Ride, Wrench, Swap, Race
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Northern California
Posts: 9,213
Bikes: Cheltenham-Pedersen racer, Boulder F/S Paris-Roubaix, Varsity racer, '52 Christophe, '62 Continental, '92 Merckx, '75 Limongi, '76 Presto, '72 Gitane SC, '71 Schwinn SS, etc.
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I think it's safe to say that the last of the high-volume lugged frames persisted as long as they did mostly because of aesthetics along with "long imprinted memories", and of course of existing production facilities trying hard to keep everybody employed!
The greater "aesthetics" aspect explains why the lugged Japanese frame persists to this day albeit in much smaller production volumes.
At some point the development and supply chain of tubing intended for lugged frame construction was completely surpassed by that of tubing intended for welded construction, further harming the economics of using lugged construction, not to mention the needed re-design of existing lugs for newer frames having sloping top tubes, ovalized tubing, etc.
Last edited by dddd; 04-17-24 at 09:56 AM.