I've read that there's some grey area when defining tubing as seamed vs.
seamless.
At one end of the spectrum, a UO8's fork blade shows a distinct point where the seam has been welded as a final step, a visible, continuous indentation along the back side of each blade.
Other tubing may be considered seamless by virtue of post-weld drawing operations which leave smooth surfaces but may show discoloration along the line of the original weld.
Whether Reynolds 531 and other competitive steel tubing is advertised as
"solid-drawn" I don't know. I don't know exactly what that term means, but I suspect that most high-end tubing starts as strip and gets welded and manipulated through repeated drawing into something ultimately regarded as seamless. Would the use of cast or extruded seamless tubing (instead of welded strip) as a starting point for cold-drawn tubing produce any improvement in properties in a properly-processed final product? Does anyone have experience with split-open Reynolds tubing, aside from the occasional steerer?
Regarding the Gitanes, has anyone noticed big weight differences between
same-sized frames, from different builders, bearing the 531DB label? Certainly builders could choose choose from tubing wall thickness that they thought was appropriate, but I could only guess as to whether Reynolds would offer multiple quality levels under a common 531 label.
David Snyder Auburn, CA usa
Norris Lockley wrote:
> ... A close friend of mine, Jean-Marie Duret once boasted to me that
he
> supplied the same frames under different brands - Geliano, Rozelli,
and
> Canelli to three of the top shops, and that business was unbelievably
> good.
>
> It was on a cycle ride and visit to his Geliano outlet that I learned
a
> great deal about Reynolds 531DB, or at least some of it, as supplied
to
> the French cycle trade.. I recall chatting to the owner of the shop
and
> bemoaning the fact that none of his "top" frames were built of 531
tubing.
> "Merde" he said"..souvent fissure.." explaining that 531 often split
> open..and to illustrate his meaning he ran his index finger down the
> length of a seat tube.
>
> I protested that while 531 has been known, as have almost every other
> brand of steel cycle tube to crack across its diameter, I had never
known
> one to split. He promptly disappeared into his workshop ,and returned
> clutching three pieces of what he claimed was 531 tubing. Two of them
bore
> the "MERCIER" transfer and the other "PEUGEOT"..all three had Reynolds
531
> DB decals ..and all three had long splits or cracks running along
their
> length.
>
> To make his point he hoisted one up to his eye like a telescope and
> raised it skywards. Having given me the lesson on what to do, I had to
> carry out the same manoeuvre. And Lo and Behold..I could see the
sky..but
> also what appeared to be a seam. His enquiries after a series of split
> frame tubes had yielded the information that some Reynolds as supplied
to
> the larger manufacturers was in fact seamed and not solid-drawn.
>
> A couple of years later I had the job of replacing a some of tubes in
a
> couple Raleigh frames, one a "road" frame the other a "randonneur".
With
> the memory of the Reynolds telescope reasonably fresh in my mind I
checked
> out the Raleigh 531 tubes with the "sky" test. Yes..and Lo and
> Behold..they too were seamed.
>
> Has anyone on the List come across this phenomenon?