1970s Fillet-Brazed Question

[hopkintonbike]

Just spoke to a gentleman this morning about a 1972 Kool Lemon Sports Tourer he is selling and at some point in the discussion, he mentioned that there was a "crack" in the paint at the brazed fillet where the down and head tubes meet, I have been looking for a SS or Superior from this period and just curious, is there history of fillet weakness in these frames or are we talking about frame flexing and possible paint finish failure? Is this something I should be looking for? Todd

 

[Roger Henning]

Most likely paint crack. I have about 10 of these type Schwinn's and have seen no real frame failures because of the brazing. Roger

 

[CURTIS L LINDGREN]

Just spoke to a gentleman this morning about a 1972 Kool Lemon Sports Tourer he is selling and at some point in the discussion, he mentioned that there was a "crack" in the paint at the brazed fillet where the down and head tubes meet, I have been looking for a SS or Superior from this period and just curious, is there history of fillet weakness in these frames or are we talking about frame flexing and possible paint finish failure? Is this something I should be looking for? Todd

If the bike isn't too far away , go look at it . Bring a magnifying glass.................. That bike looks best in that color ( I.M.H.O. )

 

[juvela]

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It could be just the result of a small gas bubble.

The contact area of the joint on these is so great there would be no danger of failure without an impact.

If you go to visit the bicycle you can easily inspect for any impact deformation...

From my experience, would guess it to be cosmetic only.

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[hopkintonbike]

Here are pics of the paint "crack" If you look very carefully it almost looks like the paint on either side of the crack itself is "bubbling" off the fillet, thoughts??

 

[CURTIS L LINDGREN]

is the bike an original paint bike ? That paint looks very "New" ..............Do you have pictures of the WHOLE bike ?

 

[hopkintonbike]

is the bike an original paint bike ? That paint looks very "New" ..............Do you have pictures of the WHOLE bike ?

The CL listing is now down, but based on what I recall scanning the available pics yesterday, the bike looked pretty original to me. Todd

 

[CURTIS L LINDGREN]

So you think it Sold ? If it was Original.......................and the paint was that good on it........................That was probably a very nice bike. Was it like this one ? http://www.schwinnbikeforum.com/index.php?topic=21055.0 if so what was he asking ?

 

[juvela]

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This is enough that I would really wish to examine the balance of the machine:

spots such as top tube to head tube junction

fork crown to steerer junction

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If you look closely at first image you can see where some brass was added to the top of the joint - either at the end of brazing or afterward.

The joint has clearly received "a little extra work", either at the factory or subsequently.

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With these two photos as the only information I would pass.

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This is the sort of imperfection where the machine could be ridden hard for years without it ever developing further...or it could fail in an instant.

Failure risk of course greater if rider large/heavy.

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