These are shots of the new Fly Tierra.
More specifically, shots of the Tierra's new one-piece dropouts. And I quote: "They now are one piece, they become flush with the stays."
Wow, neat.
Except I don't get it. Weren't the dropouts one piece before? Aren't dropouts usually one piece?
Maybe something got lost in translation.
Anyway, yeah, photos:
I kind of wish Fly had posted a photo of the frame before paint, just so I could see where the welds are. Unless they're held together by magic.
Still, it looks neat. Smooth. Something you'd be more likely to see on a high-end road or mountain bike.
The hollowed-out dropout back seems to be the in-thing for '09. Fancy stuff. Maybe next year someone will produce a one-piece, investment-cast frame. Just like the ancient Egyptians used to do it.I suppose I could have just e-mailed someone at Fly and asked them what the deal was, but it's more fun to see whether someone who knows reads this and either comments or e-mails. If an answer is forthcoming, I'll post it in here.
I'm so vain.
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11 comments:
I like Fly. But personally, I would be a little afraid of that set up.
But, I am probably a traditionalist.
Or just a wet blanket.
Is it possible that there are no welds? Maybe the dropouts are actually forged one piece into the rear triangle. I am certainly no engineer and don't know if that is even possible?! Regardless, if we are judging on looks alone, I think that they look amazing. Now, how many times do you actually look at your dropouts long enough to admire? Right...never. But they still look great in my opinion. I would be curious as to how this might affect the strength of the rear end. Less welds = less chance for breakage / greater chance of bending?
There are different processes available. One that comes to mind is the process used to make Director fork legs. Maybe that sort of process is somehow being used here, but I couldn't really imagine entire rear triangles (or rear triangle halfs) being made that way, so I doubt it. I think we are still talking about a dropout that is more-or-less traditional, being welded to tubing. You see this more commonly with aluminum mountain bikes, where the joints are TIG-welded and then the welds are ground smooth (see Cannondale.) Another option is that the dropouts have been brazed (refer back to the discussion of Bespoke.) Silver brazing results in a very clean looking joint, and this method has been employed to attach dropouts to stays by road bike builders for decades. I hope someone from Fly does tell us more. Whatever process is being used, the results look great. Much better looking than the silly stay caps with lightening holes.
wait, no comment on the integrate seatclamp model. damn, i was wishing for something...
speaking of the seat clamp...how can you hate on the kink rev c when it is trying to bring the seatpost clamp back!!! sometimes you do come off as just a hater russ. just sayin.
it would be too difficult and costly to extrude/stamp/machine an integrated read dropout into a frame, and it would also be near impossible to keep square while it was going through all these processes. someone just had fun with a grinder. looks nice, but it's not anything new or revolutionary.
oh and all joints on every modern bmx frame/fork/bars/any metal parts i can think of are all TIG welded.
I wasn't "hating" on the Rev C as a frame—it looks fine—but it ain't a fucking Empire.
With those holes in the stay tubes where they are, there's only one place the welds could be. Just look. They're getting more surface than most drop welds get. Surprisingly good idea, considering the goofy shit Fly's been coming up with lately.
That sprocket with the built-in spacer will still be pissing me off years after I'm dead.
(I hate because I love.)
But grinding down a weld doesn't actually change anything. I really don't get this. Fly got the internet going nuts like Paul Wall but nobody seems to know what this revolutionary new dropout design actually is other than it looks good.
i think somebody smoked some peyote and watched T2 then ground the hell out of those welds till they looked like the T1000's arms forming a weapon or some shit, anyways, this frame is prlly gonna be made for farting around down the street.
word ver: gluei
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