Hello George, I applied a magnet to the area around the head tube/TT and DT area where you might normally find lugs and also around the bracing within that area and the magnet did not stick. My frame is an 85 Laser Crono Strada and has never been ridden and kept under wraps from the time it was taken off the show stand. It shows no signs of Bondo cracking. Obviously there has been no stress as you might find with a ridden frame and also little variation in temperature where it has been stored. The amount of 'fairing' that my frame has is reasonably minimal compared to others that I have seen and I would like to be under the delusion that the Italian master craftsmen managed to somehow via alchemy of metals and workmanship manage to create such fluid shapes, but the absence of magnetic attraction at exactly the points where I might suspect and predict that a filler might be used, convinces me that the construction process included some form of plastic filler - I cant imagine them using lead. Until there is proof that Cinelli craftsmen managed to hand beat/fold and seamlessly braze and file these frames without use of filler, and also manage to insulate certain areas of metal from magnetic attraction, I will stick by the Bondo theory. As I said, my Laser has never turned a crank - so I am reluctant to go digging into the pristine paint to bring some Bondo to surface. A similar frame that I did have restored, a 93 Colnago Rominger TT team issue (same as the hour record frame) which has similar fairings and bracings was brought back to bare metal and what was found underneath was an assortment of tubing off-cuts from the Colnago factory where the bracing is between the head tube and the TT and DT that was cobbled together via brazing, and then was built up with Bondo to give it the same smooth lines as the Laser. Some of these bits of metal within the bracing still had Colnago stampings on them. Regardless George, you are a lucky guy to have the stewardship of #007. (This wasn't James Bond's bike by any chance?) Greg Softley Coffs Harbour Australia
Dear Mr. Softley: I have carefully applied a magnet to my Laser-no bondo found. Please provide a photo of a Laser showing the use of bondo. Anecdotes are amusing but not convincing. George Hollenberg MD CT, USA
> Hi Crew,
> Once again some great entertainment! I'm chiming into this as I
> have
> Modolo Kronos on my CX and have a Laser circa 85. Firstly Mr
> George MD,
> fortunately you are a doctor as there will come a moment when
> you need
> the Kronos to work and they will crack inside.....happened to me
> on an
> emergency stop and I still bear the scars. Your professional
> skills can
> be used for self administration of emergency care.
> I do admire your taste in classics though, the CX, Kronos and
> Laser are
> all examples of modern art in my opinion but please for the sake
> of the
> future health of the CR subscribers, don't recommend the Kronos
> brakes -
> only to people you need to seek revenge upon!
> Did the 'magnet' test on the Laser and yes....bondo where the
> tubes are
> faired together. Thinking about it, realistically, how could
> anyone
> imagine that those tubes can be flowed together so seamlessly
> without
> the help of bondo? A metal pressing could achieve two halves,
> but there
> would still be a seam. There were a lot of different styles of
> Lasers
> made so I imagine there would be as many different quantities of
> Bondo
> used.
> So, get out your magnets and lets stop the self deception.
> Greg Softley DD (Decal Designer)
> Coffs Harbour
> Australia
>