# Secondhand: Bititanio or master



## cagdas (Jan 31, 2005)

I am doubting on what I should buy, I have master olympic and an option on an bititanio (which is much more expensive). I also read things about the bititanio cracking etc. What should I be carefull with buying secondhand? Any tips?
gr


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## boneman (Nov 26, 2001)

*One's easier*

Master Olympic should be fairly easy. As long as it's straight, go for it. Note that it's not as light as the more recent production.

The BiTitan, if you know the various iterations over time, worth looking to buy. I have a friend who when working in Europe bought a RaboBank back up BiTitan. It's a really nice rig. Late production with conic shaped top and down tubes as well as two bottle cage mounts. From what I have seen and heard, the cracking issue was down by the BB where the two down tubes joined. This was primarily on the models that did not have the shaped tubes and only one bottle mount. That being said, the repair is generally easy to complete although it would result in the need to have the bike refinished. The repair itself can be done by a bike builder who works with Ti. The paint, well that's a personal decision. Colnago can and will do the repair but you need to find a way to access the factory. In the US, I imagine that might mean going through Trial-TIR. When I visited Mike Perry at Maestro in the UK, he indicated that Colnago stands behind their products and will fix them for a modest charge provided it hasn't been crashed. Most of the Bi and Mono Titan's that he saw needing repair were the result of them being dropped.

The BiTitan is a bike that I continue to look to buy but they are not often sold in my size (52).

Good luck.


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## KATZRKOL (Mar 4, 2004)

*Forget Trial-TIR. .*



boneman said:


> The paint, well that's a personal decision. Colnago can and will do the repair but you need to find a way to access the factory. In the US, I imagine that might mean going through Trial-TIR. When I visited Mike Perry at Maestro in the UK, he indicated that Colnago stands behind their products and will fix them for a modest charge provided it hasn't been crashed.


Or as we in the US call them. . Trail of tears. The first they would do is try to determine if the frame was purchased out of the US distribution network, then they'll say. ."no." Those bas&^rds are a friggin monoply and that's why most intelligent US buyers get their Colnagos from Mike Perry at Maestro, as he's a class act. The US distributor is such an evil monoply, they refused to SELL ME a replacement part as my frame was of "european origin." Or their words. ."grey market." If you want a Colnago fixed, box it up and send it to Mike. He's the best.


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## oneslowmofo (Feb 29, 2004)

*Here's a 53 on ebay*

Boneman, I read your post and happened to be browsing e-bay. It's one size too big but I thought that I'd pass it on...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=98084&item=7160540636&rd=1


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## boneman (Nov 26, 2001)

*Thanks*

Yeah, saw it but 53's just a tad too large. Worst thing is that I've seen them in the past, also in a paint scheme I like AD10. Well, waiting never hurt. 



oneslowmofo said:


> Boneman, I read your post and happened to be browsing e-bay. It's one size too big but I thought that I'd pass it on...
> 
> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=98084&item=7160540636&rd=1


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