What made 531 ST great IMO for touring was it had butted wall thicknesses as great as 1.2/.9/1.2 . It was plenty stiff enough for a heavy load and it wouldn't dent if the bike fell over or fold up from a minor crash. They still make 531 DB. But from what I'm told they are only making limited runs now in .9/.6/.9 wall. Used to be you could buy the tubes off the shelf, now you have to buy mininum quanities and Reynolds no longer has a USA based distributor so you pay shipping from GB.
It is very difficult if not impossible to find butted tubing in the standard frame sizes( 1.0, 1.125, 1.250) with butts thicker than .9/.6/.9 and even that thickness is becoming increasingly difficult to find. when I built the current frame I ride last spring I had to buy straight gauge 4130N to get more durable tubing.
Last edited by Cyclist0094; 12-03-03 at 03:53 PM.