The "Reynolds" Thread.

Iwasgoodonce

Iwasgoodonce

Old School Grand Master
I would like this incredibly knowledgable forum to help me form a little database about steel tubing. I believe the different numbers (531, 653, etc) refer to materials in the steel alloy? But what of their qualities? How would a 531ST differ in ride to an identical frame made from 531AT or 753? Some are heat treated. Why is this done?

Also, what are the other manufactures' equivelants? Which Columbus tubing would be the same as 531, 853 etc.

Threads stick around longer in this forum and I think certain tubesets are only for the road such as 653 and 753. I may be wrong and look forward to your expert input!

Thanks all!
 
My understanding is the numbers represent proportions in the recipe used to make them. There's a very good article on Wikkipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reynolds_Cycle_Technology

Mountain bike tubesets are generally bigger diameter than those used in road bikes, so Reynolds had different names for them, too.

A 531ST frame couldn't be built the same as a 531AT frame, because they are different diameters, a 753 frame would be lighter than either but would fail if heavily loaded because it is not made in the right thicknesses to build a bike for load carrying. It's really a matter of choosing the right material for the intended purpose.
 
There isn't much difference in the steels used by other makers (Tange, Vitus Columbus etc) but they did different butting profiles, wall thicknesses etc.

The best book (if you can find it) is Tony Oliver's "Touring Bikes", 1992. It's out of print now, but you might get a copy from a library. It has long sections on tube choice. He was a materials scientist turned framebuilder and used strong engineering principles in design, often mixing tubes from different makers to achieve the right designg.
 
531 was originally a 'formula' or ratio, but the other product names are all marketing inventions.

You can build any type of bike out of any type of tube but if it's not well suited to the purpose it will ride disappointingly or break quickly.
 
Wasn't 753 developed because 531 can't be TIG welded?

What's "531 Respray"? Does that just mean the frame has been repainted at some point?
 
Yes, respray sticker were done to warn the buyer that it might not have the original 531 sticker on it, and might have been rebadged.
 
Wasn't 753 developed because 531 can't be TIG welded?
Click to expand...

Good luck with welding 753. You'll need it.

753 was developed to be an ultra light (for the time) frameset. Builders had to be certified to get their hands on it. The heat-treating makes it stronger than 531 but the material loses some flexibility in the process. This is good for power transfer but bad for comfort and longetivity.
 
753 in fact has to brazed with silver, at a lower temperature than 531 which is normally brazed with brass. Both cannot be welded.


The "respray" sticker is what get put on a resprayed frame, because the original tubing sticker has to be removed along with the paint...
 
Which Reynolds tubesets can be welded (if any)? I'm sure I read something somewhere about a tubeset being developed because you can't weld 531. Could be talking out of my arse again though. Did I mean 853?
 
Yes, 853 could be welded

I have had an ex-TVM Gazelle team frameset here with welded(!) 531 Trapezi tubing. Apparently a variation of 531 that could be welded.
 
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