Originally Posted by
Winfried
Brompton seems to use HiTen steel, and I guess it's brazing not welding.
I would suspect chromemoly which would have superior strength/weight ration compared to HiTen. You can weld chromemoly, if you are willing to heat treat the whole frame afterwards. Otherwise, the steel in the heat-affected zone ends up being either too hard and brittle and/or too soft and weak. Neither good for bicycles. Which is why they use brazing, which is lower temperature and doesn't cause changes in metal temper.