Titanium, a mystic dark art must have or a lot of hype?

[xerxes]

Re:

Saw this on your link 'There’s no doubt that Reynolds 853 rides beautifully, but there was always going to be the weight penalty hanging overhead; its’ overall strength dictating how thin you go with the wall thickness with compromising the structural integrity of the frame."

Yes, but 953 is even stronger, allowing it to be made even thinner and therefore lighter:

So, what makes 953 so special? Its big trump card is its strength. It’s off-the-scale strength. 953’s UTS (Ultimate Tensile Strength) of 1750-2050 MPa results in a superior strength-to-weight ratio, enabling Reynolds, in combination with oversize tube profiles, to draw very thin walled tubes (Reynolds will butt down to 0.3mm in places) and give an overall frame weight comparable to that of Titanium but nearly twice as stiff. To give you a bit of perspective Reynolds’ former flagship 853 steel alloy has a UTS of 1250-1400 MPa, 7075-T6 (heat treated) Aluminium - 510–538 Mpa and premium Grade 5 Ti-6Al-4V Titanium – 900-1150 Mpa. It’s strong. It’s crazy strong!

Good point about rider weight, a frame that feels great for a rider weighing 50 or 60Kg might feel way too flexible for a rider weighing 90 or 100Kg and vice versa.

 

[hamster]

Re: Re:

Good post Joe.

If anybody needs convincing of just how tough titanium bike frame tubing is, try cutting through some with an angle grinder, then try some equivalent steel tubing. Dont forget the safety specs and fire proof suit for the Ti cutting

That is kind of irrelevant as Titanium galls when cutting, which jams the saw by filling the teeth. Therefore it's tough on tools and 6/4 is terrible to work with.

I spent a whole morning cutting off the thin titanium safety cladding from a helicopter gearbox many years ago. My colleagues exploited my 19 year old keenness for what turned out to be a horrible job.

 

[66 triumph daytona]

Re:

Its a bitch to work with.I had to make some titanium bracketry for an acid dip once and the amount of blades and discs I went through was unreal(was worth it for the "free" ti bolts though ).It makes even stainless feel like a walk in the park to work with.

 

[M-Power]

Re: Re:

Saw this on your link 'There’s no doubt that Reynolds 853 rides beautifully, but there was always going to be the weight penalty hanging overhead; its’ overall strength dictating how thin you go with the wall thickness with compromising the structural integrity of the frame."

Yes, but 953 is even stronger, allowing it to be made even thinner and therefore lighter:

So, what makes 953 so special? Its big trump card is its strength. It’s off-the-scale strength. 953’s UTS (Ultimate Tensile Strength) of 1750-2050 MPa results in a superior strength-to-weight ratio, enabling Reynolds, in combination with oversize tube profiles, to draw very thin walled tubes (Reynolds will butt down to 0.3mm in places) and give an overall frame weight comparable to that of Titanium but nearly twice as stiff. To give you a bit of perspective Reynolds’ former flagship 853 steel alloy has a UTS of 1250-1400 MPa, 7075-T6 (heat treated) Aluminium - 510–538 Mpa and premium Grade 5 Ti-6Al-4V Titanium – 900-1150 Mpa. It’s strong. It’s crazy strong!

Good point about rider weight, a frame that feels great for a rider weighing 50 or 60Kg might feel way too flexible for a rider weighing 90 or 100Kg and vice versa.

Impressive materials stats there. Having owned a Serotta T Max, a Klein and tried a Pace, i can vouch for the need for some some inherent flexibility in a frame for long ride comfort but take the point about having more tuneability with 953.

Ti tubing is defo nasty stuff to cut.

 

[M-Power]

Re:

I joined a Framebuilders forum on FB. Some interesting thread posts from framebuilders on their preferred steel tubing to build a road frame.