Sorry jtarver I posted before without an image. I really wasn't meaning to offend anyone. Okay, here is my '77 MASI that almost went under the Dremel cut-off wheel . . . but didn't.



Plus, by not cutting off the braze-ons, I saved the lives of a thousand kittens (and I wouldn't have known this if I hadn't posted on BF)!

Rick / OCRR

Yeah, sorry dude. Here's an image.

https://saraschaefer.com/ss/middle_finger.jpg

Dude, don't turn this into another, "here's my bike that has nothing to do with the topic" It's an incredible bike, but read my last post, repeat, the Drew threads have lots of pictures just like this, I'm more interested in building an archive that people can reference and make their own decision. I firmly believe that the majority of people use the internet to research what they want to do with their bike. Think of it this way, wouldn't it be nice if someone searched "braze on removal" and found a thread that showed what not to do rather than a link to Dremels corporate website?

All braze ons appear intact in this photo as well, nice comeback though, very effective...

1982 Marinoni

yeah that sucks ^

bianchi.


gardin.


mid 80's trek.


another trek.


evans.

Thank you, finally some pictures of "victims". Though both Treks appear to have at least RD hangers present. Didn't Trek and Bianchi both use internal routing in some steel models? Just a thought. Is the crank shot ground for clearance? Must have been very close as it looks like mostly paint missing. I think these are all quite nice looking bikes and appear to be competently built with good parts. Hell, I wouldn't let half these hipster kids wrap my bars, and they're starting to think they are bike mechanics. Ha, building a fixed gear is the most basic build you can get! I'm just pleased to have some photos with no insults attached!

Yes, it happens. Some people like having clean lines on their fixie project. A bent and rusty empty brazeon can cause a nasty cut.

The great thing about private property is that you get to do what you want to the things you own. If that means making a Cervelo Tallbike or a Hetchins Fixie, it's your call.

Here's the thing, they're called BRAZE-ONS for a reason. They're added to the frame by melting a little brass and brazing them in place. They werent cast or forged into the frame tubes themselves, they were added AFTERWARD.

All those people who get butthurt about nice old frames being "fixed/dremeled/butchered" need to take a chill pill and realize that braze-ons are cheap, and it doesn't cost that much to have a decent metalworker add brake or derailleur cables back before you send your restoration off to be painted, at which point your bike will look as good as new, and perhaps better, since YOU decide where you want those brazeons to go, or decide that internal cable routing would be a cool thing to add to your restoration, and can have your brazer add rack mounts, light mounts, or any other fittings you want to make your bike the way YOU want it.

If you're doing a top notch resto, the cost of brazeon replacement is basically a rounding error.

If you're not, if you just like getting worked up, well, that's your right as well.

Hey *******. Look at me, i'm not posting a pic. **** off. Your mom went to college.

bigvegan - the issue is that people hack off brazeons for their conversions, which then forces the next owner to spend several hundred dollars on having said brazeons reinstalled and then the paint redone if they ever want to use the frame as originally intended, when in most cases the butchering was done for entirely aesthetic reasons that sacrificed aditional functionality. Also, some brazeon removals are done so sloppily to the extent that they compromise the frames integrity.

Often times the cost of repairing and restoring a frame overshadows the actual monetary value of the frame, thereby dooming a good quality frame that could have made someone a nice roadie/townie/what have you to the dumpster. And all just because someone felt the need to make a misguided fashion statement with their bike.

Where is my stapler?

(IMO) most here are butthurt when people take a beautiful original/unrestored antique/classic hand-built bike and hack off all of the braze-ons, derailleur hanger, then rattlecan/powdercoat/tarck it.

I recently checked into sending one of my frames to Cyclart for a repaint with correct decals and all. I guess I would have to say that 99% of the frames they restore will never justify the cost of their services. I love this frame and I assume most people who choose this option are doing so for similar reasons, not as an investment. Anyway, here's the prices to replace braze ons:
Shifter bosses-$50/pr.
Cable guides-$40 for 3
RD hanger-$50
Chainstay cable stop-$15
So, worst case scenario around $150 to replace everything, not several hundred. Painting is debatable as many of these bikes would need a full repaint to be "original". Also I think saying it "forces" the new owner is misleading. We make choices regarding bicycles, we're not forced to do anything...Also, I don't think lack of braze ons dooms any frame to the dumpster, that's just a waste.
I urge y'all to research these statements before posting as there is plenty of heresay regarding this topic. Again, I would like to make this thread a resource, not a forum for wild accusations and personal insult, as is all too common on BF as it is.

i think those treks i posted were missing dt shifter bosses. yes that one had the chainstay filed.

the point is all these frames could make a good townie/commuter or whatever but they are going to sit unused or trashed for a very silly reason.
myself i'd rather have some beat original paint.
so spending 150 to have braze-ons replaced and then 200-400 or whatever it costs for a quality repaint is going to cause me to keep looking.

Good point. Brings up another question: If y'all were to come across a bike that was "brazed off", what would it have to be to justify a restoration?

Or, you know, get kept and ridden by their current owners until wrecked / stolen / sold to other single-speed/fixed gear riders.

Just because you don't like the style doesn't mean there aren't PLENTY of other people who will buy and ride them.

A lot of people PREFER fixed gears for their "townie/commuter" because there's a lot less maintenance involved. In L.A., which is relatively flat, the tarck bike is the townie/commuter of choice for a lot of people.

This is like the endless debate between car restorers and hot-rodders. Some people can't believe that one could take a sawzall/torch and chop the top off / lower / modify an antique car, but the hot rod scene has been going strong for 50+ years.

It's not like there's a shortage of beat up old bikes out there.

Buy the bike that you will ride and that makes you happy.

You're a bit of a control freak, aren't you? Trying to tell people WHAT they can post, HOW they can post, and WHEN they can post. Seriously....FOAD.

Thanks for the insult, I'm getting quite used to them after spending some time on BF, seems to be easier than staying on topic and providing useful information. Shame on you, most posters have been respectful in their posts regarding this topic and you just have to act unpleasant. Some of us want to have a friendly debate about a subject, Mods can we get a thread for folks who just want to hurl personal insults at each other?

I appreciate the clarification on those pics DV. I guess I'm not really in agreement with the unused or trashed part, as I use my FG/SSs for commuters/townies, as do a lot of people in Austin, maybe this isn't true of your neck of the woods. Could you elaborate a bit on why they are trash or unusable?

Have you maybe asked yourself WHY you're getting insulted? Could it possibly be because you're acting like a total TOOL and telling other people how and why they can post, as if you control them, this board, and the universe?

You really have an ego problem, don't ya?

Click on the "#2350" link in my sig

Thanks for the photo. This is a good example of the fact that most high end brands have entry level models that are more mass produced and lack the features that make their high end bikes, well, high end. I have found that people put these bikes in the same category solely based on a name and not taking into consideration that they are not really in the same league at all. It seems like comparing a Schwinn World Sport to a Paramount, obviously two totally different things that share a common brand name.