Columbus foco question.
#1
Newbie
Thread Starter
Columbus foco question.
Hey folks I’m currently looking at a bike in Columbus foco tubing and am questioning the durability of it. I rid a mix of well paved bike paths and sometimes rough city streets. The bikes I’ve ridden in the past have been vintage steel that have handled the roads ok but I are heavy and would like to try newer shifting and lighter weight.
My question is if anyone has experience with foco tubing in their bikes and if I should be nervous about the thin wall tubing. Is it safe to strap to a bike rack like my old bikes or do I have to transport it in my car? Any help is greatly appreciated!
My question is if anyone has experience with foco tubing in their bikes and if I should be nervous about the thin wall tubing. Is it safe to strap to a bike rack like my old bikes or do I have to transport it in my car? Any help is greatly appreciated!
#2
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Foco is pretty thin in the middle of the top and down tubes. I wouldn't carry a bike like that on a bike rack unless there are features in the rack that spread the load and don't create pressure points on the frame tubes.
#3
Senior Member
Hey folks I’m currently looking at a bike in Columbus foco tubing and am questioning the durability of it. I rid a mix of well paved bike paths and sometimes rough city streets. The bikes I’ve ridden in the past have been vintage steel that have handled the roads ok but I are heavy and would like to try newer shifting and lighter weight.
My question is if anyone has experience with foco tubing in their bikes and if I should be nervous about the thin wall tubing. Is it safe to strap to a bike rack like my old bikes or do I have to transport it in my car? Any help is greatly appreciated!
My question is if anyone has experience with foco tubing in their bikes and if I should be nervous about the thin wall tubing. Is it safe to strap to a bike rack like my old bikes or do I have to transport it in my car? Any help is greatly appreciated!
High-strength modern steel for bikes include Columbus Nivacrom, Reynolds 753/853/953 (this last is just about the strongest of all), TruTemper OX-Plat (another of the top materials), and too many others to list. These are (based on metallurgical test results) something like 40% stronger (plus or minus, we're just using rough numbers) than the older group of steels. Columbus Foco is made of this Nivacrom. It should be thinner and lighter than an older SL-based frame, which can still make an awesome bike, by the same proportion as the strengths. You can Google Columbus Foco and read what Columbus has to say about it - you should be able to find maybe 5 catalog pages in English.
Compared to an old English 3-speed from the '70's or before, these are all light, bicycles that may feel fragile. But first they were designed to take racing stresses applied by the strongest riders in the world, and what you can buy today may or may not be racing only. And many of us steel bike freaks have been riding full-racing steel bikes on the streets for decades. They're a little stronger than eggshells.
#4
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Thanks for the reply’s guys I think I might have to keep looking I’m not much of a racer and don’t really want to have to worry about pot holes and curbs.
#5
Senior Member
I have a 19 year old bike that is Foco tubing for the main tubes, Thron for downtube and bracket.
Holding up just fine.
Holding up just fine.
#6
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Jonnyd613 did you buy it? Sorry about the zombie thread, I was looking up foco tubing on Google and it popped up first!
#7
Newbie
Thread Starter
No I ended up buying a mid 70s motobecane grand jubilee still light but plenty rigid the "Nervex style" lugged Reynolds 531 steel is sweet. The concern that I had with the Foco tube was the bike I looked at had a small dent on the top tube that the owner said happened while dismounting the bike and his cleat tapped the tube. Whether or not that’s how it happened I’m a little rough with my bikes and put them on a rack on the back of my car and it wasn’t going to work for me.
That being said it was sooooo light and very cool just not for my urban/country rough ridding roads. Hope this helps!
That being said it was sooooo light and very cool just not for my urban/country rough ridding roads. Hope this helps!