I had a quick look at a new Singular Pegasus frame the otter day in my LBS that had been ordered in for a mate. TBH the welding looked properly shonky compared to my (pre-Lynskey) Soda, let alone my previous Litespeed. Now I know that they’re hand-welded by Italians, but was this just a Friday afternoon job, or are they all like it? Should my mate send it back?

I think it’s something to do with the way they get welded inside an argon filled box.
instead of having argon pumped through the tubes.

sam will be along shortly no dought.

I think Sam’s at the outlaws till january

Welds look good on this:Pegasus

more than happy with the quality of my singular swift. one of the nicest bikes i’ve ridden and wouldnt hesitate to buy another from Sam

Looked at a pegasus in my lbs the other day, I was underwhelmed by the quality of the welding. Lovely bike let down by the welding IMO.

It wasn’t as neat as the welding I’ve seen on a Litespeed that a really lanky guy I know had!! (edit – I’ve just realised who the op is)

I think the Pegasus is made by a different factory to the one that does the Swifts. My Swift is beautifully made.

Lol at BigM. Not looking like I’m going to make it to Pretty Corner tomorrow. Still under the cosh.

But aren’t the Litespeeds etc twice the price of the Singulars?

All the ones I’ve seen have looked ok to me.

Well, the Singular isn’t a cheap frame. £1600 buys you all manner of Lynskey built frames which from what I have seen are impeccably built. The reason Litespeeds are more is because of all the working to the tubes. You don’t get much of that on the Pegasus from what I can tell.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s A lovely looking frame and I bet it’s a great bike to ride. Perhaps my expectations of the quality were a bit too high.

had an Tinbred with prettier welds didn’t stop it from failing though…
you really need to ride one one then you’ll buy one…… probably 😀

I’d have a Singular over an on one, sorry Lynsky anyday!

Onions are made by Van Morrisons now not Lynskey. Don’t think theycould afford the bill.

bol – when I checked it out I would have been upset if I’d ordered it, I’m pretty sure it’ll ride well but I wouldn’t have settled for it!

I’ve got a Pegasus,I THINK the welds look ok,don’t really care tho,as I’d rather ride it than look at it,’cause it rides sooooo nice,oh,and I had an original Tinbred years ago.It broke,but then again, it was made by shonky cowboys……..

I’ll confess I’ve got a Pegasus too and it’s a great ride,no the welds don’t look as nice as the Seven and Merlin I’ve got they’re better than the Hummer and all I read about them on this site was how they rode not how they were built,just see if you can get a ride on one then make your mind up

It’s a good point. I would choose rough looking welds over ones that don’t work. I always thought the onones died due to a design issue rather than build though?

The Pegasus is welded in an Argon chamber, the benefits of which could be argued, but one side effect is that the welds aren’t as pretty as regular ones. Because of that, I understand that Nevi rub the welds down to make them smoother (just for visuals I think). To be honest, the obsession with “stack-of-dimes” visual welds on frames these days is a bit pointless imho, but I guess it’s all in the eye of the beholder. I’ll admit I was underwhelmed when I first saw the Pegasus welds, but I understand why they’re like that, and having ridden it (a lot), I couldn’t give a monkey’s what the welds look like!!

Oh,I’ve just read my post and I’m not a total Ti tart,the Merlin is 16yrs the Seven 8yrs old,so as you see I like my bikes to last and the Hummer was an 07 model(Lightspeed Built??)was sold due to the fact it wasn’t being rode.

The Pegasus is welded in an Argon chamber, the benefits of which could be argued, but one side effect is that the welds aren’t as pretty as regular ones.

As I said in the first reply. 8)

Indeed, but I thought it warranted repeating 😛 (and I’m slightly high on champagne and quality street at the moment)

i’ve not really looked at the welds, i’ve been riding it a lot though even when i’ve had the choice of the swift and FS bikes, if i wanted a frame to put n a glass case and stare at i guess i’d want something else, sorted geometry is more important to me

pedalhead – Member

Indeed, but I thought it warranted repeating

Indeed it does.

They are indeed welded inside an aroespace argon filled chamber through a window and using welding mitts
By a very nice man who owns the factory and knows a thing or two about welding and frame building
I was lucky enough to pop in and meet him whilst on holiday so that’s how I know
What you are in fact seeing is a weld that is floated into the frame tubes and by purging the inside of the frame of oxygen this in turn draws the weld inside the frame tubes
This does indeed make the welds look different to what the op is used too seeing on mass produced ti frames it may not be to his taste but if I read it right then it’s not his frame
I know Sam is away in the Slovak mountains till the new year probably avoiding the cricket !

I love the thick welds seen on American Bicycle (I think) brand back in the day.

you don’t see them any more.

The beauty of STW – you ask a question and you get a range of knowledgable answers. Well at least I did this time. Thanks.

Just to chime in on what others have said. Yes, Nevi (who make the Pegasus frames) welds in an Argon filled chamber which ensures zero chance of oxygen contamination in the welding process. As you can see this necessitates welding at an arms length distance while wearing some big rubber gloves peering through a window. As such the welds don’t have the perfect even precision of those you see on some high-end Ti frames. However I have seen many of those neatly welded frames fail at the weld. Nevi hand finishes the weld to look them look a little smoother. Personally I’ve come to prefer the look of the sanded welds to the regular even beads, kinda like an old cannondale or even close to a nice fillet brazed frame, YOMV. Ultimately, I suppose it’s about the ride and whether those that have them like them. I’m gratified to conclude from the messages above that the Pegasus stands up to those criteria.

Nevi tank by Singular Cycles, on Flickr

Nice post Sam.

Anyone who believes this could affect the ride needs to have a word with themselves!

Funny about the welds, I got in a strop when I saw the cable guides only to be told if you don’t like them send it back for a refund. I fully admit to being a bit of a ti tart, Merlins have some very pretty welds, and nicely brazed cable guides, but as I now have a Moots and a Merlin as bare frames I made the best choice in declining Sams kind offer of a refund.. If in doubt wait until ridden one and then you wouldn’t care what they looked like. A Foes I have hanging in the garage had some lovely welds until it snapped 😯