Fuji Track / Fuji Track Pro / Fuji Track Classic

ain't nuthin hipster about brooks saddles, matey.

enjoy the bicycle

Cheers!

[old skool hipster for the over 80s dontcha know - we get damp at the scent of tweed]

;)

I've checked the standard sprockets for any ID marks but found nada. Bought a 1/8 18 tooth Surly sprocket off Dammit last night and when I got home tried sitting it on the chain to see how the teeth fitted. Fit fine with a little (normal) lateral play. The teeth on the chain-ring are slightly slimmer than those on the Surly sprocket but the standard Fuji sprocket has beefy teeth, the same or even slightly thicker at the tip of the tooth than the Surly.

Does anyone know what the Fuji Track 2008 is as standard in terms of measurement? Cheers dears.

Well if a 1/8 cog fits the current chain, that means the chain is also 1/8. It'd be weird of the chainring was 3/32 considering everything else is 1/8.

Thanks for confirming my suspicion asm. :)

I wasn't sure how cut and dry it would be not having experienced the difference between the two sizes.

Just wondered like. Is one stronger/betterer than the other and what would be used on the Fuji and other similar entry level bikes? Cheers.

TIG I think is what they are. I used to know the difference.

cheers rusty nice to have that cleared up !!! ;-)

A well set up mig for the right job will produce good welds once set up for that combination of tubes. Most mig welders you see though are geared to wards car work hence why people don't think of them for bikes. Mig welding is the standard for most manufacturing set ups due to it's cheap set up cost, fast production and lower skill level need to produce a weld and ease of automation. once setup mig welding can be very consistent which can be useful for a large scale manufacturing process.

Tig welds tend to look better and are smaller.

I would take the guess that a Fuji track would be mig welded for ease of production. From memory the welds did not look super tidy like a good tig weld.

This is all guess work and personal opinion on my part though and does not come from specific bike building knowledge more from general knowledge.

So to summaries my waffling I guess mig due to the mass produced nature.

Advantages of tig would be the pretty weld.

the welds on my fuji seem just as tidy as those on the bmx i sold ya.... not sure if that says anything

I can't remember the welds that well. Mig welds can be fine but don't tend to look as good as a tig.

Tig weld

Mig weld

neither untidy.

Infact look pretty similar to me. I just reckon mass produced = morel likely to mig.

I think Tommy is right - TIG welding requires a lot of skill and takes time so isn't really used for mass produced stuff.

I could well be wrong as I said though as this is general rather than bike knowledge.

TIG welds can look very sexy sometimes.

Thanks gents. How strong are either TIG or MIG compared to say fillet brazed or lug work?

Has anyone ever had a frame break at a welded point?

"Advantages of tig would be the pretty weld."

so nothing to do with one being ac the other dc, the availability of different filler metals and the different temperatures involved or the fact that the filler wire with the mig is used to deliver the current whereas tig uses a tungsten electrode.
there are other differences but i haven't the time to phone my old man and ask (he used to be a welding demonstrator/technician)

"Advantages of tig would be the pretty weld."

so nothing to do with one being ac the other dc, the availability of different filler metals and the different temperatures involved or the fact that the filler wire with the mig is used to deliver the current whereas tig uses a tungsten electrode.
there are other differences but i haven't the time to phone my old man and ask (he used to be a welding demonstrator/technician)

no this is a fixed gear and hence all about pretty.;)

Seriously though. I know there is stuff like more concentrated heat but don't know the details if you know them post them. The filler wire delivering the current I think the biggest problem this brings is more likely for some porous material to form, but if and once setup like it would be on a production line I think this can be minimised. AC vs DC I don't know about I think it is similar effects on the forming of porous area. I think the forming of porous areas is the reason why mig welds tend to be chunkier than tig to compensate for this. I know aluminum is welded a/c tig or mig.

The important thing though is that the properly set up the joint is stronger than the surrounding material so any failing in the frame will not be at the joint. This tends to be the aim of most metal joining processes.

Your correct to pull me up my statement. Any extra information is always greatly received by myself.

Thanks gents. How strong are either TIG or MIG compared to say fillet brazed or lug work?

Has anyone ever had a frame break at a welded point?

When properly done the joint is stronger than the joined material same for all methods.

When properly done the joint is stronger than the joined material same for all methods.

but I think I have read about some instances where joints are made to fail at some set force can't remember though.

I've snapped a frame or too at the welds. Never a track bike though.

shit frames ;)

Was it actually the weld that failed or right by the weld? That tends to be the most common but a quick look will make it look like it is the weld.

the way i see it with mig is that anyone can do it. the phrase 'monkey with a mig' springs to mind.
they are cheap, it's a roll of wire coming out of a nozzle with some argon flowing around it and some amps whizzing out the end.
tig is a different ball game. the kit is expensive. it uses expensive torches with ceramic shrouds round a central tungsten rod, high frequency units to initiate the arc and use dc so need a big expensive box to convert the ac. then there are the filler rods. if you are welding stainless/alloy or dissimilar metals these rods are expensive.
welding big sheets of mild steel is mig territory. stainless/alloy or thin pipework is usually tig.
i don't know much about welding just what i have seen my old man do/talk about.

all this talk about neatness is pointless if there is a lack of pentration in the weld or porosity.

I've snapped a frame too. It was designed for audax, and I can generate a lot of explosive power, but clearly this was a case of builder error; probably over-heating during the brazing process (brazed/lugged).

It was the BB shell, and the whole top 'lug' bit sheared off with the seat-tube. Excuse my terminology, I'm no technician.

One was definitely the weld, the other I'm unsure of. It could have been the heat weakened metal near the welds.

Both where cross country mountain bike frames, being used the way I ride my bikes I'm really not suprised they failed.