thunderworks

rpenmanparker . . . I like this thread. It's interesting, but maybe for different reasons (to me at least) than what you intended when you started it. I don't have any expertise to comment structurally on whether one type of weld is functionally superior to another. But as I commented in the other thread, I think the weld can be indicative of "thoughtful" and conscientious craft work. You rhetorically ask whether that's important - in our cars, or in a framed wall in our house - and of course we typically don't pay attention to either. But I think the reason it rises to a more interesting level of discussion when the topic is bikes, is because bikes are a discretionary item, that many of us are involved with as some type of lifestyle statement. We choose our bikes for functional reasons, but also for less tangible reasons. How the bike looks is part of the "hook" for our involvement. Because Ti bikes are generally handcrafted, we want them to reflect the hand of man . . . we hope that the bike reflects something of value beyond mere functionality.

I'm a furniture maker. I try to pay attention to details. I want the details I produce to reflect positively on the attitude I bring to the process of building. The piece ultimately becomes a reflection of my work process which pours out of me. It is just an ego thing? I don't think so, although the ego of the builder is certainly involved. Bikes are to some extent, like the furniture I build and sell. They are purchased by people who want more than mere functionality. They want it to reflect something personal. Whether it's Moots, Lynskey, Baum, or any one of the other fabulous builders, the buyer finds something to value in the frame. The welds are simply the easiest visual reference point for the meticulous crafting of the bike (as art)