gpvb1@comcast.net wrote:
> I think there have been far more people than any one individual is
> aware of (that transitioned from being a brazer at a large bicycle
> company somewhere in the World, to becoming an independent
> framebuilder). Mike Appel comes immediately to mind - he is on the
> back of the original Trek brochure, then later went out on his own as
> a frame builder. Nearly thirty years after that, he is now back at
> Trek, interestingly enough, but not doing any brazing.
I suspect that's because Trek no longer offers a brazed steel frame. :-(
> Also, there were two definite sets of requirements to become 753
> certified. Early on, you had to submit an entire frame that was then
> destructively tested. Since that was rather costly for the applicant,
> Reynolds realized that a more relaxed set of requirements would be
> needed.
When I did it at Trek, we just submitted samples of joints brazed from 753 (I recall doing a head lug and bottom bracket) and those, rather than a complete frame, were destructively tested.
You could at the time write to Sturmey-Archer in Chicago (they were the Reynolds importer) for a 753 certification kit, which consisted of a few tube pieces and lugs to be returned to testing. IIRC, it was about $100 for the kit, which included the cost of the testing.
--
John (john@os2.dhs.org)
Appleton WI USA