Late 70's/early 80's I saw Colin Laing do this to a 26" "real touring bike" (his quote). He said it's for portaging. More than once on the back trails of the White Mountain Apache Reservation I could have used a set up like that. I've also seen a water bottle boss on seat/down tubes with a grommeted leather/nylon strap between them.
Craig Montgomery in Tucson
> The cover picture in this quarter's VBQ shows a bicycle with a piece of
frame tubing that is curved and connects between the seattube and downtube.
The touring cyclist has mounted a large water container inside the front
triangle, near the seattube, and the container appears to be sitting on the
curved metal tube. It is certainly an innovative approach to stabilizing
the water container, but I'm curious as to whether anyone thinks it has
other purposes.
Lou Deeter, Orlando FL