Re: [CR]Double-taper seat stays

(Example: Framebuilders:Jack Taylor)

To: louiss@gate.net
Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2003 21:44:53 -0500
Subject: Re: [CR]Double-taper seat stays
From: "Richard M Sachs" <richardsachs@juno.com>
cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org

"Louis Schulman" <louiss@gate.net> writes: How common (or rare) are double-taper seat stays? On my 1983 Holdsworth Professional (Reynolds 531 Professional tubes) the seat stays have their largest diameter at the brake bridge, and taper both to the dropouts and to the seat cluster. It seems to me that such tubes would be particularly difficult to make. What other tube sets used them?

lou i've used them on almost all my frames since 1978. currently, i get them custom made from dedaccai. typically, the reynolds version has only been available in lengths that are too long. as such, the truly visual beauty of the biconical shape is lost. columbus, vitus, and dedaccai offers these to order in lengths as short as 490mm and as long as 580mm; these choices allow the ordering of a proper length for the frame size to be constructed. i'm not aware of how the tubes are formed. i assume they're rolled into shape from pre-existing seat stays. that way they have more mojo than if they were born as double-tapered stays
from the git-go.
e-RICHIE
chester, ct