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| Title: | Bicycling |
| Notice: | Bicycling for Fun |
| Moderator: | JAMIN::WASSER |
|
| Created: | Mon Apr 14 1986 |
| Last Modified: | Fri Jun 06 1997 |
| Last Successful Update: | Fri Jun 06 1997 |
| Number of topics: | 3214 |
| Total number of notes: | 31946 |
1153.0. "For those who prefer steel...." by CESARE::JOHNSON (Truth is stranger than fiction) Tue May 09 1989 10:47
I've been planning to buy a new racing frame for nearly a year.
Now that the builder I deal with has finally gotten in the tubing
to produce it, I'm a little worried about going ahead. Basically,
the decision is one that every DEC customer has to make: the
technology is changing, and I have to decide whether to wait for
something new, or go with last year's state-of-the-art. It's
a big investment (around $750), so I don't want to go wrong.
The frame I'm in line for is a Sannino MS (Multishape). MS uses
the same steel as Columbus SL and SLX, but models different
cross sections specific to each frame component. The downtube
is an inverted teardrop, the top tube has an elliptical cross-section,
etc. I rode a prototype last summer and loved it. The weight is
about the same as SL, but there's more stability -- something I
miss on my 61cm SL bike.
So far, so good. Now, in the year that I've been waiting, Columbus
has come out with MAX, a tubing fabricated out of a higher carbon
steel (brand name Nivacrom). Using this stuff, Columbus can make
tubes with much less thickness - .4mm - than normal. Then they
increase the diameter at stress points. What ends up is a kind
of "steel Cannondale": light and stiff like aluminium, but with
the advantages of steel.
This appeals to me, but I've heard folks complain that MAX is TOO
stiff. Also, I have to admit my skepticism that this gadget will buy
me much as a rider (something I've expressed a lot in this
conference!). Finally, MS is here -- Sannino hasn't gotten his
hands on MAX yet. I very strongly want to work with my local
builder. Columbus tends to supply the big makers first, and then
make the stuff available to small timers.
So any words of wisdom out there?
MATT
| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 1153.1 | | EXIT26::SAARINEN | | Tue May 09 1989 15:20 | 6 |
| the perfect bike tubing
comes and goes
but what makes the bike hammer
are the legs that go round and round
-Lao Tzu Saarinen
|
| 1153.2 | In my defense | CESARE::JOHNSON | Truth is stranger than fiction | Tue May 09 1989 16:48 | 23 |
| RE: .1
Honest, I agree with you. The "regular" stuff is good enough for the
pros. The only thing that keeps me from joining them is my
weekend-athlete's body. As I mentioned in the base note, I'm usually
one of the first to question the purchase of the latest gadget. Still
(he says self-consciously), there are good reasons to be looking at new
frame. I've been racing my current one for about 2 1/2 years now. I'm
big, and I find that my 61cm SL frame becomes alarmingly "organic" at
speed and under stress. It's not going to break or anything, but the
rear wheel tracks very vaguely at the same points in the road when my
adrenalin is already peaking. I have enough to worry about in the
middle of the pack; I'd prefer to have absolute confidence in my frame.
(The SL is ideal for training, however: it is extremely forgiving on
rough roads, and I can comfortably ride it all day. I'm going to keep
it.)
More important than any frame material (but less important than legs)
is the builder. I think I've found mine. MS vs. MAX vs. (ad nauseum)
is just an expensive qualification of this choice.
MATT
|
| 1153.3 | A Bird in the Hand | BOOKIE::CROCKER | | Thu May 11 1989 15:38 | 10 |
| Does your builder have any experience with MAX? New tubing styles
sometimes have quirks. Remember how Reynolds would only sell 753
to licensed builders. I'm pretty conservative equipmentwise, but
I'm VERY conservative framewise. Plus a bird in the hand is worth
two in the bush. If your old frame is starting to get squishy,
why wait any longer for a new one, only to find out that Columbus
has come out with something even better than MAX next year?
If your builder has never used MAX before, wouldn't it be better
to go with what he's familiar with, than to be a guinea pig?
|
| 1153.4 | Paramount OS | WFOV12::SISE | | Thu May 11 1989 16:00 | 21 |
| Have you looked into the Paramount OS? It is a frame built with
oversize steel tubing. The write up in the bike mag that I have
had lots of good things to say about it.
Had I read this artical prior to ordering my Paramount I think I
would have gone this route.
The workmanship is perfect, the paint is a work of art (black with
silver metalflake). This bike is hand made, and one of the there
three custom frame builders is a woman (I hope she built mine! she
has been there quite a while).
The frame alignment issues that were going around a few years ago
have all been worked out. They have changed there process, and
the seat stays are attached later on in there process. This ensures
close to perfect alignment.
The artical was well worth reading!
John_who's_Paramount_had_to_be_black_and_chrome_to_match_his_HD
|