Originally Posted by
bargainguy
There was a company called Vari-Wall that worked with Alcoa in the late 80's to produce butted alu frame tubing for both Schwinn & Klein.
I knew that Klein was one of the few fore-running bicycle companies in aluminum research and production, but I didn't know they used the Alcoa. Raleigh USA and TREK probably shared notes (and tubes?), both being located in Kent, WA. The employees of both companies would meet for lunchtime rides, which seemed more competitive than casual.