Originally Posted by Wavshrdr
Not to descend too far into the hell this thread has become...
Dante would be pleased.
but from an engineering perspective if can quite successfully be argued that the curved top tube is an arc; one of the strongest structures in engineering. Why do you think we have arches? In a bike frame it will better resist torsional loads on it since it is one piece.
What about a truss frame?
What about a solid arc that has no hinge in the frame at all?
It could also be argued that the curve in the top tube is there for functional reason to more closely follow the curve of the rear tire when folded.
That was pretty freakin' ingenious.