[CR]Death bike AND 753 frames

(Example: Framebuilders:Alberto Masi)

Date: Thu, 30 Sep 2004 15:11:15 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Tom Dalton" <tom_s_dalton@yahoo.com>
To: gpvb1@comcast.net, classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: [CR]Death bike AND 753 frames

Greg wrote:

1) The BB spindle bolts make no nevermind, steel vs. aluminum - it's the early Ti spindle that breaks, not the bolts.

I sez: yes alloy and ti crank bolts are NBD if you set the arms first by using a steel bolt, then drop the alloy bolt in there and snug it down. Even if a crank bolt did fail, the arm would loosen slowly. But the alloy bolt adds an extra potential failure point if incorrectly installed. I learned the hard way that even the old Dura Ace ti bolts can break if used to seat the arm... I always knew that alloy could.

2) The CLB brake cables are steel. As in not aluminum. The housings are aluminum.

Yes, I acknowledged that earlier.

Greg> 3) No apology required regarding the Record arms and the Ergals - both of those items can fail catastrophically under the right circumstances,as can many other components....(Many, many US-made CNC'd crank arms will fail 20 times more frequently than the Campys, though).

Just a little joke there with the preemptive apology, but ohhhh, don't get me started on that OT 90's MTB crap. I had to deal with so much BS with Ringle, Sampson and worse when I was a service manager... total junk not even worth discussion IMHO. If any CR members care to defend this stuff, save your breath in regard to me.

Greg > 4) What alloy chain that Everest made? Do you mean the steel one with the silver-colored sideplates with the rectangular cutouts? A very nice steel chain....

No, those are really cool though. I have one that I intend to put on a deserving bike, along with an Zeus 2000 alloy FW. The all alloy thing is something that Ken Denny told me he had on one of his bikes. Hard to believe thay made it, but another source said he'd seen one... and that other source wasn't Don Dundee, or Bill Bumbee or whatever. Supposedly Everest made such a beast.

Regarding 753R frames. A very close friend and riding buddy had a 753R Raleigh from the Specialist Bicycle Development Unit (or whatever) custom built. It looked just like the Panasonic team bikes, except that it had cable housing guides, not the housing stops on the top tube. VERY, VERY sweet. It broke, got repaired, broke again, got repaired, and broke again before being retired. It would develop cracks in the seat and down tubes near the BB. He was a very strong lad, now a strong 40 year old. He did then and still does break a lot of frames. He crashes very rarely, but logs decent miles. Maybe 10-15 k per year these days. He has broken lots of other brands and other Raleighs with different tubing. I don't think 753 is any worse than other lightweight steel tubes, but it can and does fail due to fatigue.

Tom Dalton Bethlehem, PA

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