Superior is a misleading way of looking at it I think.
One particular tubeset may be better suited for a particular purpose than another. Many steel builders would use a different tubeset for a 230 pound rider than a 160 pound rider, so in that example, one tubeset may well be 'superior." I have a Kirk cross bike that Dave built for himself and used a specially spec'd set of chainstays. Builders often mix tubes from different sets. Look at the Merckx MXL bikes - they're not 100% MAX tubing. Apparently the custom builders think that particular tubes of particular tubesets or entire sets are superior to others when they are building bikes.
And indeed in this case you have Mr. Pegoretti and Mr. Sachs going to Columbus and saying, hey, we need a better lightweight tubeset
for lugged frame construction and this was the result. Followed by Uber PegoRichie tubes for larger frames/riders purposes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by muz
My point is: this is like saying "Reynolds 531 rocks" or "Columbus sucks". Yes, many nice bikes were built with 531, and many unremarkable ones as well.
Venerable bikes like Masi GC and Cinelli Supercorsa used both 531 and Columbus on different frames. I just don't think one brand of tube set is superior to another.
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