6061, 7000 or 7005

[IDB1]

Well I was only curious

Kept seeing the numbers thrown around the place and wondered where they fitted in..

 

[B3]

As previously stated, it's the geometry that's really key to a frame the material, in the case of alluminium is secondary. BITD Eastons 7005 tubing was adopted by the high end brands mainly because a lot of these were small frame shops & it eliminated post weld heat treatment of the frames (additional cost), 6061 is used because it was a readily available in a wide range of suitable sizes from the aircraft industry and it's formable, a lot of the alloys available are not suitable for bending of any kind.

HTH.

 

[retrojon]

No 6005 mentioned?

 

[cyfa2809]

t6 is ho wthe frame is treated
iirc its cemical treated and heat treated :?
there are a few different treatments which giv different desired effects but theyre all a play off between desired effects and un desired affects i think.

 

[Black_puma]

From my memory, and I am referring to the older GT bikes from the 90's, you got the 6061 heat treated frames for the Zaskar frames, which made them light and stiff and strong. Anything below the Zaskar frames were usually 7005 series aluminum (1992 Pantera AL)
I know things have changed quite a bit since.
I currently own a 2020 Pinnacle Cobalt 2 hybrid, which has a 6061 aluminium frame, which is a double butted heat treated frame. so the 6061 has trickled down to lower end bikes as cost comes down and can be bought in large quantities. Apart from the frame being too large for me, it's a decent ride. (not as nice as a GT Zaskar, though).