retrobloke
Dirt Disciple
Does anyone know of a frame manufacturer that produced frames with a downtube that looks like a rifle barrel flipped inside out, so it looks like spiral ribs twisted around the outside of the tube.
Does it look like this?retrobloke":1n3no2ct said:Does anyone know of a frame manufacturer that produced frames with a downtube that looks like a rifle barrel flipped inside out, so it looks like spiral ribs twisted around the outside of the tube.
The bike in the photo is a Merlin that is currently for sale on eBay. For a long time, Merlin Cycles used to offer a steel frame that they called a TDB (for Tange Doubled-butted) and their blurb said it was made with 'the latest Tange Spiral-butted tubeset', so although I've never seen one I presume the bike in the photo is one of those TDBs. It has a spiral-butted seat tube as well. It looks as though the spiral is an externally-applied butting, which must strengthen the tube, perhaps sufficiently to enable a thinner-gauge tube to be used.retrobloke":2bb882cf said:Thank you all for replies.
Anthony yup thats the one identical tubing even finish and forks look the same the only difference is it's the down tube not top tube, thanks again for reply. What make is the one in the photo, and which frame material.