Is Reynolds 531 any good?

Is Reynolds 531 any good?

Reynolds 531 “was the standard of excellence for many decades” among bicycle frame-building materials. And because of the availability of a wide range of butting, diameters and thicknesses of tubes, along with different stays and fork blades, it became the tubing of choice for most frame builders.

What is Reynolds 531 made of?

531 is a seamless tubing made of Manganese Molybdenum, better than standard Cro-Mo, but time has caught up with it a little as the top tubes from Columbus and Reynolds have a higher UTS (ultimate tensile strength).

How much does a Reynolds 531 frame weight?

Standard gauge 753 for a 57cm : 1645 grams Standard gauge 531c for a 57cm : 1910 grams Standard gauge 531DB for a 57cm : 2050 grams For standard gauge tubes, and for frames with similar fittings and geometry, you can see, and often feel a difference in weight.

What is the lightest Reynolds tubing?

Reynolds 853: very high end steel, thinner still, and lighter. Reynolds 953: a variant of stainless steel, this one rivals Ti and carbon fiber on weight, but with the ride of steel. Columbus Spirit Niobium: similar in weight to the 953, the Spirit is one of the lightest steel tubes sets available.

Where is Reynolds tubing made?

Birmingham
Of all the cycling companies that have come and gone, one that has remained a steady fixture is Reynolds. The name has been synonymous with the British cycling industry since 1898, and it still manufactures tubing in its Birmingham factory today.

Is Dawes a good bike?

Dawes are still superb bikes. Most frames are machine mitred, no matter where they are made, which makes for a very accurate joint, lugged or otherwise. People that have something against the newer Dawes frames usually have the older ones and need to feel superior in some way.

When was Reynolds 853 invented?

1995
Further wins on bikes using Reynolds tubing by Tour De France icons Bernard Hinault, Greg LeMond and Miguel Indurain would follow, with the introduction of the world’s first commercial air-hardening steel for bicycle frame tubes, the versatile Reynolds 853, in 1995.

What ever happened to Reynolds?

During World War Two Reynolds was called up again, this time to build wing spars for Spitfires, sub frames for Lancaster bombers and Merlin engine mountings. Post-war, 531 tubing took up where it had left off in cycling, and by the 1970s Reynolds claimed 531 frames and forks had been used in 24 out of 25 successive Tour de France victories.

What makes rereynolds 531 so special?

Reynolds 531 built a frame that had a super-light weight and high strength that had never before been achieved.

Why was Reynolds 531 tubing used in WW1?

Its first government contracts of World War One were for tubes for military bicycles and motorcycles but in 1916 its precision tubing began to be used for aircraft. That year was one of the most important in the company’s history as Reynolds put the development of 531 down to its experience in aviation.

Is the Reynolds 520 butted frame TIG welded?

In the case of our own holiday hire bikes, we’ve been forced to move to a Reynolds 520 butted Chro-mo frameset – yes TIG welded – and to be honest they seem to be as good as, and lighter than the old lugged 531 ST sets we used in the past – for info see our equipment page, and for what they are capable of see our Pyrenees charity ride report.