i guess i was thrown off by the texture of the brazing in the unpainted frame pic

My 1993 Bridgestone MB-3
[IMG]http://i403.photobucket.com/albums/p...Picture027.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i403.photobucket.com/albums/p...wood57/CC5.jpg[/IMG]

There is actually a technique with your regular brazing torch that uses special filler rod (silicon bronze), to lay down weld-like beads. It is often referred to as bronze welding. Here's a cool video of an Ariel Atom frame being build with that style of joining. You can also use this with a TIG torch a source of heat. The advantage is apparently very low distortion, because the heat is very localized and a little lower than with regular welding, because the parent metal isn't melted, just heated to a dull red heat. Furthermore, it's super versatile, even on odd things like stainless steels and all kinds of weird bronzes, and joining dissimilar metals is easy too, or so they say. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlLV0P6uGDw

I stand corrected! Very cool, that looks like the Univega welding to me. Looks like it produces some nice results.

i still wonder if my bike was normal "tig" or bronze welded.. guess i can't tell from the welds alone

I found just like that in the trash. It was basically in the same condition yours was. I stripped it and wound up trashing everything but the frame/fork/stem. Now to put it together. Remember they have a 26.0 seatpost.

Very nice bike. I love those early MTB's.

Those first TIG'd frames might not have had the benefit of the advanced, automated welding systems that came later, and/or might have been the first to be produced by the first TIG robots on a necessarily more-limited scale.

Also, the thicker-butted tubing which enabled a lightweight TIG'd frame might have been much more expensive at first.

Those Cimmarons imo are one of the best-looking frames that ever was made on a production line.
I sold the only one I ever found to a smaller rider who could fit it, but still hope to find one in my size some day.

Same here. I'll have to look it up, and see if it even came in my size. Loved mine, but it was way too small.

Talking to a seller on CL and he sends me this in an email

:eek:

The 85 catalog says they came in 18", 21", and 23".

I'm really enjoying the way mine is built up now. The only things I'm not crazy about are the really slack geometry (70/70) and the really long top tube. I've been looking for a suitable frame to upgrade to with slightly steeper angles but I haven't found anything yet. I'm using a short/tall stem to deal with the top tube length and I have my saddle placed pretty forward on the rails to effectively steepen the seat tube angle. It may look kind of weird but it's really comfortable for me.

I recently swapped the 175 xt crank out for a 170 Deore II and it helped alleviate some knee pain I was having on longer rides. I think my knees were flexing too much with the longer cranks.

I rode it on an overnight camping trip this weekend and it worked great. It actually seems to handle better with some front panniers. I used to not care too much about lowrider braze-ons, but these ones work perfectly with my Blackburn FL-1 rack. Just four quick allen bolts to pop it on or off.


http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8248/8...74445171_b.jpg

23 may be okay, long as I don't mind a great dealo seatpost.

I'm excited.. just sent he the money for two vintage mtb wheelsets, both with XT hubs and one with RM-17 rims, the other with RM-20.. both should be lighter than the current wheel sets on my jamis and univega.. w00t:thumb: the RM-17s came off a Stumpjumper, the RM-20s off a Ritchey Mt Tam

Cool score Frantik:thumb:

Our of curiosity how much did you pay for the rm20's? I just picked up an old MTB that has RM20's just wondering how rare they are and what they are worth. I thought they were REALLY nice for being an older rim...very lightweight almost as light as my FSA's I have on my 2011 Diamondback.

I was working out at the main shop today and after I got all my tube prep done went out to the back and brought home 2 custom built Arvon mtb frames... they were built in 1988 and are some filet brazed masterpieces with graceful flowing lines, internal cable routing, and bikes that a Trek representative said "were what they wished their bikes should be".

Haven't had time to take proper pics and have to knock 25 years of shop dust off them before I do that...

:)

i paid $140 shipped for both sets. I would say that is the high end of what you would be able to get, and only from crazy people like me :lol: that seller had the wheels listed for a while and i finally decided to pull the trigger once i got the Dakar and realized the wheels weren't stock.

Pics... some filet brazed goodness.

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...mtb%20(17).JPG

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...mtb%20(15).JPG

Internal cable routing...

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...mtb%20(13).JPG

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...mtb%20(12).JPG

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...emtb%20(4).JPG

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...emtb%20(3).JPG

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...emtb%20(8).JPG

Thinking these will look great with custom stems, hubs, and forks... the purple frame would make a beautiful all rounder / city bike methinks.

Those are hot!

i want the green and pink one! awesome frames

+1

+ infinity! Love the green -> magenta fade one especially

Thats just cool as hell!

Wish I had the means to build frames. I'd love to do cable routing like that. Just looks so clean and I bet they operate better to boot.

Wow, and Yeow !
Beautiful.
What welds?

I wish my dang income tax refund would hurry up. Trying to score a never built Koga Miyata frame. It's cheap too!!,,,,BD