I've been continuing my search for a new frame. I came upon Torelli Corsa Strada, Carrera Delphino and TET Cycles(thron tubeset available) all for under 1000 with a fork. All three are made of Thron tubing. I currently ride SL (steel) and figure that Thron is a step up both in lightness and strength. Does anyone ride one of these frames or any Thron frame by another maker? I'd be very interested in your opinion.

Thanks,
BobD

How it comares to SL depends on if it's oversize or not. Oversize is a tiny step up, with respect to butting,but thron is just plain old cromo,so no advantahe there. There may not even be a notable weight difference. You keep trying to relate minor variations in alloy or tubeset with 'ride' and it's just mental ************. I have relatively lower end steel and some very good stuff. Biggest difference everything else being equal is weight. My Serotta SCi does seem to be a cut above the others but I duno if that is tubing or 'Bens Magic'.

I have a Torelli Gran Sasso with Thron. It's a nice ride but not quite as lite a bike overall as my Bianchi Trofeo which has Dedaccai (sp). Suggest you ride a built up bike if possible. My onlly criticism of the Torelli is the very narrow fork which creates clearance issues when mounting fenders although there are eyelets for the stays. Given your $ target, you might want to check around Torelli Dealers in your area & see if they have a clearance Brianza or Gran Sasso with one of the Daytona/Centaur groups as they were selling for the same price as the Mirage equipped models. I got mine for $1250 & they threw in a SS bottle holder & 1/2 off on a Torelli Jersey. Don

Columbus Thron is your basic, garden variety double butted 4130 Cro-Mo tubeset. It's cheap, heavy as sin, but does the job. If you're into spending 1000 on a frame and fork, I'd be looking at Columbus Zona though. It's the same weight as Thron per volume, but it's 20% stronger so you can use much less of it. A frame made out of Zona should also be about 15-20% lighter than Thron, too. ( depending on design ) I can do a powdercoated Thylacine Tephra Zona for USD850 - many other smaller companies also offer similar frames.

Why not just continue with the SL frame. In my experience it provides a quality ride, similar to Reynolds 531, and if it is lugged, so you could get a really cool paint job (Contrasting lugs and tubes, pinstripping, etc) / even if it's not you should consider getting it repainted. Add a carbon fork to lighten up the whole package and provide an even nicer ride. These couple of changes, even if you have to get a new headset & stem, would be much less expensive and better than spending money on a lower quality, heavier frame. Good luck!

yeah, thron is actually a step below sl, basically columbus' version of good old generic cro-moly. sl and slx added vanadium to the cro-moly.

Thanks for all the input. I thought that Thron was better than SL. So if Thron is a lower quality steel than SL, how does Brain tubing compare to SL and Thron? I'm just trying to get a handle on these tubesets so I don't take a step back.

Thanks

also, someone mentioned painting my current SL frame. I would but I think it may be a bit too rusted out in the BB and TT.

I bet that really makes a big difference, assuming it's even valid.My reference doesn't list any vanadium in it.More important is the diameter and butting.

Note that Thron is way down the list with Gara

https://www.ceeway.com/Columbus-Tubing.htm

https://www.kvanproductions.com/cycling/Brain.htm

Brain is below SL and just above Thron and Gara. I think it's a mix of SL type steel and the cheap stuff

It's mostly mental ************. SL was just the old school columbus standard diameter tubing.Thron and Brain are just newer versions and the bigger difference is they are available in oversize and butted a bit thinner. Brain in either standad or oversize is a bit lighter than thron because of the shorter thinner butts.Thron is listed as cromo, Brain as Cyclex/cromo. Cyclex means it probbly has a few molecules of some additional fariry dust and it's a bit stronger.On paper, brain is the 'better stuff'. But as RG is so fond of saying do you ride 'stuff' or a frame?

I duno where you get that. The main tubes are cyclex and the stays are cromo. If you think that makes a significant difference,pass me the bong.

well yes, but the composition of the tubes also plays a part, as the tensile strength is greater in better tubing, meaning you can draw a thinner wall-thickness tube which is still as strong or stronger than generic cro-moly. equal or greater strength for less weight.

increasing the tube diameter allows an even thinner tube, while maintaining the strength. it's all related, and everything has its part to play.

Well yeah, but thron is 113 ksi and cyclex(SL) is 127 ksi. Not enough to really matter.Besides, SL was standard diameter and butted .6/.9. Thron oversize is .5/8 and .6/.9 . Brain oversize is .5/.8 in the main triangle and a lighter tubeset than either. Now if you want to talk about BETTER stuff in the nivacrom or foco range of 170 to 200+ksi,then there is a difference worth mentioning.