Fifty Plus (50+) - A little lug porn

We argue all the time about the ultimate frame material. Truth is there are great bikes made from all sorts of materials. But putting all that aside for a moment, who can look at the lug work of a true artist/craftsman (http://www.bikelugs.com/gallery.html) and not see the beauty?

It is a work of art, but at $350 a piece, that's pretty high, but I would still like to have a lugged bike someday. Not to ride that much, just to have, like a collector.

It is a work of art, but at $350 a piece, that's pretty high, but I would still like to have a lugged bike someday. Not to ride that much, just to have, like a collector.

I tell ya, Gerogie, there's nothing like being 85 miles into a century, and looking down at a lugged bottom bracket cluster to stoke the fires of inspiration... :)

It is a work of art, but at $350 a piece, that's pretty high, but I would still like to have a lugged bike someday. Not to ride that much, just to have, like a collector.

I'm not sure what you are referring to with the price. What I wanted you to see was the gallery of all the different builders' frames. A lot more than $350 for any of them.

As for having a lugged bike and not riding it, well that would be a sin. I hope you never do that.

Great links. Check out the elegantly straight forward work of Tom Kellogg. He is (one of) the original designers of Merlin titanium frames. My bike even has his name on the left chain stay.

My word that's nice :) Lugged steel forever :D

Lugged steel is a work of minimalist art. My Mondonico has the tiny AM logo imbedded in seat tube lug. Hardly visible. Fancier lugs, while true works of craftsmanship, don't do it for me. Understated elegance does not need to shout out. Those who appreciate it will know it is there. As will the builder.

Some of those are truly hideous. case in point:

http://www.bikelugs.com/gallery/sadoff/fullsize/rocklobster08_fs.jpg

<slinks back out of the 50+ forum with the rest of the youngins'>

Some of those are truly hideous. case in point:

http://www.bikelugs.com/gallery/sadoff/fullsize/rocklobster08_fs.jpg

<slinks back out of the 50+ forum with the rest of the youngins'>

Some people just have a talent for finding the dark cloud behind every silver lining. :rolleyes:

Some people just have a talent for finding the dark cloud behind every silver lining. :rolleyes:

I live in Denmark. Rain follows me everywhere. :D

Luscious, high calorie lugs.

I feel like I just gained 5 pounds...I gotta quit looking at that kinda stuff.

Certain lugs can be used for positive marque identification:

I like Victorian houses, fancy inlays on guitars, and fancy lug work. My heart's a 'flutter! Tks. BluesDawg. You've brought a bright spot to a dreary afternoon at work.

I never saw a lugged frame I didn't like.
My vintage Trek lugged frames ride great, steel is real!

I've ridden steel but I am afraid that I trust a good Mig welder to join the pipes together. Can remember back to the period when Raleigh were using straight gauge pipes- And using big thick lugs for the critical angles and joining of pipes. The stuff holding the pipes to the lugs was Glue and I went off any form of lug works after that.

Now give me a Mig weld done by an expert and I will be in raptures just looking at it. Every time I look at Lugs- all I can think of is Araldite (Epoxy Resin) holding the bike together.

Some of those are truly hideous. case in point:

http://www.bikelugs.com/gallery/sadoff/fullsize/rocklobster08_fs.jpg

<slinks back out of the 50+ forum with the rest of the youngins'>

So I guess you'd think the lugs on Miss Gulch (my Rivendell Glorius commuting bike) are a bit much, huh?

55991

I've ridden steel but I am afraid that I trust a good Mig welder to join the pipes together. Can remember back to the period when Raleigh were using straight gauge pipes- And using big thick lugs for the critical angles and joining of pipes. The stuff holding the pipes to the lugs was Glue and I went off any form of lug works after that.

Now give me a Mig weld done by an expert and I will be in raptures just looking at it. Every time I look at Lugs- all I can think of is Araldite (Epoxy Resin) holding the bike together.


I'm torn between pitying you and laughing hysterically. Crap is crap, but we're not talking about crap here.

So I guess you'd think the lugs on Miss Gulch (my Rivendell Glorius commuting bike) are a bit much, huh?

http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/47/gloriuslugsez3.jpg

Oooooo that's nice :D

We argue all the time about the ultimate frame material. Truth is there are great bikes made from all sorts of materials. But putting all that aside for a moment, who can look at the lug work of a true artist/craftsman (http://www.bikelugs.com/gallery.html) and not see the beauty?

OMG! I think that my bike is on that site! - I have a custom Peter Mooney frame, look at the photos of the Peter Mooney work on the site, and then compare them to http://www.peter-mooney.com/gall5.htm . My bike is the red and black frame. Those pics were taken before the bike was built up, it now has 3000 miles on it and is still as sweet.

I've ridden steel but I am afraid that I trust a good Mig welder to join the pipes together. Can remember back to the period when Raleigh were using straight gauge pipes- And using big thick lugs for the critical angles and joining of pipes. The stuff holding the pipes to the lugs was Glue and I went off any form of lug works after that.

Now give me a Mig weld done by an expert and I will be in raptures just looking at it. Every time I look at Lugs- all I can think of is Araldite (Epoxy Resin) holding the bike together.

I worry about all those people out there who ride bikes made out of glue and that black dishcloth stuff .....http://img65.imageshack.us/img65/1682/scratchyp1.gifhttp://img62.imageshack.us/img62/1729/nutsip2.gif

I've ridden steel but I am afraid that I trust a good Mig welder to join the pipes together. Can remember back to the period when Raleigh were using straight gauge pipes- ... The stuff holding the pipes to the lugs was Glue and I went off any form of lug works after that.

Now give me a Mig weld done by an expert and I will be in raptures just looking at it. Every time I look at Lugs- all I can think of is Araldite (Epoxy Resin) holding the bike together.

This is the first time I have heard of a steel frame being glued together. All of my lugged steel frames are brazed, generally with silver solder. I have broken a frame tube, a stay, and a bottom bracket shell, but I have never had a brazed joint separate on any frame I have ever ridden.

So I guess you'd think the lugs on Miss Gulch (my Rivendell Glorius commuting bike) are a bit much, huh? ... Nice color scheme. :)

OMG! I think that my bike is on that site! - I have a custom Peter Mooney frame, look at the photos of the Peter Mooney work on the site, and then compare them to http://www.peter-mooney.com/gall5.htm . My bike is the red and black frame. Those pics were taken before the bike was built up, it now has 3000 miles on it and is still as sweet.

It sure looks like the same bike or at least one using the same lugs. I sure would like to see pictures of the built up bike. :)

I've ridden steel but I am afraid that I trust a good Mig welder to join the pipes together. Can remember back to the period when Raleigh were using straight gauge pipes- And using big thick lugs for the critical angles and joining of pipes. The stuff holding the pipes to the lugs was Glue and I went off any form of lug works after that.
Now give me a Mig weld done by an expert and I will be in raptures just looking at it. Every time I look at Lugs- all I can think of is Araldite (Epoxy Resin) holding the bike together.

Are you talking about the Raleigh Technium frames with a mix of aluminum and steel tubes bonded together with steel lugs? What does that have to do with the silver brazing, cast lugs and quality steel used by the craftsmen in these photos.

Best I can tell, those were good bikes, not prone to failure. Trek made an awful lot of bonded aluminum bikes too. Not works of art, but good bikes.

I happen to work at a place where aluminum, titanium and composite structures are bonded using epoxy and other types of adhesives. When these structures are bonded together, they don't come apart. Which is good, since they are control surfaces and other major structures for commercial and military airplanes.

I sure would like to see pictures of the built up bike. :)
Check out http://sourwalled.com/html/mooney.html
Some shots of the bike, and details of the component set, although most of the photos are close-ups, I am a sucker for Lug Porn :-o

I believe that Peter cut the lugs by hand to that shape, and I know of one other bike that he did using the fleur-de-lys style of lug, but it is very different from mine....

So I guess you'd think the lugs on Miss Gulch (my Rivendell Glorius commuting bike) are a bit much, huh?

55991

Not hideous, but a bit much. I like them more understated.

But then again, I'm rarely accused of having too much taste in anything.

Now, the length of that head tube...:D