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Why two top tubes ?

Started by Rik O'Shea · · Last activity · 33 posts · 458 views

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Cycling Equipment
Published
25 October 2007
Last activity
27 October 2007
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Rik O'Shea
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  1. Why two top tubes ?

    http://tinyurl.com/37sbwo

  2. Rik O'Shea said:

    Why two top tubes ?

    http://tinyurl.com/37sbwo


    Two tubes are better than one:
    http://tinyurl.com/2wghpd

  3. Rik O'Shea said:

    Why two top tubes ?

    http://tinyurl.com/37sbwo

    They must have given up on the "laterally stiff but vertically
    compliant" nonsense.

  4. Quoted message said:
    Rik O'Shea said:

    Why two top tubes ?

    http://tinyurl.com/37sbwo

    They must have given up on the "laterally stiff but vertically
    compliant" nonsense.


    English roadsters 24.5" frames "for the taller gent" were built with
    double top tubes. Tradition? IMHO they wanted to make stiffier frame...

    C.

  5. Coaster said:
    Quoted message said:
    Rik O'Shea said:

    Why two top tubes ?

    http://tinyurl.com/37sbwo

    They must have given up on the "laterally stiff but vertically
    compliant" nonsense.


    English roadsters 24.5" frames "for the taller gent" were built with
    double top tubes. Tradition? IMHO they wanted to make stiffier frame...

    C.


    NIce bike with double TT:
    http://www.uscoles.com/bikepix/073stpashleyl.jpg

    C.

  6. Rik O'Shea said:

    Why two top tubes ?

    http://tinyurl.com/37sbwo

    two tubes are twice as stiff as a single tube
    It's easy to build as you can use the same tubes and lugs (with a bit of
    grinding on the seatlugears)

    --
    /Marten

    info(apestaartje)m-gineering(punt)nl

  7. Rik O'Shea schreef :

    Quoted message said:

    Why two top tubes ?

    http://tinyurl.com/37sbwo

    A strong man needs a strong bike!

    http://picasaweb.google.com/koertmarinissen/Fiets/photo#5016259047640721090

    Koert

  8. Rik O'Shea said:

    Why two top tubes ?

    http://tinyurl.com/37sbwo

    Why not?

    (Oh, and those freakishly long, thin head tubes, too.)

  9. M-gineering said:
    Rik O'Shea said:

    Why two top tubes ?

    Quoted message said:

    http://tinyurl.com/37sbwo

    two tubes are twice as stiff as a single tube
    It's easy to build as you can use the same tubes and lugs (with a bit of
    grinding on the seatlugears)

    --
    /Marten

    info(apestaartje)m-gineering(punt)nl

    Well, about 30% stiffer laterally, and way stiffer vertically
    depending on the geometry. The question is, why double the top tube?
    The down tube makes much more sense.

  10. Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:
    Rik O'Shea said:

    Why two top tubes ?
    http://tinyurl.com/37sbwo

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:

    They must have given up on the "laterally stiff but vertically
    compliant" nonsense.

    Coaster said:

    English roadsters 24.5" frames "for the taller gent" were built with
    double top tubes. Tradition? IMHO they wanted to make stiffier frame...

    Raleighs were built both with single and with double top tubes, the dual
    top tube version not sold in USA. I tried to add some to a container of
    bikes. They declined even though they were shipping dual tube models to
    selected 3d world markets at the time. Raleigh's official statement,
    "It's fashion".
    --
    Andrew Muzi
    www.yellowjersey.org
    Open every day since 1 April, 1971

  11. On Thu, 25 Oct 2007 10:18:15 -0000, Rik O'Shea <[email hidden]>

    Quoted message said:


    Why two top tubes ?

    http://tinyurl.com/37sbwo

    Dear Rik,

    Partly for style, since double top tubes were popular around 1910:

    http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/morley/04.jpg

    http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/morley/06.jpg

    Partly for strength for carrying loads slung across the top tube, a
    popular habit in what the caption refers to as developing countries,
    where riders may sling 200-300 pounds of cargo across the top tube and
    trundle down a bumpy dirt road.

    Cheers,

    Carl Fogel

  12. Rik O'Shea said:

    Why two top tubes ?

    Quoted message said:

    http://tinyurl.com/37sbwo

    On this particular bike, i think it's a mistake, as the frame seems to
    be a 23" (58.5cm) c-t frame. The top tube is the least-stressed tube
    on the bicycle, because it's under compression. The downtube is the
    most-stressed tube.

    However, when the seat tube and head tube get very long, I think there
    are a lot of twisting stresses on these tubes (because, for example,
    all my indexed / spalled / fretted / whatever headsets are on bikes
    24" or larger ... whereas none of my smaller bikes ever had this
    problem.)

    - Don Gillies
    San Diego, CA

  13. In article
    <[email hidden]>,

    Quoted message said:
    M-gineering said:
    Rik O'Shea said:

    Why two top tubes ?

    Quoted message said:

    http://tinyurl.com/37sbwo

    two tubes are twice as stiff as a single tube
    It's easy to build as you can use the same tubes and lugs (with a bit of
    grinding on the seatlugears)

    --
    /Marten

    info(apestaartje)m-gineering(punt)nl

    Well, about 30% stiffer laterally, and way stiffer vertically
    depending on the geometry. The question is, why double the top tube?
    The down tube makes much more sense.

    And putting gussets on the bottom bracket shell even more sense
    but it is not done. Any frame makers here to comment?

    --
    Michael Press

  14. Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:

    Rik O'Shea wrote:
    > Why two top tubes ?
    > http://tinyurl.com/37sbwo

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:
    M-gineering said:

    two tubes are twice as stiff as a single tube
    It's easy to build as you can use the same tubes and lugs (with a bit of
    grinding on the seatlugears)
    info(apestaartje)m-gineering(punt)nl

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:

    Well, about 30% stiffer laterally, and way stiffer vertically
    depending on the geometry. The question is, why double the top tube?
    The down tube makes much more sense.

    Michael Press said:

    And putting gussets on the bottom bracket shell even more sense
    but it is not done. Any frame makers here to comment?

    The examples I can think of (3Rensho, Zunow) with cast gussets didn't
    sell well. I believe you may yet have a frame made with the 3Rensho
    flanged-sides BB casting from Jackson-Hetchins.
    --
    Andrew Muzi
    www.yellowjersey.org
    Open every day since 1 April, 1971

  15. Michael Press said:

    In article
    <[email hidden]>,

    Quoted message said:
    M-gineering said:

    Rik O'Shea wrote:
    > Why two top tubes ?
    > http://tinyurl.com/37sbwo
    two tubes are twice as stiff as a single tube
    It's easy to build as you can use the same tubes and lugs (with a bit of
    grinding on the seatlugears)

    --
    /Marten

    info(apestaartje)m-gineering(punt)nl


    Well, about 30% stiffer laterally, and way stiffer vertically
    depending on the geometry. The question is, why double the top tube?
    The down tube makes much more sense.

    And putting gussets on the bottom bracket shell even more sense
    but it is not done. Any frame makers here to comment?

    Anything makes more sense than a double toptube, until you add the
    constraint that you have to use existing parts only. And if it sells:
    problem solved

    --
    /Marten

    info(apestaartje)m-gineering(punt)nl

  16. On Thu, 25 Oct 2007 12:10:09 -0700, Michael Press <[email hidden]>

    Quoted message said:

    And putting gussets on the bottom bracket shell even more sense
    but it is not done. Any frame makers here to comment?

    There's a couple guys who know a _lot_ about metallurgy who I'm sure
    can comment!

    :-)

  17. On Thu, 25 Oct 2007 10:18:15 -0000, Rik O'Shea <[email hidden]>

    Quoted message said:


    Why two top tubes ?

    http://tinyurl.com/37sbwo


    Retro? Lots of olde bikes had dual top tubes.

    --
    Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

  18. In article <[email hidden]>,

    (Donald Gillies) said:
    Rik O'Shea said:

    Why two top tubes ?

    Quoted message said:

    http://tinyurl.com/37sbwo

    On this particular bike, i think it's a mistake, as the frame seems to
    be a 23" (58.5cm) c-t frame. The top tube is the least-stressed tube
    on the bicycle, because it's under compression. The downtube is the
    most-stressed tube.

    It seems to me that tubes do not fail, typically.
    Joints fail.
    * down tube -- head tube.
    * down tube -- braze on.
    * any tube -- bottom bracket.
    * chain stay -- drop out
    * chain stay -- brake bridge
    * seat stay -- seat tube

    --
    Michael Press

  19. Michael Press said:


    It seems to me that tubes do not fail, typically.
    Joints fail.
    * down tube -- head tube.
    * down tube -- braze on.
    * any tube -- bottom bracket.
    * chain stay -- drop out
    * chain stay -- brake bridge
    * seat stay -- seat tube

    no tubes, no joints

    --
    /Marten

    info(apestaartje)m-gineering(punt)nl

  20. Quoted message said:
    M-gineering said:
    Rik O'Shea said:

    Why two top tubes ?
    http://tinyurl.com/37sbwo


    two tubes are twice as stiff as a single tube
    It's easy to build as you can use the same tubes and lugs (with a bit of
    grinding on the seatlugears)

    --
    /Marten

    info(apestaartje)m-gineering(punt)nl

    Well, about 30% stiffer laterally, and way stiffer vertically
    depending on the geometry.

    10 points.

    Quoted message said:

    The question is, why double the top tube?
    The down tube makes much more sense.

    a bigger diameter down tube and a triangulating [as opposed to parallel]
    second top tube makes more sense still.

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