The following article is copied from a March 11,1983 issue of Velonews reporting on the NYC International Cycle Show of that year. This is from a handfull of old issues I found at Veloswap recently.
"Too-tough tubing"
Have you ever heard that a frame made of Reynolds 753 tubing can't be "cold set" (i.e.bent back into alignment after being twisted in a crash)? Is it true? If so, how come? We asked TI Reynolds Show representative TOM FIELD.
"No way" is now Field described the chance of cold setting 753. "You just can't budge it at all. In fact, once it's jigged and brazed you just can't change it. It must be perfectly aligned by the framebuilder and that's why we are so careful about who is allowed to build with 753."
Field said that any framebuilder who wants to use 753 is sent a test kit containing tubes, a bottom bracket, silver solder, flux and instructions. He assembles the parts and returns them to the TI Raleigh lab in England, where five tests determine his proficiency. Field said about half of the 753 applicants are refused permission to abtain and use the tubing. He said that the U.S. now has five qualified 753 framebuilders.
So what happens if a 753 frame is crashed out of alignment? First, Field said, since 753 is the strongest bike tubing in the world(diameter for diameter), it is the most resistant to bending in a fall. However, it tends to dent easier than other tubings because it is so thin; the center portion is only 0.3mm thick, or about three times the thickness of one Velo-news page. Once a 753 frame is actually bent, it is a major undertaking to make it right again.
"The builder must be very good with his torch, use a slow flame to heat the part, then replace the tube or realign the frame, as necessary," Field said. He added that the expense of this type of repair makes 753 "not the best choice for the younger or less-than-serious rider.
"Reynolds 753 is for the discerning rider," Field summed up. "It is so light and so stiff that the serious competitor can't afford not to have it."
Weight of the 753 road set is 1,800 grams. The track set is 1,750 grams.
So, there you go. That's what Reynolds was saying in 1983.
Mike Richardson(driver & mechanic-2000 Veloswap expedition) Statesville,N.C.