Is this a lifting of the veil?

Tickdoc · #1 03-19-2016, 06:58 PM

I love seeing new builds from any maker. Even better when they are steel and from a renowned maker.

So then I see this closeup of this beautiful new build and think, am I missing something here? Is it the brown paint highlighting the obvious or is this just not up to par?

Please don't let this be a long awaited custom for someone here. I'm not trying to be crass, just really shocked at what I see here.

I see tooling and lumpiness where there should be none. Hopefully it is just that I am seeing a magnified view and five foot perspective is fine.

Not just in one weld, either.

Cicli · #2 03-19-2016, 07:02 PM

Maybe a practice run?

thirdgenbird · #3 03-19-2016, 07:10 PM

It makes me feel better about the powder job on my yeti's fork. It's every bit as nice and I didn't pay a lot to have it done.

adhumston · #4 03-19-2016, 07:31 PM

Love the color and the anti-rub strip (is there a name for this?) on the HT, but yeah, I see your point for sure. Can you post some other pics of the bike that may offer a slightly different perspective?

rwsaunders · #5 03-19-2016, 07:38 PM

This is an IF from the NAHBS from a few years back for comparison. Tigged steel joints aren't fillets.

berserk87 · #6 03-19-2016, 07:40 PM

I used to frequent a pocket knife forum and guys would take pics of flaws with a new production knife they just got, at high magnification. When photographed at normal perspective, the flaws seemed very minor and often not noticeable to the naked eye.

I'm not saying that it's the same case here, but as you have stated, maybe it's the high magnification that makes these flaws worse. Given variations in lighting can impact this, too.

Seeing these areas with one's own eyeballs would be best.

Doug Fattic · #7 03-19-2016, 07:54 PM

It does appear that while the main frame was tig welded the stays were fillet brazed. There is something differently wrong in the 2nd picture. It is possible to see a divot filed into the seat tube where the seat stays attach. Ordinarily any decent builder can do a small fillet there that wouldn’t require any filing. Damaging any tube is always a no no.

Tickdoc · #8 03-19-2016, 07:59 PM

I'm hoping it is just my ignorance here, and the magnification.

The painting prep is laborious. If this were an automobile, filler and sanding repeated over and over would be done before it ever hit the paint booth.

Is this considered faux pas in the bike world because the character of the weld must be maintained?

Tickdoc · #9 03-19-2016, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adhumston

Love the color and the anti-rub strip (is there a name for this?) on the HT, but yeah, I see your point for sure. Can you post some other pics of the bike that may offer a slightly different perspective?

I really don't want to because I'm not trying to destroy someone's hard work. It really is a beautiful bike.You can check it out easily where I saw it posted somewhere that ends in ..adavist if you like.

adhumston · #10 03-19-2016, 08:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tickdoc

I really don't want to because I'm not trying to destroy someone's hard work. It really is a beautiful bike.You can check it out easily where I saw it posted somewhere that ends in ..adavist if you like.

Understood. I actually thought it looked familiar, as I checked it out earlier in the day.

Peter P. · #11 03-19-2016, 08:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tickdoc

So then I see this closeup of this beautiful new build and think, am I missing something here?

Yeah; you're missing something.

Not all builders can lay down the perfect welds of Sean Walling/Soulcraft, Paul Sadoff/Rock Lobster, and many others.

It may go to show that American builders really did up the ante when they started competing with the euros regarding custom frames. I always had the impression the European builders, regardless of country, just don't hold to as high a quality standard.

Other builders see the aesthetic of the welds as less important than STRONG welds, excellent alignment, and sound geometry.

Heck; I even had a Richard Sachs with flaws.

It's a handmade item, and in some cases those flaws are ignored as meaningless in the overall picture.

I don't see that frame as badly finished as others see it.

benb · #12 03-19-2016, 08:52 PM

Lots of Taiwan-built frames look better than this too.

wallymann · #13 03-19-2016, 08:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter P.

I don't see that frame as badly finished as others see it.

concur. Thats an insane level of persnicketyness. Might as well break out a scanning electron microscope and also analyze the builders DNA while you're at it! :-P ;-)

thegunner · #14 03-19-2016, 09:04 PM

does the seatpost binder have the builder's name on it?

fogrider · #15 03-19-2016, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter P.

Yeah; you're missing something.

Not all builders can lay down the perfect welds of Sean Walling/Soulcraft, Paul Sadoff/Rock Lobster, and many others.

Other builders see the aesthetic of the welds as less important than STRONG welds, excellent alignment, and sound geometry.

Agreed, builders have stepped up but not all builders do the same thing. if you decide on a builder and then expect him to build something that he normally doesn't, who's wrong then? Paul Sadoff builds a great frame, but his welds are not flawless, but they are strong...and I have two of his frames.