New Touring Bike (RTW)

[whittierider]

One can, and for the last 120 years many have, brazed bicycle frames without lugs (it's called fillet brazing).

Would the brass filling be stong enough?  The forces that cracked the steel in the first place are still there.

In my experience, no, it's not strong enough, unless the fillet is very large.  I remember the Schwinn Varsity having a fillet-brazed steel frame, but those fillets were absolutely huge-- very thick.

[paddleboy17]

One can, and for the last 120 years many have, brazed bicycle frames without lugs (it's called fillet brazing).

Would the brass filling be stong enough?  The forces that cracked the steel in the first place are still there.

In my experience, no, it's not strong enough, unless the fillet is very large.  I remember the Schwinn Varsity having a fillet-brazed steel frame, but those fillets were absolutely huge-- very thick.

I just checked in with my buddy, the hobbyist welder.  He agrees with me that brazing is likely a temporary fix.  He also says that once something is braized, you will not be able to TIG weld it later (something about never getting the surface clean enough).   He seems to think that the frame could be repaired post braizing with a nickle bronze weld (Oxy-Acetylene process).

I did find a reference (http://mnhpva.org/tech/brazing.html) that implies that a fillet-braze would be a permanent fix if the depth of the fillet is 6 times the wall thickness of the steel.  Nickel-Silver brazing is even stronger (fillet depth is on par with TIG welding).  So maybe you can make a permanent (albeit an ugly) reair to a cracked steel frame in a third world country.

[TCS]

I remember the Schwinn Varsity having a fillet-brazed steel frame, but those fillets were absolutely huge-- very thick.

Your memory is faulty on this.  The Varsity had an "electro-forged" (electric arc welded) frame, an entirely different technology.  What you mistakenly thought were "absolutely huge" fillets were actually just radii in sheet metal stampings.  See:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/varsity.html

Schwinn did make other frames with the fillet-brazing method, as have many other companies down through the years.  My 29 year old Santana tandem has a fillet-brazed frame with delicate, small radius fillets, and it's held up perfectly for ten of thousands of miles.  Some Jack Taylor fillet-brazed tandems are approaching 70 years old and still being ridden.

[whittierider]

It's not that my memory was faulty, but I didn't realize what was under the paint there.  It's interesting that the article kept talking about the method reducing costs, and yet the bike was very expensive at the time for what it was.

[Pat Lamb]

I don't remember the Varsity as being expensive, but then, I put down another $50 and got the LeTour.  It seemed expensive compared to the single-speed bike from the hardware store that it replaced, but then, it had GEARS! and those funky caliper brakes instead of coaster brakes.  I think the Varsity was pretty inexpensive for what it delivered; IIRC it was the cheapest derailer bike in the bike shop.

[whittierider]

I believe it was $180 in the late 1970's when I was working at a bike shop and we had a couple of other lines that had bikes I felt were at least as good for less money, and lighter too.  Of course, even our low-end steel road tandem with the Softride beam in back is almost lighter than a Varsity was.  My first 10-speed was a pice-of-junk department-store jobbie and it weighed 7 pounds less than the Varsity (33 versus 40 pounds).

[paddleboy17]

Even though it had aluminum wheels (the Varsity had steel rims), I believe that the Continental was actually heavier than a Varsity.  I heard from a Schwinn rep that the Varsity was designed for irresponsible teenagers, and the Continental was designed for their pudgier parents.

I still remember my Varsity warmly.  They were far more nimble than you would be incline to think a Varsity could be.

[Tasmanian]

I might add that I do intend to purposely ride off pavement, but I want to be prepared   Will be traveling as light as possible.

Salsa  Vaya is  good  on  dirt  &  pavement
fit  a  Rohloff  hub  &  you  have  a  good  sturdy  bike

[mootoxybb]

Hello,  there are a lot of builders out there but for my money it would be the Co-Motion Pangea if you want 26" wheeled bike.  Dump the road bars (unless you really like em) and look at the Jeff Jones loop bar.  I have this on my Co-Motion Americano belt drive rohloff and love all the hand positions and the loop section gives you plenty of room for gps, lights, flat screen tv, etc.  I really doubt you would have any issues with a steel built bike, I'd shy away from aluminium.  If money is no object than go with the Co-motion, might as well stick a rohloff on there as well...
Happy Journeys and best of luck to ya.