"Olsson, Robert" wrote:
>
> snipped:
>
> All,
>
> THE FILE THREAD:
>
> What I would like to know is this:
>
> * when files scratches are visible, what options do framebuilders have to
> rectify it; can they fillet braze if it's deep [or is the extra heat a
> problem?]; can they use [220 grit?] sand paper to eliminate some lighter
> marks, what is the recourse and what is the thinking in whether some marks
> are left and others eliminated? From a framebuilder's POV, when they're
> working away day after day, I would imagine that they come to some point when
> they balance their workmanship and their work and can say: this frame is
> ready for painting. How does this process work?
>
> * I examined Richard Sachs' Nagasawa frame pictures and did notice the file
> marks and or casting voids in the under side of the fork crown that others
> have observed. Is the structural integrity of the fork compromised by those
> "anatomical variances"?? Should the framebuilder have chosen a more perfect
> casting? I am more curious to hear about how this bike rides, balances,
> steers, performs on the road, how much does it weigh, what kind of tubes were
> used, the tube metallurgic composition, how it climbs, accelerates, corners,
> descends, is it comfortable after an 80 mile ride, how does it take shocks,
> is it lively or dead, springy, stiff, can you take your hands off the bars
> and will it still coast straight, what makes it unique and special, etc.
>
> * Would Eddy have won more races if he rode on perfect file mark free
> specimens? Aren't those bikes [frames] now revered for the races they won and
> because of their providence? Is it about the frame, the man, the history, the
> heritage, all or what??
>
> * I am thinking about the original purpose of cycling: To get from point A to
> point B in a more efficient manner than walking. If I have a "Sears Free
> Spirit" or if I have a Nagasawa, I will still get there but the quality of
> the ride performance will vary. Alot depends of how the frame was made [were
> the tubes overheated??], which components are used, what kind of physical
> shape I'm in, weather, etc. Our CR list focus is to appreciate and examine
> the nuances and qualities which make up those wonderful hand made lugged
> steel frames and components which are a historical evolutionary step in this
> efficiency process. Here, all those threads of interpetation and debate of
> these materials makes for an interesting and informative read. If we remain
> open to new technologies, test them, try them, talk about them, then perhaps
> we may see incremently better performances in cycling efficiency, as what has
> been done for eons??
>
> Any file marked vintage 62cm track frames / bikes anyone wants to park at my
> house?
>
> Robert "still looking for the Holy Grail of frames" Olsson
> Croton-on-Hudson, NY
"As a kid, I had a dream - I wanted to own my own bicycle. When I got the bicycle, I must have been the happiest boy in Liverpool... Most kids left their bikes in the backyard at night. Not me. I insisted on taking mine indoors and the first night I even kept it in my bed." --John Lennon
Chuck Schmidt South Pasadena, Southern California
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