Old 03-19-11, 08:20 AM
  #8  
Barrettscv 
Have bike, will travel
 
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Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Lake Geneva, WI
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Bikes: Ridley Helium SLX, Canyon Endurance SL, De Rosa Professional, Eddy Merckx Corsa Extra, Schwinn Paramount (1 painted, 1 chrome), Peugeot PX10, Serotta Nova X, Simoncini Cyclocross Special, Raleigh Roker, Pedal Force CG2 and CX2

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Originally Posted by lhbernhardt
Old Italian bikes are sexy, but materials engineering has advanced way past Columbus SL and Reynolds 531. The bike I use almost exclusively today (A Rodriguez built by Dennis Bushnell at R&E in Seattle) is made of True Temper's air-hardenable OX Platinum, a steel that was designed to be TIG-welded. It is 3x stronger than the old 531, and loses very little of its tensile strength when it is heated. It also gives a lively, interesting ride, way more interesting than carbon fiber. What I don't like about the Italian bikes made in the 80's is that tend to break (especially if you weigh more than 160 lbs), and their geometries are often goofy. Although such is not the case with your Gios, I've found Italian frames for US export were usually built with too-short top tubes and too-steep head and seat tubes. As a result, they would not corner very well. I remember switching from Italian frames to a carbon fiber Trek back in the late 90's, and I could not believe how stable and precise the Trek was on fast corners. Today, I think the better US builders have the geometries pretty-well dialed in for what the bike will be used for. I'd go for modern steel from a reputable US builder.

L.
More good info, thanks! The Gunner is OS2.
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