Lugged Steel Frame Vs Welded

Tweedy builds all of our lugged frames and brazed forks right here in house.

Lugged steel frame vs welded.

The process of welding creates a weak point in the frame at the spot of the weld. 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 ride for fun or. In the past full profile welded frames were specified to provide a seamless appearance.

Lugged steel frame construction is a method of building bicycle frames using steel tubing mated with socket like sleeves called lugs. By default the bicycles shown on my site are tig welded. Most cyclists including myself don t really care about performance. Full profile welded frames are the most costly due to the additional welding and hand grinding that is required.

Steel aluminum carbon even cardboard. For metal there are two primary methods and a lot of confusion about how they compare or which is used for what and why. Peter graham ex mad fiber wheels is in charge of our carbon frame fabrication here at hampco. Brazed lugged or welded steel frames are made up of cut to length tubing which will be bonded together in one of three ways.

Peter has a long history of working with carbon fiber and is a heck of a good dad to boot. For most riders a steel frame makes the most sense. Lugged frame construction negates this because brazing does not weaken the steel. How the individual pieces are joined together depends on the material and the builder.

Even though you may see this kind of construction almost exclusively these days on both steel and aluminum frames you may not have know what it s called. Lugged frame or tig ed frame. 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. Most of the drawbacks of steel have to do with performance.

Here s a photo of a coto doñana vagabond showing a tig joint seat tube top tube and seat stays. Welded steel frames are fabricated by jason grove el camino fab way down in. For a small weight sacrifice you gain increased durability repairability and comfort.