One of the first things that I do with any bike or frame that I acquire is feel under the top and down tubes at the the head tube. Next is I check the alignment.
A missing or mismatched fork is a
RED FLAG!
What happened to the original fork???
For me I assume the worst, that the bike was in a front ender and the fork and possibly the frame got bent.
Vitus 172 is made of a low alloy steel that gets it's strength from heat treating. It's about 95% as strong as Reynolds 531, Columbus and the other brands like Tange and Ishiwata that are made out of alloy steels. It's less sensitive to overheating but also it's less fatigue resistant.
"You're gonna ride it?" should have been a give away for further questions.
Bikes are generally over engineered and if you are a lighter rider and stick to smooth surfaces you shouldn't encounter any problems.
Sqeaks or creaks are something to watch out for. If you hear or feel anything odd, check it out.
I picked up this used Alpine frame dirt cheap from a local frame builder. It had been in a front ender and he'd realigned it and straightened the fork. Aside from finding out that it was an extreme crit frame after I built it up, I was never happy with the way it rode or handled. Squirrely was an understatement.
If you look under the the circle on the top tube you can seen the bend. Also the down tube was bent. I sold it cheaper to someone who was looking for that exact kind of crit frame. We're both happy!
Happy trails....
verktyg
