I asked my local frame builder about this idea, and here's what he had to say:
This is not something I would recommend doing. Since the frame is TIG welded my concern would be the integrity of both the head tube and seat tube after the top tube was removed and the weld remnants filed away. TIG welding concentrates a lot of heat at the weld area, which can affect the tubes integrity and so putting it through another heat cycle by brzing in another top tube is less than wise. There are a lot of other options to "liven" up the feeling of a bike. Wheels and more importantly tires play a huge role. I'm going to take his advice and leave the frame alone. On Sat, Mar 20, 2021 at 3:02 PM Clark Fitzgerald <clarkfi...@gmail.com> wrote: > Has anyone ever replaced a top tube on a steel bike to change the ride > characteristics? Can you tell the difference on a bike with a flexible top > tube? Could it make a difference on a bike with 2 inch wide tires? > > I've been reading Jan Heine's book All Road Bike Revolution > <https://www.renehersecycles.com/shop/print/books/the-all-road-bike-revolution/>, > and the section on frame stiffness got me thinking about why my commuter > bike, an XL 90's Specialized Hard Rock, feels kind of dead. I measured the > top tube- it's 1.25 inches in diameter, larger than other bikes that I've > had. I recall listening to Tom Ritchey praise flexible top tubes. > > I'm wondering if switching from a 1.25 inch to a 1 inch top tube > <https://www.cycle-frames.com/NOVA-CRMO-25.4-TOP-TUBE-8-5-8-600.html?category_id=1096> > will add some needed frame flex for me. I'm 165 lbs, and 99% of my riding > on this bike is spinning in easy gears. I don't carry a rear load, and I > don't use it for singletrack. > > Could this be a mostly DIY project? I would never consider doing it myself > on a nice bike, but this ain't a nice bike. Cutting out the old tube, > grinding down the old TIG welds, and mitering the new tube all seem doable, > with patience. I would need a skilled welder to do the actual welding or > brazing though. If it works OK I'd get it powder coated. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the > Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this topic, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/topic/rbw-owners-bunch/F2Xb1h39K4w/unsubscribe > . > To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to > rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/c77684e6-f964-429a-bd40-6c09bd7eb440n%40googlegroups.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/c77684e6-f964-429a-bd40-6c09bd7eb440n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CAE_rN%3D1%2B4RXUVKK%3DM-U-5NLvWGwTnMQHBQTV_OE-_E%2BzKQcLwQ%40mail.gmail.com.
