Originally Posted by
mtnbke
reynolds 531 never really built a good bike to begin with. that tube set has been around since the 1930s. its forgiving of frame building mistakes and poorly aligned and lugged tubes can be bent and forced into shape on the jig.
i have to wonder how much actual, hands-on experience you have building frames with Reynolds 531 tubing. True, it has been around since the 1930s, but it was optimized for brazing and brazing was the primary means of building bike frames well into the 1980s, so there was no compelling reason to change anything.
the good stuff is reynolds 753, 853, 921, 931, and 953. the problem is most frame builders are hacks and can't work with the good stuff. most us frame builders couldn't manage to pass certification to build 753 bikes.
Reynolds 753 is just heat treated 531 tubing, and like 531 is optimized for brazing. The heat treatment means that it is even less tolerant of heat than 531, and must be brazed with silver to retain the properties of the heat treatment. And yes, if you're wondering, I have built frames with Reynolds 753. And 531. And Columbus SL and SP. And Ishiwata 022. And Tange Champion and Prestige. And probably some others I can't recall at the moment.
The newer steels like 853 and the 9nn alloys are optimized for welding rather than brazing as welding has displaced brazing as the primary method of joining bicycle frame tubes. The newer tubes are also available in fashionably larger diameters than traditional tubes. That doesn't make them "better;" it just means they are more appropriate to use than 531 or 753 if you value the oversize tubes and/or intend to weld them.