Originally Posted by
T-Mar
You've got to stop believing everything you read on the internet and stick to reliable sources. The differences between Aelle and Zeta are fact.
Aelle was introduced for the 1978 model and used a carbon-manganese alloy steel. The plain gauge main tubes were 0.8mm thick and tubeset weight was 2345g
Zeta was a lower level set introduced for 1981 model year and used a carbon steel The plain gauge main tubes were 0.9mm thick and tubeset weight was 2440g.
Basically, Zeta was a very lightweight hi-tensile steel, while Aelle was a more exotic alloy with a higher tensile strength and therefore drawn to slightly thinner/lighter gauges for the main tubes and stays. Both sets used the same gauge for head tube, steering column and fork blades. Here's a scan of the relevant portion from the German version of the 1981 model year Columbus catalogue, showing the differences between Aelle and Zeta, and that they existed concurrently.
Some of the sources were credible BF members, but our collective sources may not have been as good 10 years ago - at least, those are the types of BF threads Google was giving me.
Thanks for the clarification, T-Mar. I've ridden a few Aelle frames and never thought bad about them - they'd always performed well (even one with front end damage) - and it didn't align with what I was reading about Zeta's status. We're basically talking about a sexy Italian equivalent of something approaching a '70s Raleigh Grand Prix boat anchor...with better lugwork.
Of course, that's probably splitting hairs, especially coming from someone who really likes the ride of a Paramount with a heavier, straight-gauge seatube, but it's not an unwise consideration in terms of cost...especially since it's almost exclusively the group that I'd prefer.
-Kurt