New Serotta Steel Tubing

[dnovo]

Reading the 2004 catalog, it would appear that Serotta has moved iaway ts long-standing alliance to Reynolds as a source for its steel tubing in favor of Columbus. I also see that at the same time as this change was announced, Columbus announced a new tubeset -- Spirit -- that sounds quite a bit like the tubing now found in the 04 Serotta steel line:

"Spirit tubing is made out of Niobium, a special microalloyed steel with Manganese, Chrome, Nickel, Molybdenum et Niobium. It has greater mechanical properties and better resistance to corrosion than conventional carbon steel tubing. The finer grains obtains with Niobium increase strength while Chromium and Molybdenum ensure resistance to corrosion and fatigue. The shape of tube has been redone to optimise strength and handling. The coefficient of reliability, resistance to fatigue, corrosion and the performance of this steel alloy is greater than the other one at a reduce weight. Perfect for the cyclist or racer that his fundamental criteria is reliability and lightness"

Sounds nice, although I wonder if one could really tell the difference between say a CIII built with last year's Reynolds-sourced tubing and this year's Columbus? (The description above was taken from the Marioni site. Spirit is also being used by Tommasini and other builders for their 2004 steel lines.) Dave N.

[Smiley]

Maybe at time of catalog printing and editing Columbus did not have a Firm name for this new tubeset. They would not just supply a unique metal to Serotta and not others , Serotta does not warrant that status as they don't buy enough steel tubes.
Have you picked up your Hor's brother Novo, your membership application is in the mail to our club.

[dbrk]

Serotta has, of course, moved across vendors for years. In days of yore, Serottas actually had vendor tubing stickers. It's the Colorado Concept which I think refers primariliy to the swagging and butting that is the key, further affirming in a certain peculiar way that it is not the tubeset as such but the diameters that matter much, much more when it comes to determining the ride. We hear about this or that source and the metallurgy but it seems that the ride ---implicit in Serotta's own explanations over the years---puts a far higher premium on these _other_ factors. I find this a much more interesting fact than the source and metal as such.

dbrk

[dnovo]

I agree with dbrk's observation that "the Colorado Concept which I think refers primariliy to the swagging and butting that is the key, further affirming in a certain peculiar way that it is not the tubeset as such but the diameters that matter much, much more when it comes to determining the ride. We hear about this or that source and the metallurgy but it seems that the ride ---implicit in Serotta's own explanations over the years---puts a far higher premium on these _other_ factors. I find this a much more interesting fact than the source and metal as such." By note was simply to comment on the 'identity' of the new source of the steel tubing used by Serotta, not to suggest that the tubing source would be a defining factor.

The validity of your observation, dbrk, was brought home to me when I had my first ride on my fillet-brazed coompact Kirk. That bike was built from the 'same' tubing as my standard geometry lugged Kirk -- Reynolds 725. When I initially attributted the substantial differences in ride and response to the geometry, Dave Kirk explained that the real basis for the marked differences was the diameter and build (butting, etc) of the Reynolds 725 tubeset he had selected to get the characteristics I had asked for in this frame. In short, all 725 is not the same, or 'all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.'

That revalation opened my eyes, and convinced me that much of the discussion about how a particular tubeset (for example Reynolds 853 and 725) we see all over the Net is far too simplistic and ill-informed. That's why I prefer to leave the selection process on a custom frame to a pro like Dave or Kelly Bedford or Tom Kellog, who is working out tubing selection for me now on my 25th Anniversary Spectrum which is about two months out. Gave him my weight, riding style and preferences, and left the tubing selection and 'mix' to him.

Oh, Smiley, in response to your questio about the Hos Cat Cross bike I just acquired, we are waiting for a stem (need a higher rise than shown) which is due in today. If it shows, I should pick it up late today. Dave N.