At 04:45 PM 6/26/2006, micke anderson wrote:
>1
>Questions:
>1. how come the builder have not filled out the stays? is it a: "French
>thing", I have seen these gaps many times. For instance in: VBQ vol. 1 no.
>1, page 11, photo no. 2 1962 Alex Singer randonneur.
>2. quality wise, does it matter, will it make the frame less "good" in any
>aspect?
>3. if I remember it correct, rear dropouts are mostly bronze brazed
>(theses days), but can I assume these are silver brazed?
>4. about gap in brake bridge; is it poorly built, is there a chance that
>bridge will "cave in" so to speak? Can it be risky to ride the bike, If
>feels solid though?
1. Undoubtedly the builder meant to leave them open. One could argue it's lighter that way. But one could also argue it's ugly. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that stuff though.
2. Does it matter? If it doesn't break then it doesn't matter from a functional standpoint but aesthetics matter. See #1.
3. I'd bet Pergolizzi's weight in jelly beans the drops are brass brazed. That would be very much in keeping with what most builders use.
4. The brake bridge is made of seamed tubing. Poorly built? I don't know about that but it does seem a little short sighted to orient the seam where they did. It's maybe a non-issue if they reinforced the bridge at the brake hole otherwise the bridge will collapse if one over-tightens the brake bolt.
Curt Goodrich
Minneapolis, MN