Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 9,797
Likes: 1,761
From: Northern California
Bikes: Cheltenham-Pedersen racer, Boulder F/S Paris-Roubaix, Varsity racer, '52 Christophe, '62 Continental, '92 Merckx, '75 Limongi, '76 Presto, '72 Gitane SC, '71 Schwinn SS, etc.
I wouldn't work on a bike with such vulnerable plastic parts carrying the braking load, er, pressure. Aging would make the braking system dangerous.
As for the seamed tubing failures that RS suffered, seems (no pun intended) that it came down to a particular product perhaps not meeting the normal interpretation of it's specified strength.
So yes, the seam had something to do with it, but in the end, the product needs to be accurately described using specifications that don't over-rate the product within the intended usage.
And although it of course becomes tricky to specify tubing strength when a seam line deviates from the material specification of the tubing, so more-conservative ratings may need to be applied. Perhaps Tru-Temper didn't do this with the particular tubing that RS was using.
Last edited by dddd; 08-07-14 at 06:53 PM.