In a message dated 3/4/02 9:41:52 PM Eastern Standard Time, > Subject: Re:
> [CR]Sitting on top tube allowed?
>
> 'da Garth wrote:
> >I leaned my derrire and some of my 158 lbs of avois dupois on the
> >top tube. Then I thought, "Could this possibly collapse?" These tubes are
> >very thin and not designed to take a load in this manner.
>
And Roy D. wrote:
> Wasn't there a problem with tube denting with a light version
> of Reynolds 753 when it came out?
>
> Roy "fading memory" Drinkwater
> Lititz "digging out 'The Custom Bicycle' now", PA
>
>
Roy:
I've had an early 753-tubed Raleigh Team Pro since 1979, and since the TT is about .017" or so in the unbutted section, I've been told you can crush it with bare hands if you try hard enough. I've also heard a story of a brazed-on shifter and its boss being pulled off of a 753 DT on a Cuevas, leaving a fatigue-type hole! (Too much heat perhaps?)
Who knows if any of this is really true, but it certainly is interesting to ponder (I know my 60cm Team Pro can flex pretty good up a hill). I remember that when I was working at the Raleigh Midwest warehouse in Illinois in 1982, we used to see orders for the "Time Trial 753" frames for Mike's Cyclery in Ames Iowa (Michael Fatka's team). Yikes! 0.75 pounds lighter than the "standard" ones....
Greg Parker Sub-zero windchill Ann Arbor, Michigan (but of course it'll be near 40 degrees and rainy tomorrow...).