Originally Posted by
uncle uncle
To add to the original posters question, why did chromo become so available and affordable in the 1980's? It seems that chromo made inroads to a level of bicycles just a step above entry level. Was it just the competition between the various bicycle companies? Did it become the buzzword for the market at that time, something a novice bicycle purchaser would recognize as a "quality" product?
Excellent point there about chromo in frames just above entry level.
Was it only in the 1980s that chromoly became widely used in frames that were less than top of the line? I remember reading about tubing like Columbus SL, Ishiwata and Tange No.2 towards the end of the 70s, but can't remember if they were only in high end frames. Did tube manufacturing technology advance by the mid-70s to bring costs down to a level that it was cost-effective for use in mass-produced frames for a mid-level market?
I have a Fuji Finest with a serial number and other clues such as the fork crown which dates it to 1971. The label on the seatpost says 'Chrome Moly" and I think that at that time the Finest was not the top line Fuji (in their entire line, not just the US market), maybe a step or two down.
Thank you all for for your responses. This is becoming very interesting reading indeed.
