Marcus,
The main difference is the choice of lugs. The Dubois Nervex lugs have a long tang on the back of the lug, just the way it comes from the factor y. Prugnuat and many other lugs had little material at the back of the l ug. Builders either have to add to the lug or live with it.
Part of framebuilding is choosing the right lugs or making them right be fore preceeding to build the frame.
Brian Baylis
La Mesa, CA
Masi builders, Californian and Italian, were apparently more judicious i n
their slot work
http://www.wooljersey.com/
Best regards, Marcus Helman Huntington Woods, MI
At 04:41 AM 04/03/2008 -0800, MARK wrote:
>This issue had me racing down to the basement to survey my fleet. Whil
e
reading the post, I was thinking, I've seen many bikes with the slot goi
ng
into the seat tube. My survey revealed a mix. While I think it's both
asthetically and structurally superior to have it end in the lug, I don'
t
see a real problem if it goes into the tube below it, provided it not TO
O
far, and you do drill or round out the bottom to eliminate the stress
riser. After all, your putting this big thick piece of aluminum in ther
e
to strengthen the area.
>
I did exactly the same! I only found one of my lugged bikes with the slo t not cut beyond the bottom of the seat lug; it was the highest end bike I
have, a Nishiki Ultimate. The others all had thicker lugs, which would n ot be as flexible. Since no picture of the De Rosa in question had been posted, I searched for one on wooljersey.com and saw a couple with a
rather long point at the back of the seat lug that didn't appear to be sawn through. So I guess the jury would still be out on whether this particul ar one was "butchered" or not until we see a picture. But you're right,
unless an undersize seatpost is used or the seat lug gets pried open, there's really no reason a crack should start at the bottom of this slot.
John Betmanis
Woodstock, Ontario
Canada