Originally Posted by Atlas Shrugged

Furthermore, traditional lugged construction inherently stifled innovation in frames. Because builders were bound by standardized tubing and lug angles, experimentation with geometry and tube diameters was severely restricted. TIG welding changed everything, offering unprecedented design flexibility. Once TIG-specific materials, such as tubing with shorter butts, hit the market, the shift became irreversible. This technical evolution was accelerated by market economics: as high-end TIG equipment transitioned from prohibitively expensive to accessible for well-capitalized, artisanal builders, the barrier to entry collapsed. Ultimately, the road market was primed for disruption. For decades, thousands of builders had offered virtually identical products differentiated only by branding. In hindsight, the pantographing era was a desperate attempt to manufacture perceived value and distinction in a fundamentally homogeneous market.