What is Tange Prestige tubing?
Tange International Co. is a major Japanese manufacturer of high-quality steel tubing for bicycle frames, established before 1920. Soma have been using Tange Prestige tubes since 2007, and the first non-Italian tube to be used by Pinarello was Tange Prestige.
Which Reynolds tubing is the best?
Conclusions. For 70 years Reynolds 531 was the faithful, go-to tubing of choice for almost all quality touring bikes. Because it is less suitable than others for TIG welding its been totally replaced in a market dominated by TIG welded frames from the Far East.
Is Tange Infinity good?
Infinity is a very high quality seamed tube, so prices were kept very low, whilst performance was similar to seamless #1 or #2 (or 531 or SL for that matter). A frame made from Tange Infinity weighs at least half a kilo more than an identically sized frame made from Reynolds 531 (double butted, of course).
Where are Soma frames made?
Taiwan
Where does Soma produce its frames? They are designed in San Francisco. They are hand welded in Taiwan. Please note most big bike makers have moved most of their production to mainland China, which does not yet match the quality of Taiwan.
Is Reynolds 725 any good?
And which is better, 725 or 525? The short answer to your question is that Reynolds 725 is ‘better’ than 525. They are chemically the same steel (0.3% carbon, alloyed with chrome and molybdenum), but 725 is heat-treated, boosting its strength by about 50%. (The stiffness of steel is an unchangeable property.)
What is Columbus SL tubing?
Columbus SL was used by a majority of the Italian bike industry during the late 1970s and early 1980s. It is a high-quality double-butted tube set made of Cyclex Cromo Steel. Columbus SLX was released in the early 1980s as the pinnacle of Columbus tubing, made of Cyclex Cromo Steel.
Who owns Soma?
Bradley Woehl
The SOMA Fabrications brand came about when Bradley Woehl, owner of American Cyclery bicycle shop asked Jim Porter, President of The Merry Sales Co….SOMA Fabrications.
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | San Francisco Bay Area, U.S. |
| Products | Bicycle frames and other parts |
| Website | www.somafab.com |
Are Soma frames good?
These are my general observations: Soma is a good basic frame, at a good price. There are better steel frames, but the Saga is available for $420, including fork, on eBay, and that is a good price, and a lot of frame for the money.
Which is better Reynolds 531 or Reynolds 520?
If you look at a piece of cheap steel tubing you will see the join as a different coloured line running down the tube. For example the old Reynolds 531 and all better tubes from Reynolds are seamless as is their Cr-Mo 520 and 525 (identical except 520 is license built in the Far East) so not all 4130 Cr-Mo is equal.
Which is better Tange Prestige or SL tubing?
Compared with SL, Tange Prestige is more expensive and has superior metallurgical performance by dint of special heat treatment. What performance benefits do we get from that? Prestige weighs the same, volume for volume, as any other kind of steel.
What’s the difference between Columbus and prestige tubing?
The Columbus top tube was 0.9/0.6/0.9mm: Prestige 0.7/0.4/0.7mm. Chainstays and seatstays were 0.7mm for Columbus and 0.6mm for Prestige. Tiny differences, five ounces of metal stretched out over six tubes.
Who are the manufacturers of Tange tubing for bikes?
Once upon a time, I was pondering these questions with frame builder Bruce Gordon and Shimano’s John Uhte, who promotes Tange tubing through the Shimano-led JNM group of bicycle component manufacturers.