> Grant wrote > > "...once in a while a frame breaks. Statistically it is inevitable. It > is a drag to have it aired, but so be it..."
Mike said: > Oh man, the purpose of the original post wasn't to air any perceived > short comings of a Rivendell bicycle. As pointed out, this stuff just > happens. David Faller wrote: > We also were reminded, > despite the aggrandizement of our steel bikes, that "parts is parts" and > that stuff breaks. > > Or maybe you're just an animal, and no dropout is safe under your forces! I think David has the right idea here. Steel is overrated. Steel owning bike riders seem smug and self-congratulatory on the internet when they see a carbon/aluminum/whatever frame break. Such and such crash will never happen to me as I have a steel frame... The truth is that Steel frames break ALL THE TIME. I worked at a steel frame builder for many years and saw hundreds of broken frames come through the door for repair, most were not crash damage. They mostly don;t break in ways that send the rider to the hospital, but sometimes they do. Having a dropout break clean through when you are sprinting from a stoplight will almost certainly send you right over the bars, the last bit giving away is pretty similar to a brittle fracture in that it happens in a split second. It is a nice testament to steel that you can ride it until a crack is 95% of the way through the dropout and not notice it, but it is also a little dangerous too that you are riding a bike that is pretty damn close to a huge failure without noticing it. Some people break lots of frames, some people don't. I have broken 3 steel frames (one twice) and a steel fork. the one I broke twice was repaired the first time, and technically possible but economically unfeasable to repair the second time: http://www.tariksaleh.com/bike/bones/crack.html The fork was a loss. Another frame was just not worth repairing (early steel mass produced mtb with a broken seat tube). The final one had another broken seattube just above the bb that was repaired and still rides today... I pretty much exclusively ride steel frames, but I am under no illusion that I can't crash due to my steel frame breaking. Grant is probably justifiably sensitive about his steel frames breaking, but I think it is reality that frames break and trying to keep it hushed up is silly. The right attitude is exactly what David said, Mike is a frame breaking animal and it should be a point of pride. Ride it, break it, fix it, ride it. Tarik -- Tarik Saleh tas at tariksaleh dot com in los alamos, po box 208, 87544 http://tariksaleh.com all sorts of bikes blog: http://tsaleh.blogspot.com --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
