This reminds me of a short discussion I had with the Raleigh Rep back in the late '70s. I had spent some time looking at the new design for the seat stay caps on the Team Pro, where Raleigh had gone from the fastback design to one where the caps were a little bigger than the cut end of the stay and a small fillet of brass was laid on the underside of the cap, blending it into the stay. I was in the process of commenting to the rep on how I thought that detail might laterally stiffen the rear triangle when he cut me off, dismissively saying that it didn't make a damn bit of difference in the ride, it was just aesthetics. I was a bit peeved by this; after all, I had ridden through Canada with a friend who rode a Mk II Pro just a year or two before, and he had complained about the road shock from the fastback stays. It just had to make the difference that logic dictated it must.
Then, last spring I finally scored a '74 Pro. Rode it a lot this past summer and it was a sweet, if not poorly filed ride. And you know what? I'll throw my lot in with the Raleigh rep. The seatstay detail doesn't make a damn bit of difference in the ride.
Steve Barner, workin' on that Pro tonight sounds like a darn good idea in Bolton, Vermont. My reward for 3 hours of pushing snow around yesterday.
> Date: Fri, 19 Dec 2003 08:54:15 -0500
> From: marcus.e.helman@gm.com
> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> Subject: [CR]Veloworks/Sachs Lug reference site
>
> After looking at all those beautiful lugs, and the photos of the Dave
Tesch
> with the bikini lugs, I have a question: Has anyone ever relieved the
> sides of the seat lug? I would think that with a fastback design where
the
> seat stays attach to the binder bolt, there would be ample real estate for
> windows.
>
> While I am on the subject (and because it's kind of quiet at work this
> morning) what are the merits, besides aesthetic , of the various methods
of
> seat stay attachment?
>
> These examples spring to mind:
> 1. Raleigh Pros where the stays come in low on the back of the seat tube
> 2. Italian bikes where the stays are fluted, and attach to the sides of
the
> seat lug
> 3. French bikes where the stays are capped with a flat piece that wraps
> farther up the side of the lug
> 4. My old Tom Ritchey where the stays attached to the binder bolt
> 5. English bikes where the seat stays appeared to wrap up and over the
seat
> lug
> 6. Cinellis with the bolt-nut-bolt attachment
> 7. Herons where the caps for the stays are cast as part of the lug
> 8. What about those Gianni Mottas with the narrow brake bridges?
> 9. Insert your favorite here
>
> Happy holidays,
> Marcus Helman
> Huntington Woods, MI