the geometry has been appreciably altered, but for the rest of us mere mortals only building it up and riding it will tell how it handles. The fork, on the other hand, does need to be addressed. In some cases it is possible to safely straighten this sort of steering tube bend, but in my very limited experience the steerer tube usually needs to be replaced.

If your local bike collective declines the donation you might reconsider Mad Honk's request rather than scrapping it. He makes a bit of a specialty of bringing bikes back from the brink.
Brent