I hate gaspipe frames, but....
04-04-21, 09:06 PM
#26
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The OP certainly has a right to his opinion and in choosing what he wants to hate (pretty strong word). In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with "gas pipe" frame bicycles. First of all, there is not a bike on Earth made out of gas pipe. I doubt that many Bike Forum members even know what gas pipe is.
Gas pipe is for moving flammable gas and is darn sturdy stuff. Pick up a piece of black iron pipe (ordinary pipe), or high tensile steel pipe and then pick up a similar sized piece of gas pipe. The gas pipe is twice as heavy, thanks to a much thicker wall. Many, if not most, entry level vintage bicycles are made from high tensile tubes and do sport lugs...
Lower end bikes are, generally, more comfortable to ride for the average, or even skilled, rider. The geometry is more relaxed than that of most higher end higher performance bikes. I do not say that based on what I have read or heard others say. I base that opinion on personal experience. I have found, restored and ridden dozens of high end, exotic tubed, name brand lugged/drops bicycles...
And, I have found, restored and ridden just as many lower end steeds...
Make no mistake, I would not turn my nose up at finding, restoring and riding another high ender but I will no longer be fooled by the hype that surrounds them...
Anyone who hates this bike is, in my mind, being unfair. Ride it and then tell me what a dog it is. You just might reconsider your opinion about less exotic steeds...
All that said, I do respect the opinions of others, even though I might disagree with the other guy's or gal's.
Gas pipe is for moving flammable gas and is darn sturdy stuff. Pick up a piece of black iron pipe (ordinary pipe), or high tensile steel pipe and then pick up a similar sized piece of gas pipe. The gas pipe is twice as heavy, thanks to a much thicker wall. Many, if not most, entry level vintage bicycles are made from high tensile tubes and do sport lugs...
Lower end bikes are, generally, more comfortable to ride for the average, or even skilled, rider. The geometry is more relaxed than that of most higher end higher performance bikes. I do not say that based on what I have read or heard others say. I base that opinion on personal experience. I have found, restored and ridden dozens of high end, exotic tubed, name brand lugged/drops bicycles...
And, I have found, restored and ridden just as many lower end steeds...
Make no mistake, I would not turn my nose up at finding, restoring and riding another high ender but I will no longer be fooled by the hype that surrounds them...
Anyone who hates this bike is, in my mind, being unfair. Ride it and then tell me what a dog it is. You just might reconsider your opinion about less exotic steeds...
All that said, I do respect the opinions of others, even though I might disagree with the other guy's or gal's.
There are a lot of bikes that people here and elsewhere go gaga for which aren’t worth the time of day. There’s others that people pass over because they just don’t know what they have.
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Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
Last edited by cyccommute; 04-04-21 at 09:10 PM.
04-05-21, 12:39 AM
#27
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You have an odd definition of “low end bikes”. None of yours are. The Atala seems to be sporting a Campy rear derailer. My objections isn’t to the bicycle but the classification of what appears to be a fairly good bike as a piece of junk. I’m no fan of vintage steel but I not a fan of denigrating a bike just because it’s old.
There are a lot of bikes that people here and elsewhere go gaga for which aren’t worth the time of day. There’s others that people pass over because they just don’t know what they have.
There are a lot of bikes that people here and elsewhere go gaga for which aren’t worth the time of day. There’s others that people pass over because they just don’t know what they have.
The Atala is an example of the kind of high end bikes that I have found, built up and ridden. The one in the example is a 1969 Atala Professional and full Campagnolo NR.
The Crome Torpado is not bottom of the line, it is a LUXE model, sort of mid level but not in the least bit exotic.
The grey Torpado, recently restored, is a bottom of the line late sixties or early seventies offering, that is built of unknown tubing.
I agree with you regarding some bikes presented. I do see a lot of bikes, displayed in Bike Forums threads, that I would not give a second look, however, their owners like them and that is good enough for me. With that in mind, I keep my thoughts to myself regarding their bikes to myself.
My biggest issue, which has been an issue with me every time I see it is calling a bike "gas pipe". To me that is an offensive and unwarranted term. And, I am not fond of the emotion "hate" regardless of what it refers to. But that is just me. Anyway, putting "gas pipe" and hate in the same sentence proved to be a bit much for my tender feelings to cope with. Perhaps I should have kept my feelings to myself regarding the statement.
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04-05-21, 09:31 AM
#28
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Classic French bike built with unlabeled non-descript tubing, how's that? Some of them ride really well due to good geometry. Yours looks like a Jeunet 620, unlabeled tubing with brazed-on cable stops on the top tube, but very similar geometry to the 630, which was full 531 with plain Simplex ends that used cable clips for the rear brake cable. My favorite example of this sort of bike is my Liberia, which appears to be the very cheapest model they made, but tricked out with 27-in wheels for the U.S. market for that brief time during the bike boom when distributors were grabbing everything they could from regional and smaller makers to feed American demand. Mine started life as a $100 college campus bike sold out of a shop adjacent to the University of South Carolina. The tubing appears to have a wall thickness of around 1.0 to 1.1 mm, though, which isn't too shabby, and the geometry makes it corner like a much more expensive competitive bike. On paper, it shouldn't ride this well. Replacing the rusted-out Saminox steel rims with some old Weinmann alloy units helped.
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04-05-21, 10:54 AM
#29
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Anyone- "good morning, cycco."
Cycco- "Is it a good morning? First of all, define good. And when measured against historical examples of mornings that were good, why do you quantitatively view this as an equal to those other mornings? Furthermore, is it even morning? We all know that the idea of time is a human construct and that the four dimensional spacetime continuum allows for equal value to be placed on that which has happened, is happening, and will happen. With that taken into consideration, is this even morning and if it is, is it really 'good'?"
Anyone-
Cycco- "Is it a good morning? First of all, define good. And when measured against historical examples of mornings that were good, why do you quantitatively view this as an equal to those other mornings? Furthermore, is it even morning? We all know that the idea of time is a human construct and that the four dimensional spacetime continuum allows for equal value to be placed on that which has happened, is happening, and will happen. With that taken into consideration, is this even morning and if it is, is it really 'good'?"
Anyone-
04-05-21, 11:05 AM
#30
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Anyone- "good morning, cycco."
Cycco- "Is it a good morning? First of all, define good. And when measured against historical examples of mornings that were good, why do you quantitatively view this as an equal to those other mornings? Furthermore, is it even morning? We all know that the idea of time is a human construct and that the four dimensional spacetime continuum allows for equal value to be placed on that which has happened, is happening, and will happen. With that taken into consideration, is this even morning and if it is, is it really 'good'?"
Anyone-
Cycco- "Is it a good morning? First of all, define good. And when measured against historical examples of mornings that were good, why do you quantitatively view this as an equal to those other mornings? Furthermore, is it even morning? We all know that the idea of time is a human construct and that the four dimensional spacetime continuum allows for equal value to be placed on that which has happened, is happening, and will happen. With that taken into consideration, is this even morning and if it is, is it really 'good'?"
Anyone-
04-05-21, 11:24 AM
#31
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Classic French bike built with unlabeled non-descript tubing, how's that? Some of them ride really well due to good geometry. Yours looks like a Jeunet 620, unlabeled tubing with brazed-on cable stops on the top tube, but very similar geometry to the 630, which was full 531 with plain Simplex ends that used cable clips for the rear brake cable. My favorite example of this sort of bike is my Liberia, which appears to be the very cheapest model they made, but tricked out with 27-in wheels for the U.S. market for that brief time during the bike boom when distributors were grabbing everything they could from regional and smaller makers to feed American demand. Mine started life as a $100 college campus bike sold out of a shop adjacent to the University of South Carolina. The tubing appears to have a wall thickness of around 1.0 to 1.1 mm, though, which isn't too shabby, and the geometry makes it corner like a much more expensive competitive bike. On paper, it shouldn't ride this well. Replacing the rusted-out Saminox steel rims with some old Weinmann alloy units helped.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/c1974-Vinta...8AAOSw4LNgVoSy
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