Trading ?

My SL for an identical frame in SLX ? In the long term it would cost only the time to clean and swap everything between the bikes.

Thanks

Maybe a winter project, but not something to rush towards. If you like your current SL frame, you might get the swap done and find the SLX has been ridden harder or assembled on a Friday, or the phase of the moon was so and so, and it may not ride like your current bike. Then again, it may be your dream ride. Only way to know is try it out but it's not that much of an upgrade, and since it's probably at least 35 years old, age and wear may make much more of a difference.
Phil

SLX was supposed to be a little stiffer; it was really good at jacking up the price point.
The same models were sometimes offered in SL and SLX, with the more expensive versions frequently including more chrome and nicer saddle/wheels/paint.
I anticipate you wouldn't notice any difference in ride quality.

SLX has helical ribbing in crown end of the steer tube and the bottom bracket ends of the chainstays, seat and down tubes; SL only has the helical ribbing at the crown end of the steer tube. Supposedly, this makes SLX stiffer, although I've never been able to tell the difference. But I'm not the heaviest or most aggressive rider, so YMMV.

No human can tell the difference. It is pure snake oil. Adding the same amount of metal evenly all around the tube would make the tube slightly stiffer than what those ribs can do, and this can be proven mathematically or empirically. But either way the difference is too tiny to matter.

I would never own an SLX frame myself, because knowing what a crock of bull it is would bother me any time I thought about it.
SL is the same weight and stiffness, for all intents and purposes, and more honest. I don't care that it's less expensive; I'd pay more for SL. I just like it because its engineering is correct, not designed by some marketing hack.

I've had bikes in SL and SLX in the fleet at the same time, both frames from the same Italian builder. To be frank, I can't tell the difference on the road. If the SL fits and you like it, seems like work for no gain in the ride experience.

I cracked my Bianchi SL frame in 1988 I think. They eventually warrantied it with an SLX frame, and apologized for it being slightly heavier.

I was just grateful to have a rideable bike again. I didn't notice the weight difference.

way way back when SLX arrived, the improvement for me was that it reduced distortion of the tube at brazed on front mech tabs, when those moved to investment cast bits that wrapped around the tube, the real reason to be was diminished.

That is where my SL frame cracked. So the SLX was an upgrade (I still have it).

Yes.

But it is ribbed, for your pleasure.

I assume the point of helical ribs is that they allow you to get the usual .3mm stepped mandrel past a heavier section than normal while still stiffening the butts.

It seems like whether they stiffen the tubing or not is something anyone with an engineering modeling program could tell you. But increasing the wall thickness from .9 to 1.25 at the ribs can't have zero effect. The diagram suggests they are about 40% of the circumference. But maybe butting is a scam as well?


The SLX frame is more "valuable" of the two.

Add an X, collect the coin.

If I was a clydesdale (200lbs+) and laying down serious power, I might be interested in a frame that would be more resilient. Neither are true for me.

Isnʻt that was SP/SPX is for?

Still, some will care whether it makes a difference for them or not. Do with this what you will.

What are "front mech tabs", please ? Wrapped around the tube ? My decaying brain doesn't recognize that term.
Thanks

AKA Front derailleur braze on mount.

Yeah, Derailleur braze on. I'm just not rocking the latest slang.

the initial design as supplied by Campagnolo when the braze on front mechanism was introduced was stamped. Soon enough there were investment cast versions that extended the attachment surface farther around the tube's circumference. A Superior design. When Those were in reasonably wide distribution, Campagnolo dropped supplying the stamped mount with the derailleur.

should note that Shimano supplied an investment cast attachment part with the EX era AX front mech. it was an orphan and not compatible with the Campagnolo scheme.

I missed the memo where derailleurs = mech . The world is just a constant source of shifting reality. I guess that I need to stay in more.

Careful, or you might encounter the terms "chainwheel" or "seat pin".

And "sprints" for sew-ups/tubulars, and so on.

"Mech," and "chainset," and the rest of those terms were confusing to me when I bought my first book on bike racing in 1964, published in Great Britain. I particularly remember from the section on nutrition, which informed me that I should be eating Oxo, Marmite, or Bovril at every opportunity.

I have to admit that over the last 45-50 years I have never personally heard anyone refer to a derailleur as a "mech". And that includes the several years I spent as a lbs owner.
Funny old world, ain't it ?

I'll try to keep up in the future

It's the British again, coming up with their own terms......
in addition to "mech" they also say "Campag", instead of "Campy".
I think they also came up with "seat pin" instead of "seatpost"??

SLX framesets are definitely heavier than SL framests. I found that our with my Pinarello Montello.
I had a hard time approaching a sub 20 pound build weight on it, while my SL bikes easily hit weights of 19 pounds. I do feel thfeel Montello feels stiffer thsn my SL framed bikes. Not by much, but it is certainly there. It just feels more solid under me, than all of my non-SLX framed, steel bikes. Just like how an older Kercedes feels, compared to most other cars.

The difference at the catalogue between SL and SLX tubesets was 41 grams, less than a tenth of a pound.

The tubesets are 40grams different. If the SLX bike is a pound heavier it is due to something else.

Paint perhaps?

I stripped one of my Batavus frames and it was 65 grams or so lighter afterwards. It looked like a very thin coat, I can imagine a thicker coat being twice the weight.

F.w.i.w. my SLX frames are all grouped around the 2000 gram mark where my SL frames vary from well below 1800 to just over 1900 grams.