Re:
FINNEY1973":qxfu63kx said:
Certainly a valuable lesson for any buyer blinded by the kudos of a famous owner, or not as the case may be. Little bit naughty that the numbers don't match - that certainly wasn't advertised by a certain 'retail' seller.
Buyer beware for sure - no proof, no association, I've no problem with that. I'm just not sure that I'm understanding this thread - in fact I don't know how to take it at all. Let me explain:
The OP bought the frameset, fully suspecting that it wasn't what it was said to be. In his own words:
"I’ve just got hold of a frame that was supposedly built for the great lady by Raleigh SBDU. (yea & the worlds Flat)."
In fact he tells us this even before he says that he has the item in his possession - so he was under no illusions.
He goes on to say that he knows little about English frames and he asks for information about BB and the bikes that she rode. When offered snippetts of advice i.e. that BB did ride SBDU bikes, he says he knows it all already. He then leaves the matter barely 48 hours and draws a line under the thread.
BB became famous in the sixties and, as many here will know better than I, continued to ride competitvely well into the eighties, in short she was/is a legend. However, she's been dead now for nearly 20 years, her family, friends and club mates have grown older and yet they're expected to be avid followers of Retrobike and to produce answers on demand. We've even found a helpful statement on the authoratative timetrialling forum dating from 2007, well before this frame was offered for sale and from a former club mate, that says clearly that she tried lo-pro bikes at the time. I'd have thought that this might have piqued some interest, since it appears to be all that there is out there on the internet.
"I have now removed the forks to check the number & low & behold it has the number 6298 stamped on to them. Where as the frame has SB 6303 stamped on to the Bottom bracket shell."
These forks would probably have been made on the same day, never mind in the same week. What prospect of finding them on ebay as a replacement? The answers to these questions need more time and consideration. What is the overall geometry of the frame, was it built for a short fork? The OP might find his suspicions are correct but he went into the transaction with his eyes open, for the rest of us let's now see how this all plays out...