Originally Posted by topflightpro

The sellers description makes a lot of sense, though seems to leave out a lot of details.

There probably was a dent in the downtube from the bike falling over on to something. Aluminum does not like to be dented, and if the dent is strong enough, it can crack and tear. So this all lines up with what the seller is saying.

But I think he is leaving out that the bike was probably crashed pretty hard straight on. That crash is what ultimately caused the downtube to tear like it did and to bend the top tube like it did. Carbon forks are amazingly strong, but I'll bet that one would fail an ultrasound inspection, and I'd bet the front wheel is far from true.