As so often, it is interesting to compare different cycling cultures in their beliefs and prejudices...
In France, the steel frames of the best cyclotouring bikes do not go soft over time. In fact, they are considered eternal - it was not uncommon for somebody to take a 20-year-old bike back to their constructeur to update the brakes, derailleurs, rechrome, repaint, and have a bike as good as new. Many avid riders had their bikes updated four or five times over their lifespan.
Even the constructeurs themselves, often very fast and competitive riders, frequently rode ancient frames. A case in point is Ernest Csuka of Cycles Alex Singer, who still rides his 1952 bike, on its second set of brakes, second rear derailleur, third or fourth rechrome, etc... It can't be good for business if the builder tells his customers: "A new bike - why? We'll just repaint your old one, add a new derailleur hanger and new derailleurs, plus update it to centerpull brakes, and you'll be good to go for another 10 years!"
I do not think the French built their bikes differently, or that metric Reynolds 531 tubes had a different metallurgy from the 531 for the British market... but instead that many of the cyclotourists were engineers, who knew a bit about materials. (When I started racing in the U.S., even aluminum frames were going soft. I wish I could tell when my handlebars or cranks are about to break because they go soft. Unfortunately, most breakages occur without such warning.)
We have heard about British and American frames going soft, but what about Italian ones? Are Italian racers affected by this malady as well?
Or is it a belief among racers the world over that never made it to the cyclotourists? (Some may claim that cyclotourists don't ride hard enough to soften frames, but looking at their times, and considering the fact that quite a few of them went on to become professional racers, it becomes obvious that many cyclotourists rode harder than many amateur racers.)
Of course, I wish those cyclotourists had stashed their "soft" bikes away after four or five years, well-greased, of course! Because today, the original ones are hard to find (only those bought as status symbols rather than to ride seriously haven't been modified), and most bikes that have some history (and a serious rider as the first owner) have been modified time and again.
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Jan Heine, Seattle
Editor/Publisher
Vintage Bicycle Quarterly
c/o Il Vecchio Bicycles
140 Lakeside Ave, Ste. C
Seattle WA 98122
http://www.vintagebicyclepress.com