dweenk

Looking around my garage, I see 4 bikes constructed of Hi-Ten tubing. I ride them all and really can't see why they are looked down upon. Yes, they are heavier, but they are all comfortable riders.

I ride them where I would not ride my better bikes -in town, in the woods, on snow/ice/mud/sand, or where I fear it may be stolen. In short - they have more value by having less value.

Your thoughts?

cb400bill

You mostly answered your own question. They tend to be looked down upon because of their heavier weight. That, and they tend to be equipped with lower grade components.

That being said, they can be wonderful riding bikes.

auchencrow

They're not looked down upon. At least not by yours truly. I have a slew of bikes with famous-label tubing, but my high-ten bikes always put a smile on my face.

My Moto GT (below), along with my UE8, Ganna and Raleigh GP's are among my favorites.

fietsbob

the higher strength steels let you use less , to be as strong ..

But the Thicker wall High Ten is a lot easier to use in a Robo-brazing jig

to make a lot of bikes , and keep the price down ..

dddd

No doubt that a lot of great bikes are made of 1024 or Hi-Ten. My Miyata 610 tourer has a 1024 fork and it has endured hundreds of mtb rides on technical trails.

michael k

This thread needs more pics!

jimmuller 

I don't exactly know if this is hi-ten or lo-ten or perhaps middle-ten or lo-eleven or even hi-nine, but it is still serving me well after over 40 years. From this past year's commute:

dddd

I see that the death stem is still in the game! We need an appreciation thread for those, too!

Standalone 

Me-n-my "1020 steel" Panasonic DX2000. Butted hi-tensile! These were 26lbs factory fresh in '81. Well, maybe not my 66cm!

Here we are at a Massachusetts State Park campground up in the hills after I rode the 85 miles there and changed clothes.

Miles 75-85 in the foothills were pretty tough going.... but I don't think a 531 frame would have made a lick of difference! Still have the smile on my face!

Standalone 

Hi-Ten =/= "Gas Pipe"

jimmuller 

Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated. - Mark Twain
That's cool, Stand. Did you camp there and did you carry your camping gear those 85 miles? If so, then definitely the difference between a hi-10 and 532 frame wouldn't have made any difference!

Standalone 

No, I had a large Sub and some cliff bars. And a water bottle whose clamps broke about 30 miles into the ride on a hot day....



Wife had the kids, tent, and gear in the car. I just rode up to meet them. My tourers are 531 and "Raleigh 555", which is rebranded 501, I think.

I used to do MS 150s on my mother's '73 Atala when I was 12 -- a classic bike boom gas pipe frame. Cottered steel cranks, too!

Here it is after long neglect awaiting resurrection...




EDIT: the real achievement of that Panasonic was a Century ride in 6h10m with 4400 feet of climbing-- and that includes a bonk at mile 95. This was in 2010. I rode to the start, left 20 mins late and passed the lead group without realizing it. Was first though the 50 mile mark. Not correct efficient "race" technique, but the frame is not what holds a decent bike back. The carbon guys all passed me at the end, but it was an awesome ride.

FBinNY 

Hi-ten is strictly a marketing term created by shortening High Tensile (strength) steel. It dosn't mean anything in particular, though it implies that it's somehow stronger than Lo-Ten.

Generally this is used when frames are made of alloy steels such as Chrome Moly, vs. plain carbon, or low alloy steels. Nothing wronr with it at all, except that it won't have the strength/weight ratio premium tubing, nor it is likely to be butted. (if it is it will say so).

Standalone 

Well, yes, in the sense that CrMo and Chromolly and Magnalloy and so on are marketing terms for chrome/molybdenum and other steel alloys.

I think readers of this thread know what Hi-Ten stands for.

Tensile strength is one of the ways to describe the strength of steel. So it is exactly what makes the difference among steels -- it very much means something in particuler. I'm no metallurgist but here is some ad copy from reynolds showing the tensile strength in PSI and Newtons per square mm.



I think there can be a big difference between on one hand cheapo cruisers, boat anchor three speeds and cheapest of the old department store "ten speeds," and on the other, some of the Hi Ten bikes out there.

Here in C&V, Hi-ten and gaspipe are often used interchangeably. I think we miss out on appreciating a whole bunch of nice mid-grade bikes that way. Those hi-ten swaged crankset 12 speeds and such are often pretty nice rides available for cheap, and isn't that the point for many of us?

FBinNY 

Not quite. Chrome Moly, and Magnalloy are actual classes of steel as defined by the alloying elements. Granted the category is broad, as is stainless steel, but the terms have actual definitions, and it would be possible to hold one to standards or accuse them of false advertizing.

Not so with Hi-Ten, which is a purely marketing term and has no more meaning than Strong, or heat treated, high srength alloy, or any other buzzword one may wish to apply.

Granted, many of these terms are stuck to frames purely as buzzwords, but some have actual definitions while others don't.

Standalone 

I see what you mean, but my point is that the word "tensile" is an important measure of steel strength for bicycle applications, and has more meaning than most marketing terms. For the purposes of this thread, I'd rather focus on what is good about it. Some perfectly nice and lightweight bikes were made from it.

Some real dogs were, too, to be sure.

JJScaliger

+1

I love the look, but I've never had one fail!

FBinNY 

The problem is that since it was an undefined marketing term, it had no meaning, and anybody so inclined could make up a sticker and put it on a frame.

dddd

It could well be that the "dogs" like Murray Phoenix, for all of their basic goodness, were built of steel that was comparatively "low" tensile.

But they wouldn't want to put that label on their bikes, lol.

But when the straight-guage tubing was going to be electric welded, and thus have it's plain wall thickness right at the edge of a weld, perhaps there would be no point in the tubing having ever been drawn to a "higher" tensile strength, as all cold-worked mechanical properties would be lost to the welding heat.

One good joke is how Huffy took plain steel, alloyed it with perhaps .0001% titanium, and called it "titanium alloy", then built and sold the same old $89 bike with the "titanium" marketing plastered all over it. More likely, they simply credited the trace amounts of titanium found in all steel to label it "titanium alloy".

BTW, I had a good, heavy Sekai 500 that proclaimed double-butted hi-tensile tubing on the sticker. Probably Tange tubing, 1020 or similar.
I say it was a good bike because in the end I was able to trade it for a nice motorcycle. It had nice, shiny chromed rims on hi-flange hubs and featured a most layed-back frame geometry.

FBinNY 

You mean the same way most steel mountain bikes were built over the last 30 years?

Actually, most low end USA built steel bikes weren't welded, they were brazed, butt joints. This was obvious when the joint failed and the brass showed out.

Schwinns were unique inn having welded joints, and these were properly engineered and rarely failed -- though the frames weighed a ton.



One good joke is how Huffy took plain steel, alloyed it with perhaps .0001% titanium, and called it "titanium alloy", then built and sold the same old $89 bike with the "titanium" marketing plastered all over it.

BTW, I had a good, heavy Sekai 500 that proclaimed double-butted hi-tensile tubing on the sticker. Probably Tange tubing, 1020 or similar.
I say it was a good bike because in the end I was able to trade it for a nice motorcycle. It had nice, shiny chromed rims on hi-flange hubs and featured a most layed-back frame geometry.[/QUOTE]

FastJake

I thought the point was to spend all your money on the most expensive bike you can afford and then look down on everyone else

Some people are like that, but it's nice to see a thread like this with appreciation for the less respected bikes out there.

seedsbelize 

I've ridden many more centuries on this bike than on all of the rest combined. At the moment, however,it is hanging as a frameset awaiting its next incarnation.
Femco 1207

Michael Angelo 

My Schwinn LeTour. Since this picture, it now sports a Small Acorn Saddle bag.

LesterOfPuppets

This Hi-Ten Free Spirit is the most comfortable road bike I've ever ridden.





Free Spirit Sunbird by Lester Luallin, on Flickr

auchencrow

I once trash-picked a minty boy's Huffy MTB with the store tag still on it from the neighbor's trash, rebuilt and lubed it up, and sold it for a cool $25... It was labeled "Titanium-Boron Steel". It weighed a ton. I was perplexed about that.