Originally Posted by
52telecaster
So poor man's 531
I've thought about that (I had an 84 Trek 420 made of Tange Mangaloy)
None of the makers of manganese alloy tubing really tried to position themselves in the same ball park as 531. As I understand Mangaloy and Ishiwata Mangy and Miyata's Mangalight were all classified as carbon/manganese alloys rather than manganese/molybdenum alloys. As such- they're "better" than hi-ten, but "beneath" CrMo.
In Trek terms (
*VERY* generally from 70s/early 80s)
200/300- Hi-Ten
400- CMn w/ Hi-Ten stays and fork
500-CrMo
600- 531 frame with CrMo or CMn stays and fork
700- 531 frame with 531 stays and fork
900- Columbus SL/SP
(yes, the 200/300/400 designation kind of went through changes- and the 600 series was CMn early, then CrMo later until 400 series bikes were built like that in 86... but we're talking generalizations here and the rough idea of the weight/prestige of the tubing) (and yes, "better" is in quotes for a reason)
