MXL gap in lug???

[rodcad]

This is hopefully an optical illusion.....but sure looks odd to me. 63CM (my size) MXL frame on the bay now, great deal if frame is sound.

[eBAUMANN]

yep, that can happen if it wasnt brazed correctly, could have been held down with the tiny bit of silver that made it into that area for years before popping free, maybe in a minor front end bonk.
bummer.

[AngryScientist]

i'm obviously not a photographer, but perhaps that happened when whoever "cleaned up" that photograph removed a little too much?

[eBAUMANN]

i'm obviously not a photographer, but perhaps that happened when whoever "cleaned up" that photograph removed a little too much?

mmmmm nope ;)
(i am both a professional photographer, and professional photo retoucher)

i also know the folks at TPC well enough to know that they do little/no retouching on images beyond removing any relevant stands/props and blowing the BG to white...and sometimes they dont even have time to do that much.

thats a separation in the lug, unfortunate but not impossible.

[weisan]

you can clip a cue sheet there...dual use.

[rodcad]

super glue, a whack with a rubber mallet, then clamp it gently for an hour should do it.

[sandyrs]

Just wrap that joint in a carbon repair kit, since steel's part carbon anyway right?

[ColonelJLloyd]

you can clip a cue sheet there...dual use.

Ha, I was thinking this as well.

Hey, OP, I'd ride it. Ask for a discount. ;)

[eBAUMANN]

FWIW, it is repairable, pretty easily in fact...but youd have to respray the front end of the frame.

[thwart]

That's a pretty big gap.

That MXL is likely from the ~ 2005 reproduction run of frames (no chromed chainstay is one clue), and in my experience the brazing craftmanship suffered a bit compared to the originals. I owned a Corsa 01 from that same production run.

That said, I suspect it's mainly a cosmetic issue.

[bicycletricycle]

tolerance on the photoshop magic wand tool set too high. erased part of the highlight on the tube along with some of the background.

[Steve in SLO]

I'm with bitri here.
Looks like the same "problem" along the headtube.

[eBAUMANN]

tolerance on the photoshop magic wand tool set too high. erased part of the highlight on the tube along with some of the background.

now that you say that...i don't think its the result of reckless magic wanding so much as it is just a strong highlight along the top of the tube from an overhead light.

the same effect is also visible here:

https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8732/28195009131_a2bd2ebea5_c.jpg

i think its probably fine in real life, just an illusion.

[AJM100]

my money is on a reflection in the photo. Look at the photo of the opposite side of the head tube, looks fine from that angle. Why doesn't some just ask for a photo or ask whether it is visibly damaged?

[eBAUMANN]

my money is on a reflection in the photo. Look at the photo of the opposite side of the head tube, looks fine from that angle. Why doesn't some just ask for a photo or ask whether it is visibly damaged?

because its more fun to speculate and try to solve the mystery in a team effort on the internet.

duh.

(I'm sure anyone actually interested in buying it would ask and I'm also sure that the folks at TPC would have noticed such a crazy/obvious defect in the thing they were selling).

[Fivethumbs]

Shouldn't this be a poll?

1) Improperly brazed lug?
2) Photo shop effect?
3) light reflection on top tube?

:banana:

[R3awak3n]

pshop newbie stuff right there. atmo

[merckx]

I purchased a new, re-issue 7Eleven SLX Merckx about a dozen years ago or so. There were a few significant gaps in the lugs that were not acceptable so I sent it back to Gita. It happens and some are sold at retail.

[eBAUMANN]

its a highlight along the top of the top tube, not a gap in the brazing.

i would bet you and mxl on it ;)

---

also, look at the tang on the bottom of the lug on the head tube....OMG! its pulling away as well!
its caused by white highlights from the studio lights, not magic wands, not photoshop n00bs.
highlights.

[R3awak3n]

its a highlight along the top of the top tube, not a gap in the brazing.

i would bet you and mxl on it ;)

---

also, look at the tang on the bottom of the lug on the head tube....OMG! its pulling away as well!
its caused by white highlights from the studio lights, not magic wands, not photoshop n00bs.
highlights.


so, you are changing your answer? you have used the 50/50, you can still call a friend or ask the audience


to me its a highlight as well but when they cleaned up the bg to be pure white it just merged over exposed everything over a certain value and you have this turd of a job. But we can all agree that its not lug separation

[eBAUMANN]

so, you are changing your answer? you have used the 50/50, you can still call a friend or ask the audience


to me its a highlight as well but when they cleaned up the bg to be pure white it just merged over exposed everything over a certain value and you have this turd of a job. But we can all agree that its not lug separation

yes, when you push the BG to white, the (already) white highlights on the frame would also get pushed (further) to white then they already were.

also, i stand by my faith in the TPC team...they miss some details here and there, but there is no way anyone could miss that. no. freakin. way.

[Elefantino]

Saw that frame but didn't notice the "gaps" ... Did notice that it was probably one of the repros, not the original.

Thought about it, passed. Will stick with the CSI.

[blakcloud]

4. It's an artifact due to being a digital camera. If they used a film camera, I don't think you would be seeing this regardless of the lighting.

[Cicli]

It looks better from the other side. I agree with the lighting theory.

[KJMUNC]

In either case, if you get that frame without my bidding it's a great deal.....GLWP (purchase!)

[adrien]

Why not contact the seller and ask?

[alancw3]

i do not see that as an optical illusion. that looks like a serious brazing defect to me. i would not touch that frame. i can't believe that frame got through whatever quality control existed at that point.

[ik2280]

i do not see that as an optical illusion. that looks like a serious brazing defect to me. i would not touch that frame. i can't believe that frame got through whatever quality control existed at that point.

So you think several lugs have brazing defects? And that no one at TPC noticed? Doesn't seem so possible to me.