deathhare

Trying to find more info on this tubing, like how often it is/was used. I know its an expensive upgrade when ordering an NJS frame but thats about all ive found out.
I have a frameset im going be moving soon and it was built with 753. Any insight would be great. Thanks alot.

pic

TNCLR

Reynolds 753

deathhare

Thanks, yeah, ive just seen that. Its pretty informative.

popluhv

Where can I buy a trach frame?

TNCLR

It sounds like their pretty picky about who they sell it to. Could explain the additional costs. It doesn't sound too common that's for sure.

headlessspider

which means that whoever made the frame was certfied by reynolds.

deathhare

Yeah thats what i was thinking too. Sounds like not many people are allowed to use this tubing. Thats kinda cool.
Its a Makino frame.

mrwhite

got two tube sets of it here, 753 and 531, straight from reynolds. 753 is designed for light riders. You need to be an accomplished builder to work with it due to it's qualities.

exfreewheeler

at a trach store

Ceya

You need to be certified to build with Reynolds tubing. You build a frame with the tubeset and Reynolds inspect it. Its yeah or nay. This what was explain to me years ago.

Most Keirin builders would get a yeah due the fact they are ceritifed already by NJS/Keirin Assocation.


You can try buying from a builder.
S/F,
CEYA!

onetwentyeight 

The following article is copied from a March 11,1983 issue of Velonews reporting on the NYC International Cycle Show of that year. (woo google!)

"Too-tough tubing"

Have you ever heard that a frame made of Reynolds 753 tubing can't be "cold set" (i.e.bent back into alignment after being twisted in a crash)? Is it true? If so, how come? We asked TI Reynolds Show representative TOM FIELD.

"No way" is now Field described the chance of cold setting 753. "You just can't budge it at all. In fact, once it's jigged and brazed you just can't change it. It must be perfectly aligned by the framebuilder and that's why we are so careful about who is allowed to build with 753."

Field said that any framebuilder who wants to use 753 is sent a test kit containing tubes, a bottom bracket, silver solder, flux and instructions. He assembles the parts and returns them to the TI Raleigh lab in England, where five tests determine his proficiency. Field said about half of the 753 applicants are refused permission to abtain and use the tubing. He said that the U.S. now has five qualified 753 framebuilders.

So what happens if a 753 frame is crashed out of alignment? First, Field said, since 753 is the strongest bike tubing in the world(diameter for diameter), it is the most resistant to bending in a fall. However, it tends to dent easier than other tubings because it is so thin; the center portion is only 0.3mm thick, or about three times the thickness of one Velo-news page. Once a 753 frame is actually bent, it is a major undertaking to make it right again.

"The builder must be very good with his torch, use a slow flame to heat the part, then replace the tube or realign the frame, as necessary," Field said. He added that the expense of this type of repair makes 753 "not the best choice for the younger or less-than-serious rider.

"Reynolds 753 is for the discerning rider," Field summed up. "It is so light and so stiff that the serious competitor can't afford not to have it."

Weight of the 753 road set is 1,800 grams. The track set is 1,750 grams.

onetwentyeight 

and from the waterford site:

In the 1970's Reynolds introduced an enhanced tubeset - Reynolds 753. 40% stronger than 531, 753 allowed lighter and stronger bike frames to appear on the race scene. Reynolds 753 perfectly matched our expertise in reliable low-temperature silver brazing. Waterford's predecessor pioneered low-temperature silver brazing in the 1950's as a way of maximizing the strength and durability of Reynolds 531. With heat treated alloy steels such as 753, low temperature brazing is critical to maintain all the strength added through heat treatment. With lug designs, this wasn't a problem but lugs don't offer the manufacturing flexibility of other joining methods. 753 was finally dropped from Reynolds' offerings in 2001.

The past quarter century has seen a flowering of new designs, from triathlete designs to mountain bikes - often with radically different frame designs from the classic road bike. Moreover, riders and builders both have come to recognize the importance of good fit, requiring highly individualized frame geometries.

As a result, flexibility of manufacturing has become as important as the actual mechanical properties of the material in assuring an ideal design. Thanks to its flexibility, TIG-welding has evolved to become a preferred joining method for bicycles that with plenty of margin in their structural design. As designers ventured near the structural limits of steel, the more they had to trade off the flexibility of frame geometry against maximizing the frame's strength to weight ratio.

The answer was to develop steels that could retain the benefits of heat treating even when TIG-welded. Just such alloys appeared in R&D programs in the early 90's and appeared in the market in the late '90's - air-hardening steels.

12XU

It's good you mention Waterford because most tubing they use (True Temper) can absolutely not be cold set. It's brazed/TIGed perfectly or it's cut up and used for a smaller frame.

Edit: Same goes with high grade Columbus and Reynolds.

deathhare

Amazing..great info. Thanks alot.