Originally Posted by
canam73
This?
Looks like a repair to me. I would rather the weld follow the actual joint. I had an old Schwinn with better integrated welds than that:
I've been to a Specialized shop and seen those welds in person. They are fugly.
However, there is an article in Road Bike Action magazine this month about Levi Leipheimer's King Ridge GranFondo. The 3-time winner of the race, Neil Shirley, won this year's edition on an S-Works Allez.
He could have ridden any carbon bike, but won it on aluminum. All about the engine, I guess, but just goes to show that alu is still viable and far from antiquated.
Great review of the alu Domane and Synapse in the issue, as well.
I think that gloss paint works better with the cosmetics of the Smart Weld, but they do still look like scars.
S