Highly skilled metal working, though frame building in particular
has always fascinated me. Most cyclists will share an interest in bespoke
products at some level and once upon a time, towns and cities could take their
pick of craftspeople.
Sadly, these days every online community has its resident
“experts” some of whom couldn’t manage joined up writing, let alone
differentiate lap weld from lap dance.
One commentator recently asserted Reynolds 531 is a low grade
Cro-moly. Arguably superseded in sporting terms by 725, 921 et al, it still
offers excellent ride characteristics and suits a wealth of applications from
Audax to heavily laden touring.
Indeed, many framesets are truly a ’la carte-blended from
different tube sets to deliver just the right characteristics. There are no
short cuts. Any fool can blast metal together with heat understanding their
relationship and translating this into competently engineered, fit-for-purpose
structure requires considerable time and practice.
Contrary to popular forum folklore, the main reason for 531’s
obsolescence boils down to manufacturing techniques, technology and consumer
expectation. Giant’s ground breaking TCR semi/compact geometry concept divided
opinion but meant production bikes fitted much better, especially those of us
with a more feminine dimensions i.e. proportionally longer legs and shorter
torsos.
Hence, fillet brazing became standard practice amongst custom
builders, while mass production has favoured TIG for the past twenty five
years. Since 531 cannot withstand fusion welding, the mixture was tweaked and
525/520 conceived.
These “lowlier” tubesets along with in-house blends of 4130 still
enjoy a responsive, engaging ride quality but at a very affordable
price-arguably perfect for starter race mounts, or indeed winter/training.
“Ghost building”; batch producing framesets to shop specifications
and under their name has been a popular staple for many sole traders. However,
even this has been dwindling recently. Increasingly custom builders are
designing and fitting frames here before commissioning fabrication to Taiwan.
Material choice is also far greater than ever before. Steel has
seen meteoric revival, having fallen from favour during the 1990s but now
competes alongside various grades of aluminium, carbon/composites and of
course, titanium. These also require a very different skillset, not to mention
tooling.
Therefore remaining competitive alongside volume producers,
especially those in the Far East is almost prohibitive without outsourcing
somewhere along the line.
Fifteen years back, having completed another professional
qualification and feeling distinctly disillusioned within day jobs; I decided
it was time to seek professional training in welding practice. Armed with some
elementary, plain gauge 4130 tubing, I spent many hours under the close
scrutiny of a giant scots’ toolmaker called George and Terry; a chirpy,
straight talking coachbuilder.
Ultimately, while said Cro-moly boasted livelier characteristics,
high-tensile steels such as Peugeot cycles’ HLE or electricians’ conjugate were
of comparable weight, cost pennies and proved much easier to fusion weld.
Undesirable for frames perhaps but I was seeking to build a series
of low-slung, single wheeled touring trailers with a view to small scale
production. Prices cannot be levied upon creativity and skills development but
attempting this as a commercial venture would be a fools’ mission given the
prices of superior, mass produced imports.
Spleen
vented and KA’s fresh MOT certificate within my sweaty little palm, I’m headed
up to see Peter Gabrielle at Birmingham’s LG arena…
