[e-RICHIE]

(originally posted on the listserve):


this text is primarily aimed at framebuilders who braze with lugs -

does anyone here ever ponder his future wrt the supply of
materials with which to continue in the trade? with the way the
market and industry has gone in the past 15-20 years, many
framebuilders are building with less and less high-end specific
parts than ever before. when one laments the lack of braze-ons
or specific tubes with which to fill an order, it should be noted that
framebuilders are less and less than ever a part of the industry
food chain. before mtb's and the rise in acceptance of nonferrous
materials, all of us - ALL of us - drew from the same well. these days,
if you planned for it and/or bought long, you are in good stead (or
at least "better stead").

atmo, there is more fine framebuilding going on now than ever before.
imho, there has never been a better era in which one can make a
living at all this. but sometimes the parts (read: the introduction of new
parts made for "us") just don't seem as perfect for the job as they once
did. hey, listen - the sky isn't falling, so don't misinterpret my post. it's
just that we all must agree that we have fewer resources and even fewer
sku's than ever before, yet our collective quality and working skill set has
never been better.

please support those who bring you the materials you need to make your
frames and make money at this. don't sit back and assume that a cable
guide, dropout set, or certain guage and diameter tube will always be there
for you.

guys like pacenti, dazza, and myself offer up a very good selection of lugs,
crowns, and bb shells. kirk also is ground zero for high quality tubing, as is
joe b and hank. patronize all of your suppliers as much as possible, or else
one day their suppliers will stop supplying them. it is happening as we speak.

oh and ps - since this listserve is not moderated here is some self-serving
fluff: atmo one of the missing links in the food chain for the past 15 years
has been a decent set of tubes that makes full and optimum use of our
methods and sequences. while air hardened tubes, short butt tubes, "high-
strengh" tubes (whatever that means!), and whatever else has been introduced
since the mtb era has a place, i never believed it had a place with me. it's
all fine if you're a tig welding, high unit producing mega-conglomerater, but
a framebuilder that uses lugs is not benefiting from this shet.

so here's the news: since sept 2005, dario pegoretti and i have been working
with columbus to create a 21st century iteration of the perfect steel tube set for
lugged framebuilding. dubbed "spirit for lugs" (or, in my case, PegoRichie), we
now have tubing that has all the salient features of our favorite material, and with-
out all the market driven bee ess that has come with other "super sets" through
the recent years. i took receipt of 70 sets in august. i could not be happier.
zmata fact, i just may begin using a tubing sticker on my seat tube for the
first time since 1978!!

so - when all the dots are connected, and PCD is your source for this
set (and variations of it to follow), please support the tubeset project, and
kirk pacenti, and columbus.

thanks for reading.

[Villiers-Velo]

Hi Richard,

All excellent news. Will the new tubeset be available only through you or other Columbus dealers such as Pete at Ceeway in the UK ?.

As you say things couldnt be better for framebuilders, what with the stuff you, Dazza and Kirk create along with new stuff coming from Reynolds and Columbus, Dedacciai et al.

Lets hope the buying public like it too..


Paul V.





Richard,

Another quick qeustion re the new "PegoRichie" tubesets.

Are they a lightweght set better suited to racing/Audax or are they more touring oriented?

What sizes and gauges do they come in?

Cheers, Paul.

[e-RICHIE]

this text is pasted from a post i made on the listserve:


i am on the road for 2 days and need to be brief -
the first set has been drawn and completed. the parts
that i have are niobium material and in the typical OS
dimensions for lugs and road frame use, the guages
are .7/.5.7. and .7/.45/.7 as the case may be, however
the butt length and transition zones are created so that
they take full use of the haf and all the shet that occurs
during a typical "lug brazing sequence". iow, these are not
spec-ed as the typical "short butt cum straight guage pipes
once ya' cut 'em tubes". every tube (all three!!) was engineered
to be what WE need, not what the tigbike©™® company needs.
also - the ellipse shape on the chainstay has, er, finally been
perfected atmo. new tools were made that allow the shape to
be consistant and predictable over its length, and no longer
needing finessing to mate with precision cast bb shells. for
the time being, the seat stays are 16mm and 14mm biconical,
but i personally did not get any in my first batch because i am
swimming in pre-existing inventory.

note - this tuning project began in sept 05 and the driving goal
was to create and make available a tube set that is dedicated
to lug assemblies, and (but) one that allows all of us to make
lightweight, predictable, and serviceable frames and bicycles
that will be 1) steel, and 2) more palatable than ever in the
21st century market that we all exist and compete in.

the reason that i tagged my outing on the use it or lose it post
from last night is that i have learned first hand that, despite our
interest and love in getting it all done with steel, without our
pushing the right buttons, the steel companies no longer have
the initiative to make for us what we need to ply our trade. sounds
dramatic, i know - but trust me: if there are no trees ya' aint gonna
be making those future strads yo.

[liberacefanboy]

Amen.
What I liked most about what you were saying, is that you may put on a tubing decal !
I worked for Croll cycles for a long time, and some of my fondest memories was putting on the blessed 531 decal. It was so awesome to know that this WAS a 531 tubed bike and fork. Nowadays, we are blending tubesets for an "optimal" ride, and while I do this too, I would love to put on a decal that is reminescent of my 531 days. Thankyou for making me remember some great days, cheers to your project, and Ilook forward to ordering a set or two. Now wheres my magenta robe ....
liberacefanboy

[Darrell at Llewellyn bikes]

Gladdies, or should that be Luggers,
support the Columbus tube set.
It is what I have been after for 6 years.

Due to all the reasons Ritchie mentions we are at the time now that we have to pool together and support a tubing manufacturer that is listening and willing to provide.

I have had a shocking time with recently with Dedacciai and their customer service.
Dedacciai customer support and follow up on faulty product failures totally sucks!
{More on that with pictures soon when time permits}
We need this tube set.
I cannot wait till I get some.
Cheers from the Dove rocks Dazza

[Anvil]

Put me down for few sets, Kirk. Always good to have stock on the shelves!

[Kirk Pacenti]

Put me down for few sets, Kirk. Always good to have stock on the shelves!

Will do Don! Thanks for your support!

Cheers,

[e-RICHIE]

Gladdies, or should that be Luggers,
support the Columbus tube set.
It is what I have been after for 6 years.

Due to all the reasons Ritchie mentions we are at the time now that we have to pool together and support a tubing manufacturer that is listening and willing to provide.

I have had a shocking time with recently with Dedacciai and their customer service.
Dedacciai customer support and follow up on faulty product failures totally sucks!
{More on that with pictures soon when time permits}
We need this tube set.
I cannot wait till I get some.
Cheers from the Dove rocks Dazza

thanks, dazza -
as many know, this entire project was kinda' sorta' spawned
after a jra incident that i personally had in mantera, italy in
late august 2005. the net result of that jra and the way my
situation was handled with my tubing supplier was the catalyst
for the tube set we outed 2 days ago. its' odd how karma works;
had my situation been tended to swiftly and without deliberation,
i may have never gone to the window and channeled howard beale
in network: i'm mad as hell and i'm not gonna take it anymore!

when life serves ya' lemons...

[Darrell at Llewellyn bikes]

i'm mad as hell and i'm not gonna take it anymore!
The Spirit tube set for lugs
I want them now
Cheers from Dazza

[TAB]

It'd good to hear that US frame builders are still keen to build lugged frames. The NAHBS show last year was a good example of the craftsmanship still around.
In the UK most frame builders still use this traditional method of building frames with lugs.
About 15 years ago when the "TIG" welding revolution started, Reynolds introduced a wide range of tubes with butt profiles specifically designed for this style of construction.
However as Reynolds "Home" market continued to build with lugs, the full Reynolds range of tubes for this style of building remained in the range.
Althougfh 531 is no longer available, all the materials in the Reynolds steel range, 631, 725, 853 and the recently introduced 953 have tubes with butt profiles suitable for lug construction.
As Reynolds do not sell "standard" tube sets but allow builders to choose from a list of available parts, the frame builder can select the tubes that they consdier the best suitable for the style of construction, but also the intended use of the frame. A truly "Custom" frame.
If frame builders look at the list and cannot find their ideal tubes, then with a small minimum order, their requirements can usually be accomodated, within 3 to 4 weeks.