ultrafoco steel?

[gabbard]

Any of you ever had a bike made with this tubing? Is it pretty dent-prone? Was it stiff enough in a larger size? I am just curious how thin they can push the wall thicknesses before it is just too fragile. Foco seems like a more reasonable tubing, but what do I know?

Steve

[saab2000]

I don't know if DWF still hangs out here or lurks, but he is quite knowledgeable. He builds bikes out of steel and seems, to me at least, to know a lot about metal and the various properties of different tubesets.

DWF, if you are in the house, maybe you could speak up.

[hooverone]

I asked a local builder here about using that tubing and he said he could but he could not warranty it he said it is too thin for general use, more like a race only frame and could dent easily.



Jim

[cpg]

It has a very high tensile strength, very short butts, chainstays are too thin and is dent prone. Other than that... not bad stuff. Seriously though, if you want a frame out of the latest greatest and don't mind a limited service life it would be fine. If you want something that will last longer and additional .5 - .75# will give a much longer service life.

Curt

[gabbard]

That was my general impression. There is a local guy who has an Orbea UltraFoco with the carbon seat stay (talk about earrings on a pig, CF seatstay on a steel frame) that I might be able to pick up rather cheaply. Sounds like the price should be pretty cheap, as it is not a super durable tubing set, but would certainly build up into a light and comfortable frame.

Steve

[Big Dan]

Had a Cervelo Super Prodigy made out of Ultra Foco and it was nice. Light , but a little flexy for my 195 pounds. I'm not sure what the stays were made of. Never had a problem with dents and I was using it as my everyday bike.
Good Luck......... :bike:

[John H.]

Rides nice in a medium size, don't know about big.
Dents if you look at it funny.

[Cossington]

I'd be interested to hear your informed opinions regarding similar level tubing such as deda EOM 16.5 or Columbus' new Spirit tubing, each of which I think have a minimum thickness around 0.38mm, similar to Ultra-foco.

Would I be correct to assume your queries and opinions about longevity, susceptibility to dents etc, also apply to these tubing sets?

I'd welcome your thoughts.