Thirty years ago and for the best part of a century before it was almost steel or nothing for your bicycle frame. There was no other real choice nor was there any need for anything else as steel did everything asked of it with aplomb. Then came aluminium, closely followed of course by the now ubiquitous carbon fibre. Steel lost favour, not because it wasn’t a good material anymore or a viable alternative to the more exotic options available, it simply became unfashionable. Thankfully there were those who never lost faith in steel and steel tube producers worked hard to improve the alloys to give ever lighter, stronger and better tubing.
Today steel is real once more, it’s back in fashion and we say hallelujah to that! The finest steel frame tubes are now light years away from steel tubes of old and the differences are astounding, making steel a genuine option for anyone wanting a bike that is simply a joy to ride. A steel frame has a ride and character that can only be steel, a certain ‘zing’ that is so difficult to articulate but is there nonetheless. It is comfortable too, similar to titanium in that respect. Steel is durable, it is strong, it tends to bend on impact rather than ‘snap’, it is easy to repair in the event of a crash and it is very easy to customise. Today the best steel tubes are also light; not as light as tubes made of composite materials, but light enough to be worthy of consideration when every other benefit is added to the mix.
Just try a steel frame, we think you will love it.
@_BraneK:Thirty years ago and for the best part of a century before it was almost steel or nothing for your bicycle frame. There was no other real choice nor was there any need for anything else as steel did everything asked of it with aplomb. Then came aluminium, closely followed of course by the now ubiquitous carbon fibre. Steel lost favour, not because it wasn’t a good material anymore or a viable alternative to the more exotic options available, it simply became unfashionable. Thankfully there were those who never lost faith in steel and steel tube producers worked hard to improve the alloys to give ever lighter, stronger and better tubing.
Today steel is real once more, it’s back in fashion and we say hallelujah to that! The finest steel frame tubes are now light years away from steel tubes of old and the differences are astounding, making steel a genuine option for anyone wanting a bike that is simply a joy to ride. A steel frame has a ride and character that can only be steel, a certain ‘zing’ that is so difficult to articulate but is there nonetheless. It is comfortable too, similar to titanium in that respect. Steel is durable, it is strong, it tends to bend on impact rather than ‘snap’, it is easy to repair in the event of a crash and it is very easy to customise. Today the best steel tubes are also light; not as light as tubes made of composite materials, but light enough to be worthy of consideration when every other benefit is added to the mix.
Just try a steel frame, we think you will love it.
Manjka fotografija...
Condor jeklenka...mwaa:)
... That is Columbus XCR and welding is not easy, titanium is far easier to weld. XCR is very tricky to weld because it is so thin... Welding XCR is like welding paper, its' hard to source as it has become very popular. It's extraordinarily hard to produce but it's worth the effort.
Jamie at firefly
Mark: What's the most complicated paint scheme you have ever done?
Nathan: The ‘Rapha Gazette — Project bike’ with the gazette tissue paper in lays. (80 hours of paint)
Mark: On an a baum frame how many coats of paint will go on?
Nathan: For ‘Todds’ Track bike:
2 coats of primer, wet rub, re coat any rub throughs.
1 coat of black base, de-nib, re coat any rub throughs.
1 Base coat white, plus top coat pearl.
1 Base coat Rapha Red.
1 Base coat Rapha Pink.
1 Base coat Rapha Blue.
1 Base coat whole frame with Lava Grey, then clean all edge.
2 Clear coat gloss entire frame, bake, sand/rub paint flat.
1 Clear coat gloss banded area, bake. polsish,
2 Clear coat Matte, bake.
Un mask entire frame.
Approximate total of 14 coats, give or take.
Sanje2 .. today steel is real once more..
...halleluah..
Monaliza
no ja no...ima i boljih..
Možda ima boljih ali nema lepših!
Mogoče...
Masterji pa res niso nekakšen presežek kar se lepote/lakiranja tiče... je pa res, da res unikatno, kompleksno barvanje/lakiranje jeklenkota stane skoraj toliko kot sam okvir Masterja...
O Pegorettiju pa kdaj drugič...
lpA
vse lepo in prav,glede teh jeklenih specialk,ampak zame je vedno bil in bo najlepši Colnago Master...
to je nekaj najlepšega zame med specialkami...
ko pa je na Masterju siva grupa in kolesa...
potem še lahko samo...
Pa vsem ljubiteljem jeklenk.
Jebeš Pavunoviću, jebeš !
Kenzl a je gun Master tvoj?
Bil...prodal zarad prjatleve foušije !!
@ken:Bil...prodal zarad prjatleve foušije !!
potem bi se tudi ločil...zaradi "prjatleve foušije"...
@Magnum:@ken:Bil...prodal zarad prjatleve foušije !!
potem bi se tudi ločil...zaradi "prjatleve foušije"...
Hmm, v življenju poizkušam postaviti prave stvari na pravo mesto...kolesarstvo mi je veliiika zabava...
In recent years with the advent of new composite materials it seemed that the days were numbered for the traditional handmade bicycle frame. Thankfully however this has proved not to be the case and metal frames simply went out of fashion for a while. Now there has been a huge upsurge in interest in traditional frame design and materials with both steel and titanium enjoying a real renaissance. A whole new generation of bike riders are experiencing and enjoying he wonderful ride qualities of metal bike frames and long may this be so. Although modern composites are likely to dominate the market for years to come, I am confident that there will always be a place for the classical, handcrafted bicycle frame.
Sean Yates
@apotekar:Masterji pa res niso nekakšen presežek kar se lepote/lakiranja tiče... je pa res, da res unikatno, kompleksno barvanje/lakiranje jeklenkota stane skoraj toliko kot sam okvir Masterja...
No ja, če je kaj presežek pri barvanju so pa to ravno art decor barve pri Masterju!
@-BLAŽ-:@apotekar:Masterji pa res niso nekakšen presežek kar se lepote/lakiranja tiče... je pa res, da res unikatno, kompleksno barvanje/lakiranje jeklenkota stane skoraj toliko kot sam okvir Masterja...
No ja, če je kaj presežek pri barvanju so pa to ravno art decor barve pri Masterju!
Potrebno je seveda upoštevati znanje in pa hitrost s katero ti "umetniki" ustvarjajo. Njim je to "šala mala".
For me TIG was to think with freedom. I talked with my father in law and said there is a new way to join the tubes and he said really, what kind of new way? I tried for a long time to find a TIG machine but there was no information, at that time the internet didn't exist. I got the first TIG welding machine from a Mr Fixit, a guy that could get anything, I still use the same brand of machine today, the first machine weighed 200kg!
My first TIG welded frames were for a pro team and were made from Columbus Max tubes that had no lugs, only the tubes. When I delivered the frames to the customers they used to fill the joints with filler as they didn't like the welds, they wanted the frames to look as if fillet brazed. However people soon came to like TIG welded frames.
For TIG welding the most important thing is the tube mitering, if it's not perfect then you are a dead man!
Dario Pegoretti
@KAVITATOR+:
kavitec.blogspot.com/2014/12/ english-cycles-pink-blue-flat b ar.html
ta tip pa ima čisto noro kolekcijo biciklov... je pa hecno, da ima praktično vse bicikle (tudi cx) z flat bar-i... IF, Moots, Stoemper...
instagram.com/p/wSItq9gK_0/?m odal=true
lpA
res am lepe
....pa tezave z hrbtom:)
Mark: Have you made frames for anyone famous?
Darren [Baum]: Cadel Evans!
Mark Reilly: Jaco our painter and finisher is without a doubt the fussiest perfectionist I have ever come across in 25 years in the trade, which is great but he won't rush things to do the best job he can. We can paint around 20 top quality frames per week, most are complex too which does take a little longer but the end results are superb.
Jaco will apply up to 9 coats of paint to our signature Enigma panelled paint scheme, for the weight weenie a typical paint will weigh 85 grams or so. The coats in order of application are as follows:
1. Acid etch primer to give a perfect key for the following coats.
2. One coat of primer, usually white.
3. Second coat of primer.
4' Logo colour laid down.
5. Panel colour added.
6. Main colour base coat added.
7. Second coat of base coat colour added.
8. High gloss lacquer.
9. Second coat of high gloss lacquer.
There is no production line at Mercian, each frame is built from start to finish by one craftsman who is identified by his own number under the bottom bracket. In this way every Mercian frame can be traced back to the original builder adding to the exclusivity and provenance.
All frame painting is also carried out on the premises and Grant insists that the paint is applied to each frame with as much care as that bestowed on it by his frame builders. All frames are stove enamelled in the old way as they always have been, new paints, procedures and processes are not for Mercian. "We know it works so why change it?"
It is a testimony to the company that their frame building staff have remained loyal to the business for
many years. Frame builders who have been with the company for anything less than 10 years still appear
to be referred to as 'new lads'. Grant is not a frame builder himself, he freely admits that he once made an attempt to build his own frame some years ago but it turned out to be something of a disaster, so he wisely decided to leave the frame building to his experts.
"You either have it in your hands or you don't'' he says with a wry smile. Fortunately Grant can rely on 63 year old Derek Land, Mercian's master frame builder who has been with the company for over 40 years.
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