In a message dated 3/21/04 2:35:01 PM, classicrendezvous-request@bikelist.org
writes:
>I don't have the answers to your query, but why did frame builders start
using
>braze-ons?
>
>Don't they add time to the building process?
>
>Do components work more effectively when secured with braze-ons?
>
>Are tubes weakened when braze-ons are added?
>
>Did they add mojo to the builder's product?
I'd sure like to hear what the framebuilders among us have to say in answer to these questions.
In the late 60s-early 70's when I first got interested in derailleur bicycles, I remember everyone saying that brazeons were a bad thing, they weakened the tubing (especially those that involved drilling, like bottle bosses). After a while, "things" (fashions?) changed and brazeons started appearing, but not all at once (I believe with most manufacturers it was rear derailleur housing stops that appeared first, followed by bottom bracket cable guides, bottle cage bosses, shift lever mounts, and top tube brake housing guides). What I heard from bike dealers at the time was that if "properly done" they DIDN'T weaken the tubing after all, and even drilling a hole for a bottle boss wasn't bad because the boss you stuck in the hole actually reinforced it, making the tube stronger at that spot. Some of us were skeptical, but who could argue? There wasn't much choice when the frames started arriving that way.
Other advantages were mentioned that made a lot of sense, and so most of us eventually came appreciate the 'new' style... clamp-ons loosened and shifted position, scratched or marred the paint (or even worse, trapped moisture and allowed rust to get a foothold). All these things seemed advantageous enough to offset any increased cost or time on the part of the framebuilder, and those of us who appreciated the cleaner looks of a frame with brazeons were delighted as well.
Of course those of us who became interested in the history of bicycles that predate those we started with as youngsters soon discovered that to brazeon or not to brazeon has been a fashion whose pendulum has swung several times since the turn of the century (as have other frame fashions like internally-routed cables). Wonder if it'll swing again?
Bob Hovey
Columbus, GA