Damien,
Jon Spangler's post was "tongue in cheek" intended for me... ;-)
Your 25-inch Comp GS is most likely made with Reynolds 531 7/10 tubing. This is not necessarily a bad thing. A bike that size made of lighter tubing , say 6/9 would most likely be quite "whippy"... There could be a lot of flex across the bottom bracket and at the head tube when climbing or sprinting.
Where the difference in tubing wall thickness shows up on smaller frame sizes. For example a 50cm or 54cm size frame made of 7/10 tubing could have quite a harsh ride.
On the other hand, many folks who ride smaller frame sizes don't weigh enough where that can flex the frame so they probably wouldn't notice much difference.
What I was pointing out was that many "production" frames during the 70s and early 80s were built with 7/10 Reynolds tubing no matter the size.
I weighed 175 back in the 70s. I switched from 56cm or 57cm frames to 54cm frames when I started racing in 1975 because they were "stiffer".
Today I'm back to 55cm to 57cm size frame because they ride "smoother" (especially when built of thinner wall thickness tubes).
I have a 56cm 1979 Raleigh Record. These were Reynolds 531 Comp GS frames painted with Raleigh red/black/yellow Team colors. They were built for the French market with a real mishmash of components, mostly Japanese.
It's most likely made with 7/10 tubes and it's one of the stiffest, most uncomfortable riding bikes that I own!
BTW, these days I weigh ~225 and can flex a lot of frames that I couldn't in the past. Also, braking takes longer... ;-(
Chas. Colerich
Oakland, CA USA
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> Hilary -
>
> Could you tell me what you suspect was used on a 25-inch Comp GS, 1978? Might the gauge vary by tube: main frame vs. stays vs fork blades?
>
> thank you
>
> Damien Roohr
> Canton, CT