Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/11/29
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Austin, (all you non-cyclists may want to skip this) Newer steel alloys, made by Columbus, True Temper, Dedacai, etc., used in bicycle tubing approach the weight of titanium. A double butted Ti frame might be a pound lighter, but unless you are trying to break the Hour Record, you won't notice a difference. Most of the cyclists I know have 5-10 lbs around their middle that certainly slows them down more that a few grams on their frame. I've seen Tour team bikes in the last 5 years that weigh 20-22 lbs. It tends to be the amateur with not enough training that looks to technology to offset his/her lack of conditioning. Rotating weight is much more of a factor in acceleration and maintaining speed--So advances in wheel technology, (lighter, more aerodynamic), are much more of a benefit to the rider than shaving grams with thinnner/lighter tubing. Unlike camera technology, many design innovations in the bike world were developed 50-100 years ago. I've held an EXTERNALLY double butted frame built around the turn of the century that weighed 4 pounds! Tollerances in frame building have become much tighter, mainly due to the high number of cogs in the rear of modern bikes. With the extreme chainline required for a 20 speed road bike, frame alignment is crucial. Back in the day when there were five cogs in the rear, alignment was not so important. Vintage does not equal heavy. If you are talking about an old Raleigh 3 speed, yeah, that's a tank. But if you look at a Raleigh Professional built with Reynolds 753 in 1976, it probably weighed around 18.5 lbs complete. I'm very interested to see the longevity of carbon fiber bikes. Will they be rideable in 50, or 20 years? Galvanic corrosion is a big concern. As a frame builder, I've built bikes with titanium and steel alloy, and my favorite bikes remain steel, even with a 1-3 lb. weight difference. The only superiority Ti has in my mind is in comfort on 80 plus mile rides, and the fact that it doesn't require painting, (another reason Ti is lighter, is that it doesn't have 4 ounces of paint coating it!). I love my Cinellis, I love my Leicas, and enjoy their strengths and limitations, as well as the ultimate satisfaction I get from using them. Ride Safe, Patrick __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html