> Quoth John Betmanis:
>
> >As for people not familiar with bicycle construction thinking a frame
made
> >of Reynolds tubing was aluminum because it was very light and painted
> >silver, I'm not surprised. When I was a kid I assumed "Reynolds 531" was
> >some kind of high strength aluminum alloy. This was back in England. Was
I
> >ever surprised when I found that a magnet would stick to it!
Sayeth Sheldon "Aluminiminmiumium" Brown:
> I suspect that this confusion is even more common in the U.S. due to
> the former existence of Reynolds Metals Co., which was always
> primarily an aluminum manufacturer. Reynolds Metals did much to promote
the use of aluminum foil for food storage and other applications, featuring
they're Reynolds Wrap brand. As a result of their former heavy advertising,
many Americans have a strong association of the name "Reynolds" with
aluminum.
And in a similar insular vein was the fella who saw my Viking Path and said, "Hey, I didn't know they made bicycles in Minnesota!"! "They don't," I said, "It's English." "English?" was his retort, "What do they know about Vikings?"
Craig Montgomery gleefully riding my Minnesota Viking in Tucson, AZ