Re: [CR]eBay outig, 62cm Ritchey with faux lugs?!?

(Example: History:Ted Ernst)

From: "Neill Currie" <neill_currie@comcast.net>
To: "Grant McLean" <Grant.McLean@SportingLife.ca>, <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
References: <D40031E5F7ACD71195BC009027887CFF118ED1@SLSERVER>
Subject: Re: [CR]eBay outig, 62cm Ritchey with faux lugs?!?
Date: Mon, 24 May 2004 10:54:01 -0400



----- Original Message -----
From: Grant McLean
To: "Classic Rendezvous Mail List (E-mail)"
Cc: "Richard M Sachs (E-mail)"


<neill_currie@comcast.net> Sent: Friday, May 21, 2004 6:11 PM Subject: Re: [CR]eBay outig, 62cm Ritchey with faux lugs?!?


> For one and all still listening...
>
> Those "things" on the Ritchey are structural reinforcements.
> Tom didn't put them there to look like lugs, he took
> a thin piece of tube, brazed to the tube to add to the
> wall thickness. Full stop.
>
> The reason they look like lugs is that Tom Ritchey shaped them,
> and so they kinda look like "lugs". They ain't lugs, and they ain't
> there for lookin' pretty, they are there to make the ends
> of the tubes stronger. They are there to add to the wall
> thickness. As soon as Tom started having his own tubing
> made to his specs, with thick walls and short butts, these
> "GUSSETS"!!! were no longer needed, and they don't appear
> on his frames anymore.

Well, I have a Timbercomp(without the fancy joinery) from the period when Tom was making Annapurna's(with the fancy joinery) side by side, from the same workshop. So he seems to have had "both" types of tubing then(if what you say is correct), yet used different techniques. I am still of the opinion, and who really cares(?), that the Annapurna construction was for cosmetics. He already had the correctly butted steels. Time to take this off list, I think, it's more to do with MTB's at this point, than vintage bikes.


>
> As much as some may want these to be "embellishments" on other
> wise "plain" fillet frames... they're not...
>
> Someone please call Tom and confirm this.
>
> Grant McLean
> Toronto.Ca
>
>
>
>
>
> are you saying the the lug part of this was actually
> a bunch of brass that was layed down as the fillet
> and then sculpted to seem like a lug?
> e-RICHIE
> chester, ct
>
>
> On Fri, 21 May 2004 15:43:41 -0400 "Neill Currie"
> <neill_currie@comcast.net> writes:
> > FWIW, Ritchey used this construction on his top of the line MTB
> > framesets: the Annapurna, from the early '90's.
> > They were fillet-brazed, then filed to look just like a lug. Don't
> > say it can't be done, or why would anyone...... otherwise one
> > starts questioning most endeavours that are not purely functional.
> > Neill Currie
> > Deering, Nh........just back from 3 glorious days on the Cape, with
> > bike, just a "simple" fillet-brazed item.
> \