Well, if we want to get technical, one can't be sure any frame, be it titanium, aluminum or steel has "no cracks". I think all potential buyers understand that such a statement really means "no cracks visible after careful inspection".
As to the original lure of the Teledyne, the obvious one was light weight, but I think there was also an element of "because we can" i.e. Teledyne to some extent wanted to demonstrate that one could produce a bike from titanium (although it is possible Speedwell might already have done so in UK). And owning a bike that was "cutting edge" technically certainly appealed to some buyers.
I'm not sure how many Teledyne frames actually cracked. Like the Lambert "death fork", these things get exaggerated, and it doesn't take many failures to give the product a bad reputation, especially if any of the failures involved personal injury. Certainly, though, the failures of Teledyne frames and forks, whether really a high percentage or not, pointed out to subsequent designers that CP titanium might not be the best material for bicycle frames, leading all modern Ti frames to be made of Ti alloys. Teledyne''s example probably also led to designers avoiding Ti forks, opting for carbon forks on modern Ti frames.
My own Teledyne frame has "no cracks" in the same sense as the one currently offered. Nice bike overall, my only criticism is that the Ti fork seems to flex more than a steel or aluminum one, making the steering feel a bit less positive, at least to me. I think it was no coincidence that I managed to lose it and crash on a graveled corner near my home, despite having without incident negotiated that same corner at the same speed dozens of times on a variety of steel and aluminum bikes. I'm not saying the frame is inherently unstable, but it does require some adjustment in cornering technique versus steel frames.
Regards,
Jerry Moos Big Spring, Texas
Nipponcomet@wmconnect.com wrote:
hello, i remember this frame set from back in the 70s...interesting that part
of your sales info mentioned that there were NO CRACKS....as i recall there
was a real issue of this failure especially among those who bought and raced
this frame set...i think part of the allure was obviously a saving of
weight...its imperviousness to the elements, lively feel w/ rigidity...all those good
things one needed to say as sales points....i suppose the thinking was too
conventional back then to just go for a gound up redesign, retooling for that
material...a larger diameter tube may have solved some of those stress issues...i
was also edified through the conversations of the day that the only way to
really state, no cracks, was to magnaflux the frame...just curious how you arrived
at that point where you could say, no cracks...i mention this as a point of
interest and possible discussion w/ all of you out there who know the skinny on
this frame, especially w/ all the interveneing years since its arrival for
the pros and cons to be more a point of history than speculation...it's
interesting also to see that it valued at approximately the same price that it sold
for new, or a little less. happy thanksgiving to everyone. charles flaherty
baltimore maryland usa