e-CHUCKIE i disagree with your point of view at this mail's bottom. the reason, in essence, that there are no lugged frames is this (and this is a VERY GENERAL overview...): in the 80s, companies of all shapes and sizes turned to mtb frames as their cash cow. with this came a complete indifference to the prevous era's road bicycle's conventions. lugs, and using lugs to make frames, is/was not a better way, it was _'the way'_ to join the tubes. over the past 20 years, this application was supplanted by other methods of doing the exact same thing-joining tubes. manufacturers embraced the 'other' ways, not because they were improvements in quality levels, but because it was a more efficient and profitable way to join tubes given the workforce available to them. with the advent of bigger tubes of both steel and aluminum, it would (have made) makes no sense to develop a lug system when other joining methods accomplish the exact same thing. using lugs has/had its good and its bad points. the same could be said for tig, etcetera. however, in this era it is unlikely that industry would embrace lug use for strictly emotional reasons. these lugged bicycles don't exist in the mainstream anymore due to economic reasons, not due to reasons relating to the industry's "working toward(s) a more competitive bike." e-RICHIE living outside the box in chester, ct
Chuck Schmidt <chuckschmidt@earthlink.net> writes:
> Curt Goodrich wrote:
> >
> > (cut) I completely agree
> > that the days of lugged steel frames are essentially gone from the
> pro
> > peleton but I don't believe the agent of change was the riders.
> It was the
> > manufacturers of the bicycles that created the change. There's
> nothing
> > sinister about it, just capitalism.
>
> So the manufacturer creates the changes and the pro rider is paid
> to
> ride whatever the manufacturer comes up with?
>
> It is an accepted fact that there is input from the pro riders in
> the
> design of racing bikes. I'd agree things like paired spoke wheels
> are
> totally marketing (and stupid), but over the last hundred years the
> things that are not competitive get discarded. I'd say the agent
> of
> change in the pro peloton is ultimately competition. And everyone
> concerned, the maker, the rider, is working toward a more
> competitive bike.
>
> It will be interesting to see if ideas/concepts like "compact"
> frames
> survive (I think not; poor engineering). If lugged steel was
> competitive
> in the pro ranks it would still be around.
>
> Chuck Schmidt
> SoPas, SoCal
>
>
> .