So I got this Miele Volta roadie off of e-Bay, and the frame is made from Tange Infinity CroMo double-butten tubing. With most infinity frames, is the whole frame made from this tubing, or did manufacturers cheat with hi-tensile in the rear triangle?

The reason I ask is to ascertain where the damn weight is coming from! Miele's aren't VLWs by any stretch of the imagination, but the previous Miele Latina Road Issue I had until the frame broke was made from Columbus SL, and I don't remember it being nearly this heavy. I assume Infinity and SL are similar in weight...

according to this chart, Infinity was offered as a complete tubeset which included all stays and forkblades. BUT, that doesn't mean a particular builder didn't use just the 3 main tubes and swapped in cheaper hi-ten stuff to save a couple bucks on material. A forthcoming frame would have spelled this out with some kind of "Tretubi" designation on the label, but...
Infinity was a DB Cromo tube but formed and welded, not cold-drawn seamless...however, the technique Tange employed when they made Infinity was very much refined over the old welded tubes used in the bike-boom. You can compare "published" weights between SL and Infinity and draw your own conclusions, but take a grain of salt.

How much does your Miele Volta weigh? I have a top of the line special issue serial number 17 Miele that tips the scales at 22 pounds 11 ounces. For what it is worth, most top dog vintage road bicycle fall into this weight range unless the bicycle is fitted with tubulars.

Generally, I have found that the best Miele frame sets include Columbus SL and Campagnolo drops. Anything else is less that the top of the line offering from good old Jim. And once you get into the lesser bikes, you also get into lesser components which will add weight to the bicycle.

I offer this as an opinion only but I have honestly taken to weighing all of my bicycles these days. If you can, take a moment to actually get the weight of your bicycle. My guess is that it will tip the scales at 24 pounds plus a wee bit.

I have a Nishiki that's made with Tange Infinity, and it's one of the lighter frame/fork combinations that I've run across -- and that includes several Reynolds 531 frame/fork numbers, Trek 531 frame/Ishiwata fork/stays, etc. Not quite as light as a Columbus SL Motobecane, or SLX Guerciotti, but doesn't miss by much. The fork (Tange) of this Nishiki is also of a weight that compares favorably with any of them.

I've got an '87 Centurion sport dlx with a Tange infinity frame...the fork is high ten though and the components are all sis. It weighs a whopping 26 pounds (without the reflectors and kickstand) so I feel your pain. It's been relegated to spin duty.

This could be the case with my frameset. Perhaps the fork is Hi-ten, although there's no way to discern such a characteristic, as would be possible with the helical ridges in SL. There's certainly no tubing badge on the fork...

Components are 7-speed exage 300EX. What's funny is that everything is in almost mint condition. I can only assume the bike was purchased and ridden for less than a season and subsequently stored in a basement.

Thinking about it, there are hints that this frame IS infinity throughout. The rear brake bridge takes a recessed nut, and the rear dropouts are forged, not stamped. The opposite would be expected out of a frame where they cheaped out on the rear tubing, no?

Kergin,

Look in the chainstays when you tear down the bottom bracket. A flashlight should show the welded seams if the stays are hi-tensile or you can feel them with your finger. The steerer tube will be the same. If a straight seam runs top to bottom, the steel is hi-tensile. Some manufacturers used spiral or grooved tubing but the welded seam is straight.

You can always pull the fork. Most of the Tange forks I have seen are marked on the steering tube.

But I would guess your weight is more about the components and wheels. I bought an $8 digital hanging scale off ebay, and it works well for weighing bikes. My Tange 1 Champion Lotus weighs in at 21 pounds.

Infinity is, in fact, seamed tubing, even though double-butted and pretty high quality (IMO); so a welded seam would be found anywhere you look. The Nishiki I've mentioned has the seam clearly visible in the seat tube, though it's more visible than palpable. The steerer tube (Tange) doesn't appear to be seamed, FWIW.

Soma makes two modern day frames out of Tange Infinity and they weigh in the 4.5 - 5 pound range with forks, if that's any help.

I feel good after reading that chart for my old Australian Ricardo Elite. Made from Tange 5 Seamless PG tubing, the 57cm frame weighed in at 2220g, lighter than the chart. The forls where a respectable 700g on the nose. As for the Tange Infinty tubed frame, I think you will find, as stated by others, that the weight is in the components and the frame itself is worthy of chucking on some decent components to lighten it up.

My 58cm Tange Infinity Lemans RS with a Mangaloy fork, alloy Weinmanns, everything else stock, was 24.2 lbs.