# Reynolds 531 PRO tubing



## pubrunner (19 Nov 2009)

Does anyone have any knowledge or riding experience of Reynolds 531 PRO tubing ?

Is it fragile ? Do I need to be under 9st  to use it ?

Is there any difference between 531 PRO tubing and Reynolds 653 ?

Is it lighter/heavier than Columbus SLX ? (Is that the comparable Columbus tubing ?

Ta v. much


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## Aso Jones (29 Nov 2009)

I have a touring bike made with Reynolds 532 tubing. It's now just 40 years old.
So I don't go for long distances on it like I use to, and these days going down hills I go a bit slow. However riding it is really nice bounces over everything, no thud thud.


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## MajorMantra (29 Nov 2009)

With the possible exception of some very exotic carbon frames, even quite heavy riders should be fine on pretty well any bike.

Matthew


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## yashicamat (29 Nov 2009)

I'm slightly perplexed why a 40 year old frame should be treated gently? Surely the steel shouldn't fatigue under normal conditions (should be well within the metal's elastic limits) . . or is it the welds that give cause for concern?

Making me wonder about the 37 year old Galaxy frame I was intending to turn into a quick SS (as in, let loose on the downhills) . . .

Rob


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## Aso Jones (30 Nov 2009)

The reason I said that is, I'v been riding bikes a good few years sixty something to be precise, and one day as a gang of us were riding along on a straight pretty smooth road, one of the gang said wow, my bike as gone at a queer angle, and when we looked one of his stays had a crease in it somewhere in the middle. We got home slowly, he scraped the frame, it was about 35 years old, 531 tubing. So after mine got past 30 years old I treated it gentle.

Have you ever gone down a hill at a good speed, and the rim on the front wheel just blew off with a terrific bang, I have. I bought them set of wheels from freewheels years ago, and was ready to phone them to give them a ear bashing. But I thought no better have a look see how many miles they have done, as I use to record all my millage in my diary. They had done 30,000 odd miles, and I recon that's a good millage considering where I live, very hilly.


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## Aso Jones (30 Nov 2009)

Yashicamat, good camera.
It's not what you can see on the outside of the frame it's whats going on in the inside where you can't see it. I know some people to put oil in the inside tubes on a regular basis and well, perhaps that will increase it's life. Me, after the first year of shiny kit syndrome, my bikes have been left to fend for themselves polishing wise, of course maintenance is something you have to do regularly.


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## yashicamat (30 Nov 2009)

Cheers for the reply Aso Jones. Yes, I see your point . . . was the bent frame rusted away?

I've had the wheel collapse happen to me, although it was a rear so not so bad and it was off road at the time (the rim was ground away to literally nothing and it just collapsed, oddly on a smooth section).

I'm going to fish around for another frame now I think anyway - the Galaxy seems to have too many potential issues surrounding it without even thinking about the frame conditon!

As for the namesake, I have a 1957 one (my favourite and still is sweeter to use than my Hasselblad) and a 124G which is smart looking, but really lacks the quality of the original 'mat.


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## Aso Jones (1 Dec 2009)

Something else you have to remember with a old frame, over the years they altered the distance between the wheel dropouts. So I have always had to build new wheels when needed, using my old hubs,they have lasted really well thou. 

Yes those were the days 2 1/4 square negatives. I had a Rolli for a good few years, and it paid for itself over and over taking weddings. The first wedding I took, it was wrote about on the front page of the Daily Herald. Not many can say that. Not even lord Snowdon.


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## chris667 (6 Dec 2009)

531 professional is the same as ordinary 531 tubing, but drawn thinner. It was designed for ultimate light weight, not longevity. Yes, if you were too heavy you coulad break it. But then, if it's a nice frame and a bargain that's not the end of the world. Enjoy your super light frame.


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## rey953 (4 Jan 2010)

*reynolds 531 pro*

Hello,

531 professional was the successor of 531SL (superlight)
and the last "light" version of 531C. 
the only difference with regular 531C was the tubing thickness

653 is a combination of tubes, not a material.
653 consists of a 531 professional main triangle completed with 753
seat and chain stays.

please note that with 531pro only the 3 main tubes are a bit thinner than regular 531c. so the weight difference is limited to about 100 grams.

653 however is due to the thinner 753 stays even lighter than 531pro.

columbus slx is a different tube, it is chrome molybdenium instead of manganese molybdenium like 531.
slx is triple butted (helix shape inside the maintriangle) and 531 bouble butted.

i'll take 531 over slx any day of the week. Columbus has a tendency to take a simple thing and make it complicated.......

if you were to buy a new frame, 531 is replaced with 631.
653 is replaced with 631 main tubes with 725 stays.

hope this is of any help to you.

Alexander Bazuin.


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## EYE-TYE-MAD (12 Feb 2012)

chris667 said:


> 531 professional is the same as ordinary 531 tubing, but drawn thinner. It was designed for ultimate light weight, not longevity. Yes, if you were too heavy you coulad break it. But then, if it's a nice frame and a bargain that's not the end of the world. Enjoy your super light frame.


There is also 531-R tubing, which is also thinner & lighter than standard 531. Mostly used in the late 70s, earley 80s. At the time there wasn't much around that was lighter, don't know how it stacks up, weight wise, with 531 Pro though.


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## ColinJ (12 Feb 2012)

Aso Jones said:


> Yashicamat, good camera.
> It's not what you can see on the outside of the frame it's whats going on in the inside where you can't see it. I know some people to put oil in the inside tubes on a regular basis and well, perhaps that will increase it's life.


I was made very aware of the importance of that when I encountered a rider walking with his no longer rideable bike on a local audax ...







 !!!

(In this case, he should have spotted the rust _before_ the forks snapped!)


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## EYE-TYE-MAD (12 Feb 2012)

ColinJ said:


> I was made very aware of the importance of that when I encountered a rider walking with his no longer rideable bike on a local audax ...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## EYE-TYE-MAD (12 Feb 2012)

ColinJ said:


> I was made very aware of the importance of that when I encountered a rider walking with his no longer rideable bike on a local audax ...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


OOPS..BIG TIME!


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## ColinJ (12 Feb 2012)

EYE-TYE-MAD said:


> OOPS..BIG TIME!


He was damn lucky - we'd already done several steep, fast descents before I spotted him. He told me that he'd been riding along on the flat after one such descent when he realised that the front of the bike had gone a bit wobbly and his front mudguard was rubbing the wheel! He got off to investigate and that was what he saw ...


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## RecordAceFromNew (12 Feb 2012)

ColinJ said:


> I was made very aware of the importance of that when I encountered a rider walking with his no longer rideable bike on a local audax ...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
Looking at the pic, the interesting thing is it seems perfectly round holes had been drilled into the blades at the crown (don't know whether it is fore or aft) which could not have helped their survival, evident by the splits at the holes. Having just examined my 531 fork blades they do have similar round holes, but much nearer the axle than the crown and on the inside surface, not fore/aft where I would have thought the maximum stress and strain would be.


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## ColinJ (12 Feb 2012)

RecordAceFromNew said:


> Looking at the pic, the interesting thing is it seems perfectly round holes had been drilled into the blades at the crown (don't know whether it is fore or aft) which could not have helped their survival, evident by the splits at the holes. Having just examined my 531 fork blades they do have similar round holes, but much nearer the axle than the crown and on the inside surface, not fore/aft where I would have thought the maximum stress and strain would be.


That's the rear view. I imagine that the idea was to let any water out, but it probably had the opposite effect!

The exterior rust must have been visible for some time before the forks broke. It shows the importance of checking your bike regularly. Which reminds me ... I noticed that my front brake blocks have almost worn out - I must order some more!


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## RecordAceFromNew (12 Feb 2012)

Fwiw Jobst Brandt has some interesting comments about rust and those vent holes from the brazing process.


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## EYE-TYE-MAD (13 Feb 2012)

ColinJ said:


> That's the rear view. I imagine that the idea was to let any water out, but it probably had the opposite effect!
> 
> The exterior rust must have been visible for some time before the forks broke. It shows the importance of checking your bike regularly. Which reminds me ... I noticed that my front brake blocks have almost worn out - I must order some more!


To be honest, I think the holes are for gas expansion during brazing, but what is for sure is that they have been a major contributory factor to some heavy corrosion.


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