Originally Posted by
Old Fat Guy
unterhausen nailed it; S&S won't sell to non-insured framebuilders, even for personal use. Really though, I don't feel any compelling need to use them. I'll have about $50 in my frame when I'm done, and I believe it'll be more than adequately strong.
I think the seatpost double clamp solution is simpler and more elegant than the S&S coupler. I never liked the look of Ritchey's little v-band clamp on the downtube, and thought that a sliding clamp sleeve would be stronger and more maintenance friendly. The tube cut is angled and I'll cap the ends of the tube, giving it some more resistance to torsion.
I can't take credit for that idea either though; someone on the framebuilder's list sent me to pictures of Rene Herse's frames using the sliding sleeve for a coupling.