I have a Merckx Corsa 01 that has a small "ripple" in the drive side of the down tube about midway down the tube. i would not call it a dent or a ding. There is no damage to the paint, so i would assume that it came from the factory this way. will this pose any problems to the integrity of this tube?

It sure sounds like it would be a non-issue. A picture's worth 1000 words though. Can you post a photo?

Dave

Thanks David... I will try to see if i can get a pic that shows the issue. Again it is hard to see. I found it by feel. There is just a "ripple" or flat spot on the outside of the tube. I was not sure if this was a high stress area of the tube. I assume since the tubes are butted the middle recieves the least amount of stress. By the way the tubeset is the Dedaccai Zero Uno set.

Are you the original owner of the frame? Has it wrecked?

try to use a flourescent light to get the picture. Make "ripples" stand out. More than likely not go to be an issue though. There are always small "flaws" in aluminum, steel, or carbon.

I am not the original owner. I am the second owner and the person that i purchased it from said it was never wrecked. So yo my knowledge it has not been wrecked. There is no sign of damage to either the paint or the clearcoat. Is it possible to have one tube replaced? What would the cost on a project like that be approximately. Obviously it would need to be repainted. Thoughts?

photo's please. up close, clear, focussed, with a ruler or a thumb for scale.

is it steel? too lazy to look it up. if it's steel, no worries regardless.

.

Based on your description it could be no more than a small flaw in the material during manufacturing or ever so slight mishap in its prior ownership.
If the frame alignment checks out I wouldn't worry too much about it. Keep watching the area making sure it doesn't get worse.

As far as replacing the tube, it could be a little tricky because Corsa-01 has shaped tubing, not round. It can definitely be done but the cost of reparing and repainting can be as much as replacing the frame.

I had a new front triangle replaced on my Corsa 01, it wasn't cheap. Replacing a single tube can be just as much because they have to likely deconstruct the front end anyways.

Mike