At one time I had a tandem (a "Saturn" built by John Padgett) and the skinny was that a couple of the 4130 lateral tubes were wing spar tubes from a Stoltz Starduster sport biplane kit, 1.25 OD. That bike DID fly, especially going downhill. It was a fabulous machine, now long gone.
There's another story about Padgett and that particular tandem that is similar to the saga of the "campagnolo musette" but I'm not going to tell it here.
Padgett was one of the most talented fabricators / brazers ever to take up a torch. The multi-tube joins on his tandems (where the seat, top, and lateral tubes meet) were exquisitely mitered and fillet brazed. He did not have thumb or index finger on his right hand, thanks to a chemistry lab accident in high school, if you believe his story.
================================================ Mark Petry 206 618 9642 mailto:mpetry@bainbridgeisland.net Beautiful Bainbridge Island ================================================ The quick and the dead.
- Niki Lauda ================================================
> Greg,
> "4130" is an industry specification for generic, quality
> (e.g. aircraft use) chrome-molybdenum, moderate carbon steel
> tubing. You can buy your own any day of the week from
> a number of suppliers. In that case it wouldn't be butted
> though. Also, the wall thickness would likely be greater
> than a tube like Reynolds 531 which was designed specifically
> for bicycle and motorcycle applications.
> Best regards,
> Fred Rednor - Arlington, Virginia
>
>
>
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