>Lugs, ti, decidedly vintage appeal, a true Neo-Classic!?
If we accept Alans with aluminum tubes glued into aluminum lugs on
CR, then we probably should accept Bruce Gordon's bike with titanium
tubes glued into titanium lugs.
>this approach to titanium construction was so unique and clever,
There have been other glued titanium bikes, but most used carbon tubes.
>Then there was the 'how-did-he-do-it' stem,
You know how he did it, don't you? He used a standard quill stem with a step-down design. Tightening the quill pre-loaded the Aheadset. Obviously, it will take a few trials to get the headset pre-load right... When I asked him whether I had guessed it correctly, he said "Of course, how else would you do it?"
I'd consider the bike art, rather than a truly practical machine. Bruce's bikes always are a highlight of the shows. We featured the "lugged" titanium bike in the Bicycle Quarterly show report, and divulged its "secrets." Aside from his bikes, Bruce himself also is a highlight of the show!
For me, the best of show was Bilenky's 650B Allroad bike. That one was truly classic, down to the components.
Jan Heine
Editor
Bicycle Quarterly
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Seattle WA 98122
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