There is a Video on YT Ellis Briggs channel where he has a moan about building modern stuff. Discs etc. I'm sure old frame builders felt the same about braze ons et all. The Rourke Bob Jacksons have seen the way forward, neo retro gravel etc. Check FB for details
I was kinda surprised that it was seen as a rant. But on reflection perhaps it came across that way.
No, what I was say was not that framebuilders shouldn't build bike following modern trends. That would be dumb. What I was trying to say was that the availability of parts for steel framebuilding is either from pre discs, wide tyres and thru axles or is made for tig welding. Lugged building is already a slower process than tig welding, so once discs, thru axles and other adaptions are added with parts made for other purposes it takes even longer. Mercian definitely made bikes for wide, tyres, discs and thru axles. But not at the speed they could build a regular qr and rim brake frame, yet their prices were not that high.
I've been reading through the comments on forums and my video and they make interesting reading. There is love for lugged frames still but is it enough? Probably not, except for a small niche.
If lugged building is to survive then a framebuilder probably needs to invest in having some new parts made to suit modern builds. A modern bike with retro aesthetics, a bit like a modern camera with classic looks.
I was kinda surprised that it was seen as a rant. But on reflection perhaps it came across that way.
No, what I was say was not that framebuilders shouldn't build bike following modern trends. That would be dumb. What I was trying to say was that the availability of parts for steel framebuilding is either from pre discs, wide tyres and thru axles or is made for tig welding. Lugged building is already a slower process than tig welding, so once discs, thru axles and other adaptions are added with parts made for other purposes it takes even longer. Mercian definitely made bikes for wide, tyres, discs and thru axles. But not at the speed they could build a regular qr and rim brake frame, yet their prices were not that high.
I've been reading through the comments on forums and my video and they make interesting reading. There is love for lugged frames still but is it enough? Probably not, except for a small niche.
If lugged building is to survive then a framebuilder probably needs to invest in having some new parts made to suit modern builds. A modern bike with retro aesthetics, a bit like a modern camera with classic looks.