Ethics in Ebay sales

[Peter B]

Ran across this listing https://tinyurl.com/w3rxk57 for a Litespeed Ocoee. Looks decent until you get to the bit about the 'generic' brand ti fork (almost certainly the infamous Spicer/Sibex/XACD). From the listing:

"Did you see those welds on the fork? Done professionally, and i would trust this fork on all but the gnarliest of descents."

Were it mine I'd have tossed the fork at the first sign of cracking. If the seller chooses to repair for their own use, ok (hello Darwin?). But how can s/he in good conscience resell it and with that copy?

Am I alarmist? Would you buy/ride this? Would you sell it?

Can DK or another builder experienced w/ ti comment?

[CO_Hoya]

This seems like a particularly ill-advised piece of ad copy.

So the seller wouldn’t trust the fork on very “gnarly” descents? Okay.

And does left weld show oxidation? I thought that was a big no-no for Ti.

"Did you see those welds on the fork?Done professionally, and i would trust this fork on all but the gnarliest of descents."

[dddd]

Not a welder myself, but that sort of discoloration on ti would lead me to toss (recycle) this expensive fork outright.

Here in the Sac'to area there is at least one welder who advertises on Craigslist offering to weld/repair any frame, but without the full knowledge, equipment, skill and accountability of a professional builder, I would not them work on mine.

[Peter B]

The re-weld discoloration troubles me less than the anecdotal history of these segmented ti forks failing at the crown welds coupled with the aftermarket beads applied at precisely the typical point of failure.

I'd have made it a wind chime. And I wouldn't offer it for sale as anything but a wind chime. Or bar-b-que or garden tool.

[skiezo]

It looks like both sides were re welded. The color looks fine to me. I weld SS quite a bit and it all discolors. It just needs to be brushed out when hot. If he took the weld out and down to the base metal and welded it should be fine.

[tmessenger]

If you want a vintage ti mtb with a ti fork check out mine in the fs forum. Less $ and a Litespeed fork.

https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=248083

Tim

[HenryA]

Broke once already and now its all fixed. :confused:

[Peter B]

It looks like both sides were re welded. The color looks fine to me. I weld SS quite a bit and it all discolors. It just needs to be brushed out when hot. If he took the weld out and down to the base metal and welded it should be fine.

This is ti and not SS.

These segmented ti forks are notorious for exactly that failure.

It has been 'repaired'.

And is being sold as "Did you see those welds on the fork? Done professionally, and i would trust this fork on all but the gnarliest of descents."

I did and I wouldn't.

YMMV.

[pdmtong]

so this guy claims he would ride it and you don't agree. it's not an ethical issue - you both just see the world differently.

FWIW I agree with you and would not ride it but I don't put the seller in the unethical category. in any marketplace, caveat emptor.

we see that same conversation theme whenever someone posts "is this a crack, should I ride it?" plenty of varying opinions.

[Peter B]

Fair enough.

I have teeth.

[pbarry]

The repair is much worse than the original welds with bad purging and obvious contamination on the left side, (brown spot). [Not where a re-weld should be done to begin with.] Some of those forks had interior purge problems as well as the tubing gauge being too light. Buyer beware.

[Whit51]

“would trust this fork on all but the gnarliest of descents."
Personally, I want a fork that I can trust on the gnarliest descent. I don’t do any gnarly descents, but I’m in favor of a little over-engineering when it comes to life safety.

[Black Dog]

It failed because of a design flaw. Same design now with a questionable repair. It is going to fail again.

[Skenry]

Are you buying it brand new or are you buying it used forba fraction of the price?
Marketing is what makes the world spin, no one makes you purchase something, but someone will.

It's not about ethics, it's about dollars.