I am surprised that Bianchi were not that thoughtful about the gauges of the tubing they used. I used to do some writing for the Dutch Fiets magazine (not in Dutch, they used to translate it into Dutch themselves). On one occasion I had written on the subject of frame stiffness and commented that small frames were normally stiffer than large ones. The Editor questioned this statement as someone had done some frame stiffness measurements for them on Gazelle frames - and found that the larger frame sizes were actually stiffer. It transpired that Gazelle were especially clever with using heavier gauge tubing as the frame sizes increased (and I think larger diameter seatstays too). The frames increased progressively in stiffness as they increased in size! Gazelle almost exclusively used Reynolds 531 tubing. The test results were repeated on Gazelle frames a year or too later too.
Hilary Stone, Bristol, England
> In a message dated 12/22/03 8:32:57 PM Pacific Standard Time,
> tullio@theramp.net writes:
>
>> I once spoke to a product manager at Bianchi about a Reparto Corse frame
>> that one of our customers owned. It was a 59 cm frame made from Columbus EL
>> (not EL-OS). The customer complained that the frame was too flexy. The
>> product manager agreed. Unfortunately, the company had decided to use the
>> same lightweight tubeset for all frame sizes, but anyone large enough for a
>> 59 cm (or larger) frame would be too heavy for it.
>>
Stevan Thomas wrote:
> In the old days (50s-60s) you had a choice with Bianchi. The Specialissima
> was always made of SL gauge (.9 x .6) tubing and the Competizione was always
> made of SP gauge (1.0 x .7) tubing. This was throughout the size range, so you
> always had a choice of a lighter vs. a slightly heavier and stiffer bike. All
> the "Team Issue" frames I've had the pleasure to inspect, were made of SP
> gauge
> tubes.
>
> Had I any input with the current Bianchi product manager I would suggest
> making the larger frames in both gauges. There are certainly taller guys who
> can
> ride a light frame (Lance?) and I have to believe that if both gauges of frame
> are available to a customer, and it is explained to him what the relative
> advantages and disadvantages are, I would be surprised if the majority of
> 180lb.+
> riders would opt for the lighter frame.
>
> Stevan Thomas
> Alameda, CA