posted by Karl Hamilton on july 31, 1997 at 21:29:19:
in reply to: re: 97-Ultimate vs XL Merlin posted by jon on july 31, 1997 at 20:21:22:
Jon,
How many is "a lot of Litespeeds"? I've seen broken Serotta steel frames, but I don't believe for a moment that Serotta makes bad frames. I don't build bikes, but I do know titanium (see post above). Litespeed makes as good a product as Merlin (and vice versa). Any bias is generally going to be because you prefer the looks, ride, etc., of one vs. the other.(ie Ford vs. Chevy) I'm willing to bet you that the failure rate of Litespeed frames and Merlin frames are very low and similar in percentage.
Good Riding,
Karl
: I've seen alot of broken litespeeds (when they used to build for Marin, four or five years ago) This was because they did not purge the inside of the frame with argon when they tacked it together in the jig which "burned" the titanium on the inside which is were al the cracks I have seen began. I don't know if they have changed this practice yet.
: Jon
: Moonlight Cycles