Lugged Steel Frame Vs Welded

In the past full profile welded frames were specified to provide a seamless appearance.

Lugged steel frame vs welded.

Most cyclists including myself don t really care about performance. To accurately compare welded and lugged frames compare steel frames of similar quality since other materials do not offer suitable comparisons due to inherent limitations. We often get asked what s better a lugged bicycle frame or a welded bicycle frame bike frames can be built of many things. How the individual pieces are joined together depends on the material and the builder.

Tweedy builds all of our lugged frames and brazed forks right here in house. For most riders a steel frame makes the most sense. Brazing uses a filler metal like brass or silver which is heated to. Lugged frame or tig ed frame.

Welded steel frames are fabricated by jason grove el camino fab way down in. Peter graham ex mad fiber wheels is in charge of our carbon frame fabrication here at hampco. Peter has a long history of working with carbon fiber and is a heck of a good dad to boot. The process of welding creates a weak point in the frame at the spot of the weld.

Here s a photo of a coto doñana vagabond showing a tig joint seat tube top tube and seat stays. Brazed lugged or welded steel frames are made up of cut to length tubing which will be bonded together in one of three ways. Lugged frame construction negates this because brazing does not weaken the steel. For metal there are two primary methods and a lot of confusion about how they compare or which is used for what and why.

Today frames are mitered on precision dies and can be face welded by sdi members to provide an appearance. For most of the bicycle s history steel has been the primary material for bicycle frames with lugged construction the primary assembling method steel continues in use by builders of high quality steel frames though its dominance as a frame material has waned. By default the bicycles shown on my site are tig welded. Lugged steel frame construction is a method of building bicycle frames using steel tubing mated with socket like sleeves called lugs.

Most of the drawbacks of steel have to do with performance. We ride for fun or. Full profile welded frames are the most costly due to the additional welding and hand grinding that is required.