Help wanted getting a bike from Austria

[incorrigible]

I believe you are correct, @PanoIgano .
I'm just saying that I wouldn't blame anyone for going after that bike if the advertisement became common knowledge. Once it's out, it's fair game really, hence my desire for confidentiality.

 

[incorrigible]

OK, I don't have it yet, but perhaps it's time for the big reveal.

First, the good news: RBer @KayOs happened to be traveling right by the seller's location and was kind enough to get this for me. It was listed for sale on Kleinenziegen, so the seller wanted to deal locally. Many thanks to KayOs!



And then, of course, the not-so-good news:



This is not surprising to me. Anyone who has read my rant about Aluminum Nishiki e-stays cracking is probably not surprised either. This seems to "come with the territory", as a high percentage of these old aluminum Nishiki e-stays seem to crack if you even simply THINK about them.

In any case, it fills a hole in my collection. I know @danson67 had one of these, so I'm curious if he repaired it and how well the repair went.

BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!

Apparently the seller, in KayOs words, "used a threaded headset and slammed in a threadless fork steerer." so it's proving to be an ordeal trying to remove the fork.

So, the saga continues. I will suggestd to KayOs to post pics of the situation here to see if some of the wise and wizardly of the RB community could offer their sage advice.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can remove this fork, which I shall henceforth refer to as "Excalibur".

 

[KayOs]

OK, I don't have it yet, but perhaps it's time for the big reveal.

First, the good news: RBer @KayOs happened to be traveling right by the seller's location and was kind enough to get this for me. It was listed for sale on Kleinenziegen, so the seller wanted to deal locally. Many thanks to KayOs!

View attachment 990693

And then, of course, the not-so-good news:

View attachment 990695

This is not surprising to me. Anyone who has read my rant about Aluminum Nishiki e-stays cracking is probably not surprised either. This seems to "come with the territory", as a high percentage of these old aluminum Nishiki e-stays seem to crack if you even simply THINK about them.

In any case, it fills a whole in my collection. I know @danson67 had one of these, so I'm curious if he repaired it and how well the repair went.

BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!

Apparently the seller, in KayOs words, "used a threaded headset and slammed in a threadless fork steerer." so it's proving to be an ordeal trying to remove the fork.

So, the saga continues. I will suggestd to KayOs to post pics of the situation here to see if some of the wise and wizardly of the RB community could offer their sage advice.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can remove this fork, which I shall henceforth refer to as "Excalibur".

There is news from the KayOs shed....

I had time last night to take care of the divorce of fork and frame.
As nothing had moved when I first tried some days ago I soaked everything with penetrating oil. That's why it became quite a mess yesterday, which is why there are no photos.
After a few attempts, a lot of sweat and some swearing, I had the fork out.

As it turned out, there was some kind of Quill stem adapter installed. However, I had never seen one of these before, it looked homemade, like an Ahead steerer complete with a knocked in star nut. I had therefore assumed that the fork had an Ahead steerer. The headset however was a threaded one.
Of course I couldn't knock the starnut out downwards because that's where the adapter was clamped. It didn't come out upwards with my possibilities either.
But thanks to the excessive use of Ballistol, I slowly managed to unscrew the top nut of the headset, which also pushed up the adapter. When I finally got the oily monster out after almost 2 hours, I threw it straight outside through the door.....where it still lies.... somewhere under the blackberries.....rot in pieces you b***h!!

The rear end than come off with no issues.
So now the next step is wrapping everything up and get it shipped.

 

[PanoIgano]

Hey so cool so see this frame going out to someone who has long lusted over it and with the help of a member here nonetheless!

 

[incorrigible]

Frame arrived VERY well-packed by @KayOs . Mad props to KayOs for taking the time to get the bike, sourcing a box, packing and shipping the bike, and keeping me informed during the entire process! The packing job in particular was a labor of love. Thanks @KayOs ! I am indebted to you!





As I was inspecting this frame, I suspected that the "TAVA Chain" decal was not only hiding ANOTHER crack, (you can see it in the pic earlier in this thread showing the FIRST crack), but that it was also used in hopes of reinforcing the head tube by holding the crack closed. It just happens to be a black-colored decal covering a similarly black-colored area that's prone to cracking - coincidence? Likely not. I began peeling the decal away and - lo and behold - another crack!



No worries. The original Nishiki decals are intact and unmolested, the chromoly triangle has no pitting that I can find (which is amazing), and the paint looks to be original with no chips and no repairs or re-spray evident. The color looks as if it has tiny bits of colored metallic reflective stuff in it, so this is good info for anyone needing to match the paint and decals for a restoration.

I've resigned myself to accepting that these cracks can be awfully hard to find unless one looks VERY CAREFULLY, and that some sellers will try to claim ignorance despite using a sticker/decal to hide them. In addition, unless proven otherwise, I will assume that almost every aluminum Nishiki e-stay is cracked, and then rejoice when I find one of the 5% of them that aren't.

So when will I ride it?
Because it's cracked, I won't ride it (it's a safety issue).
If it was not cracked, I wouldn't ride it. (for fear of being the guy to finally crack it).
If it were repaired to original spec, I wouldn't ride it (original spec? It'll crack again someday).
If it were repaired with sleeves, gussets, unsightly non-original bolts and flanges and re-painted, then SURE, I'll ride it.
In this particular case, I won't ride it, but I'll restore it to the best of my ability and then just ignore the cracks for now because it fills a gaping hole in my collection.

So that's ANOTHER rare e-stay removed from circulation in the cruel world and put out to pasture (into storage) at Incorrigible's Happy Farm, where cracks, scuffs, and dirt are a thing of the past. Another score for the cat-lady of e-stays (me)!

 

[PanoIgano]

Again, really nice to see proper RB commaradeship!

Now I am waiting for the build to start!

Good luck with it!

 

[KayOs]

Thank you for all the praise, I'm really flattered. I've already received so much support here on RB, it's the least I can do to give something back.
I'm pleased that everything worked out and that the frame was well received. I'm also looking forward to seeing what the bike will look like when you've finished it.