buying used ssteel bike with rebuilt tubes

[jake1111011]

i am considering buying a used 1990s (lugged steel) bridgestone mb2 bike with top and downtubes replaced by a framebuilder (tim paterek). are there any questions i should ask the owner? is there anything i should keep an eye out for? thanks!

[ReapThaWhirlwind]

Not that I can think of.

Pretty basic bike right there.

Not sure what you have in mind for it, but it should handle the basic stuff just fine.

[Jesper]

(08-01-2021, 09:43 AM)jake1111011 Wrote:  i am considering buying a used 1990s (lugged steel) bridgestone mb2 bike with top and downtubes replaced by a framebuilder (tim paterek). are there any questions i should ask the owner? is there anything i should keep an eye out for? thanks!

Hi Jake,

I have decades of experience with lugged steel frames, but I am not a frame builder. If the bike was rebuilt by a professional then I would be inclined to say it should be completely suitable for it's original intended purpose; be it road racing or off-road/mountain trail use since that frame builder's integrity is on the line; never mind your own safety. A professional frame builder would not rebuild a bike if they had concerns about the rest of the frame's integrity. That being said, if you do not feel confident riding it due to it's prior history then do not get that bike. You should not have to be concerned about a bike falling apart while using it for what it was designed for. You can, if possible, contact the builder and get their opinion about the damage he repaired, what caused it, and if he thinks there might be a risk using this bike as originally intended. Remember, the rest of the frame underwent the same accident that caused the damage; as well as the years of prior use it has presumablably gone through. In most cases, except for a rare/valuable frame (a Bridgestone MB2 is neither) that might only be used for display or VERY LIGHT (for an mtb) riding; I would not buy it. There are plenty of bikes out there, and the value of that bike has been reduced by the facts that it has been in an accident, has had the frame rebuilt, and it no longer has it's original paint and trim. If it was a road bike I would feel a little more confident; but an mtb is a different matter altogether. It may be perfectly safe; it may not. Your safety is your decision, and no one can make it for you. The best opinion would be from the professional who rebuilt it; contact him before buying or riding would be my suggestion.

[ReapThaWhirlwind]

Additionally, those tubes weren't welded, they were brazed together.

You can take some confidence that the frame builder with this opportunity was able to use extra strong alloys to secure the tubes when brazing them in place. I think the even the typical person would go that extra mile for the security and peace of mind.

[Jesper]

Correct about brazed (used welding as general term); but not sure of the super strong alloys. Again I'm not a frame builder. Brazing material is dependent upon tubing and gauge used since the temperature differences can weaken the steel due to excess heat required for the solder to effectively flow depending on replacement tube alloy mix. Reynolds 753 tubes required significantly different methods over Reynolds 531 tubes. I don't know what Bridgestone MB2s were made with (Tange, Ishiwata, butted, straight gauge?); and were the replacement tubes identical alloys and gauge to the original tubes. Again, ask the builder.