Hi, Les;
I'm fairly sure the ability to do all the braze-ons existed prior to the 70's, so not having them was either a question of fashion or production economy. I've certainly seen brake cable and BB cable guides braze-ons on pre war frames. Older french and english touring bikes from the 50's often seem to have braze-on everything. But then sometime in the 60's - 70's braze ons went out of fashion.
I know when I started riding seriously in the mid 70's, the conventional wisdom (among tourist types in the Detroit area) was that you wanted as few braze ons as possible, because mid tube braze ons were a source of weakness and compromised the tube's strength (or so we told each other). But then shortly thereafter, braze ons, especially DT shifter braze ons became a mark of quality: you knew it was a good frame if it had braze ons because cheap factory bikes didn't have any. And of course I suppose during the US "bike boom" around '73 the factories were under to pressure to cut frame embellishments to a minimum in order to meet demand. As demand eased and excess capacity became a problem , braze ons would come back as a way to distinguish one bike from another.
What I always find curious is how different braze ons appeal to me differently. I love top tube cable clamps, especially on darker paint (in spite of their propensity to snag lycra) and don't buy frames with the TT braze ons if I have a choice, but I hate bottle cage clamps. Clamp-on shifters leave me indifferent, but I love down tube clamp-on guides for bar cons. And I can go either way on BB guides. Rack mounts are ok only with a rack mounted. Any mental health types out there able to tell me what this reveals about me?
Tom Adams, Shrewsbury NJ
>From: PUTTER2451@aol.com
>To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
>Subject: [CR]Was: salutations Now: frame features
>Date: Wed, 05 Nov 2003 14:55:19 -0500
>
>As mentioned in Tom Ward's intro, the question of a frame's age comes into question. When I purchased one of the Montelatici frames I noted some specifics that created a small debate off-line, and would like to revisit that here.
>
>In the late '60's to mid '70's I was a bike mechanic/retailer and have certain memories of frame construction:
>1) brazed-on BB cable guides appeared to me in approx. 1973
>
>2) brazed-on TT cable guides approx. 1973
>
>3) recessed brake bolts approx. 1976/7
>
>4) brazed-on bottle bosses approx. 1974
>
>Now I admit that it's been a long time, and memory can be faulty (especially mine). What I don't have is documentation of frame embellishment dates, etc. I'm certain that the details mentioned above were made available in line with improving technology and techniques of manufacture. I'm also certain that there may have been early examples of these added features.
>
>Can anyone provide dated evidence to create a proper timeline for these? If I missed a similar discussion, I apologize.
>
>Les Himel
>Chappaqua, NY
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