EDIT: I can't believe I spelled "there" as "their". Shame on me!

Here is what I don't understand. Take a look at post #2 in this BF thread:Reynolds 725 Tubing. Quality stuff?

Look at the chart of available Reynolds 725 tubes. Now 725 is essentially the same as the much-ballyhooed 753 of yesteryear, heat treated basic tubing that ends up with about a 1/3 increase in strength compared to the starting CrMo tubing it is made from. The difference is that 725 starts with 525 CrMo whereas 753 started with 531 MnMo tubing. But very much the same result.

Notice that the array of tubes that are offered are essentially the same as what has always been available in 525 and 531 tubes, i.e. no especially thin, light tubes. Where are the really thin tubes? The 0.8/0.5/0.8 tubes were always available in plain 531 (and Columbus as well) as the SL version, so that is no big weight improvement. Only one or two tubes out of a long list for each type is thinner than normal like 0.7/0.4/0.7.

Why go to the trouble of increasing the strength over CrMo if you aren't going to make lighter tubes out of the improved material? The two steel versions in the same tube specification will ride exactly the same, so what is the point of the higher strength steel. I am pretty sure if you had a similar chart for 831, you would see much the same thing. I know I have seen catalogs from tube suppliers that bear out that fact for 831.

My point is this. All the folks riding 831 and going on and on about how magical it is might be a victim of the emperor's new clothes syndrome. Unless they know for sure they are riding especially specified light gauge tubes, it is highly likely their bikes aren't any different than if they were made from 531C or 531SL tubes. Big whoop.

And even if the lighter tubes are used in a bike, why are so many more standard tubes offered than the lighter ones. If you don't need the extra strength, shouldn't you just use 525 for a standard tube and save the money?

Funny thing is, I would love to be wrong about this, but I can't figure out how that would be the case. Anyone?