Originally Posted by
mstateglfr
- the frame should be straight and aligned. All brazeons(bottle holders, rack holders, etc) should be properly chased and square for proper fit. The dropouts should be square and the rear wheel should sit in the middle of the rear triangle. The head tube should be on the same plane as the seat tube.
That's about it from a frame perspective. You cant tell if welds are good or bad based just on how they look. If the frame is square, it will ride as nicely as it has the ability to and that's really what is important in the end.
Thank you. This is the answer that gets to what I intended to ask.
Looking at the precision of the welds on my most recent bikes, I'm thinking the frames are welded using an automated process on a line.
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Current bikes: Unknown year Specialized (rigid F & R) Hardrock, '80's era Cannondale police bike; '03 Schwinn mongrel MTB; '03 Specialized Hard Rock (the wife's)
Gone away: '97 Diamondback Topanga SE, '97 Giant ATX 840 project bike; '01 Giant TCR1 SL; and a truckload of miscellaneous bikes used up by the kids and grand-kids
Status quo is the mental bastion of the intellectually lethargic...