Bolt on seat stays, why?
06-04-21, 04:01 PM
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Bolt on seat stays, why?
This video shows the manufacturing of a bicycle in 1945.
At roughly 14:55, the seat stays are bolted onto the otherwise finished frame. This is something I've always been curious about. Why did it make sense to build up the bike with separate seat stays, when they could simply be an integral part of the frame? Was it to avoid some kind of alignment issue? I don't doubt that they thought very hard about making a manufacturable bike, so there must be some rhyme and reason.
At roughly 14:55, the seat stays are bolted onto the otherwise finished frame. This is something I've always been curious about. Why did it make sense to build up the bike with separate seat stays, when they could simply be an integral part of the frame? Was it to avoid some kind of alignment issue? I don't doubt that they thought very hard about making a manufacturable bike, so there must be some rhyme and reason.
06-04-21, 06:11 PM
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So they could install chains without having to close them while installed on the bike or to remove/replace them later? It might be easier to peen all of the rivets at one station while building the chain up instead of leaving one for later. Manufacturability.
06-04-21, 06:55 PM
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The film seems to be a patchwork. At 5:29 it shows the brazed frames with seat stays being dunked in a tank, then later shows seat stays being bolted on. My guess is the bolted-on seat stays were for a cheaper line of bikes. Clips of film were spliced together with the intent to show the process of making a bike, but it's not quite coherent. The editor should be fired.
06-04-21, 06:56 PM
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The rear end of a common bike frame is a 3D triangulated structure. As long as the end points are fixed in position the joining method is secondary. Andy
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06-04-21, 07:02 PM
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Bikes are okay, I guess.
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Raleigh Tourist DL-1 is the best known example of this type frame construction. You also get rod brakes and 28" (635mm) wheels. I briefly owned the one pictured.
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06-04-21, 11:18 PM
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The puzzle for me is that the frame is already going into an oven for brazing, so it would seem to make sense to do the seat stays at the same time.
06-05-21, 02:16 AM
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Haven’t seen any where the seat stays were bolted at both ends. But over here it’s quite common to find bikes where the top end of the seat stays are held on by the seat post clamp.
06-05-21, 03:33 AM
#10
elcraft
With a removable seat stay, one can fit a fully enclosed chain guard. While some chain guards have a removable section in the rear, there were also types the were only two piece construction; an inner and outer halves.
