On Mar 29, 2009, at 11:04 AM, Steve Palincsar wrote:
> On Sun, 2009-03-29 at 09:00 -0700, Eric Norris wrote: >> A Riv tandem would be nice, but I'd hate to even think about sourcing >> the many unique lugs you'd need to build one. Maybe find an older >> lugged steel tandem and rebadge it as a Resurrectio? Our Santana is >> fillet brazed steel, which is also very nice. > > I still do not understand the point of a lugged tandem. The lugs are > non-existent, and hand-making them would be extremely expensive. Lugs > offer nothing but appearance over fillet brazing, no construction or > performance advantage. So, what's the point? Aesthetics- appearance- is a legitimate point. Also, the statement that "lugs offer nothing... over fillet brazing" is not correct. Destructive testing of bicycle joints has found lugged joints stronger than fillet brazed joints, which were in turn stronger than welded joints. Lugged construction is less likely to overheat the tubes because lower temperature brazing filler can be used; welding is hotter still. Welded frames have been around for many years, they hold up fine, serve the purpose for decades, and therefore the welding process is "good enough." Fillets therefore offer nothing but appearance over welded frames, in practical terms, so "what's the point?" Why not just go for the lowest common denominator? Because aesthetics matter. It's subjective, of course. Some people like the looks of lugs and want lugged bikes; some people like the looks of fillets and want fillet brazed bikes; some people like the looks of welds and want welded bikes. Some people like the looks of steel, some like the looks of aluminum, some like the looks of Ti, some like the looks of carbon. My favorite aesthetic happens to be fillets. Well, here it's 39F rather than 80F- time to bundle up and go for a ride while trying not to be jealous of the Californians and other people smart enough to live somewhere warmer and drier than Minnesota. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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 rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
