Originally Posted by
TugaDude
Is that frame completely chromed under the paint? I had a red one that was. Paint was beginning to flake all over. Sold it, but thought briefly about stripping it to see if the chrome was presentable. I like the yellow color and I'll bet it will ride very well.
Chroming complete frames was pretty common until the mid '90s when for cost and hazard reasons it was phased out. Only the areas of the frame meant to be seen had the nice shiny 'show chrome' where the tubes were highly polished the rest of the frame was left rough so the primer and paint would adhere to the frame better. The chromeing was done to protect the frame and it was also thought it helped make it slightly stiffer, from the whole electro chemical process.
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“One morning you wake up, the girl is gone, the bikes are gone, all that's left behind is a pair of old tires and a tube of tubular glue, all squeezed out"
Sugar "Kane" Kowalczyk