Columbus tubing is rifled in the thick end of the fork steerer tube. All the other tubes are not rifled, at least not during the period of SL/SP/PS/PL. My feeling has always been that it is a marketing gimmick. The extra metal would be better utilized by making the wall thicker. Another comical way to increase the steerer strength was to insert a wooden dowel in below the stem. French bikes did this a lot. 753 steerers were straight gauge and I have never seen one fail. Think about what would happen if this tube came apart, that's why people want the extra metal here.
Jim Merz Bainbridge Is. WA
-----Original Message----- From: classicrendezvous-admin@bikelist.org [mailto:classicrendezvous-admin@bikelist.org] On Behalf Of George Rausch Sent: Friday, August 09, 2002 1:43 PM To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: [CR]Rifled tubing
Can anyone explain the reasons for Columbus tubing being rifled ? I see some rifling down inside my head tube, but cannot for life of me think of a reason.