The development of materials for bicycle frame construction over the years has left the consumer in a position to either educate oneself or just be “Marketed”. The following pages are on my behalf an effort to do the educating. One must remember that a bicycle frame is nothing more than a truss. My educational background is in Architectural/Mechanical engineering. My professor was being sued for the roofs collapsing from snow loads on a couple of government buildings, so the truss concept was drilled in my head.
I am going to start out by saying something that you may not want to read, and that is about carbon fiber frames. What in nature most mimics this form of material? Wood.
Wood is a fiber reinforced with resin. No different is carbon fiber that is used in the cycling industry. If all we were interested in was the main frame to comply with its original intention of supporting the rider and components, we would still be making bicycles out of wood. The fact that technology has driven the design to find a fine balance between strength and light weight while allowing for some kind of reliability, steel will always be the best choice for construction.
Carbon steel (the stuff your ol’ ballooner bike was made of) has a yield strength of around 80,000lbs/sqinch. The highest strength aluminum tubing offerings are around that so it is my statement that anywhere aluminum can be replaced with carbon fiber (i.e. cranksets) would be a good choice. The issue here is strength in the main frame is crucial for the over all dynamics of cycling. Our current Nitronic Stainless is about 265,000lbs/sqinch and the True Temper S-3 is almost that. That my friend is 3 times the strength of Carbon Fiber. Remember, the resin is plastic and is really the catalyst for holding the fibers together. The problem with the overall equation for carbon fiber frames is that the yield strength vs. tinsel strength is so close together that you are going to have catastrophic failure when it does go and in order to have a frame as strong as a high end steel frame it would have to be 3 times as heavy. To top that, the majority of carbon fiber frames use aluminum in the bottom bracket and headtube. Electrolysis is created when you bring these two elements (this is how a battery works) together and the bonding breaks down. Try to find a frame manufacture that gives you a lifetime guarantee!
I have additional articles offered by Crispin Miller from back in the days when he was writing for “Bike Tech” that he has allowed me to publish. One on the “Crispin_Mount_Miller_Tubing_Rigidity” and another “Crispin_Mount_Miller_Frame_Rigidity”.
So enjoy the following editorial, and may it help you in deciding on your next purchase.
Jalon Hawk
Steel is, by far, the most common frame material. Steel makes a frame that is strong, rigid, and light enough to suit most riders. Perhaps most importantly, it is easy to work with. Steel is easy to machine, and it can be joined by methods learned in shop class with equipment that is affordable. However, not just any steel is used; there are only a few varieties which are suitable. But you wouldn't get this impression by looking at all the tube decals on bikes at the local bike shop. Nearly every tubing manufacturer has its own code or generic names of common bicycle steels.
These codes are a numbering system devised by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) consisting of four numbers to identify steels. These numbers are broken into two pairs. The first pair indicates the principal alloying element(s). For example, Tange Champion No. 2 is an AISI 4130 steel with the 4 indicating it's a chromium-molybdenum steel and the I indicating it contains a total of about one percent chromium and molybdenum. The second pair gives the average carbon content in hundredths of one percent. So the "30" in 4130 means that it contains an average of 0.30 percent carbon. With this chemistry, a steel is given the catchy phrase "Cr-Mo," or "Chrome Moly." The first two AISI steels listed in Table I are called plain carbon steels because they contain only carbon and manganese as intentional alloying elements. Steels that contain a total of about one to 4.5 percent chromium, molybdenum, nickel, and other elements (in addition to carbon and manganese), are termed "alloy steels." Both 31XX and 41XX are alloy steels. Table 2 lists the specific elements that are added to steels. The main function of these alloying elements is to increase strength. In addition, they control the strengthening process when steel is heat treated. A stronger steel can withstand a higher level of stress so less of it is needed in a frame. This means that the wall thickness of the tubes can be decreased, which results not only in a lighter frame, but also enhanced ride comfort because the frame damage to occur as cracking or buckling which can be easily spotted before catastrophic failure occurs.
So to ensure adequate ductility, the carbon content is kept below 0.4 percent. Table 3 lists the mechanical properties of the steels in Table 2 before and after brazing at the manufacturers' recommended brazing temperature. But there is one problem with this data-it is not always reliable. I have tested different brands of bicycle tubing over the years, and found that the data is usually exaggerated, so take it with a grain of salt. It's clear, however, that the strength of tubing both before and after brazing varies widely, depending on the type of steel. Confusing the situation further, test methods are not always realistic. However, don't be too concerned about small discrepancies; the tubes are strong enough in normal use. I've also determined that it is not easy to pinpoint where in a tube this strength reduction occurs; its location depends on how hot the tube got when it was welded or brazed. Knowing the magnitude and location of the strength reduction is important, because if it drops too far in the wrong part of the tube, then the frame may not hold up to the normal forces of cycling. For those readers unfamiliar with the strength terms given in Table 3, here is a quick summary:
| This information, except for the column on the far right, was compiled from sales catalogues and correspondences with. tube manufacturers and importers in the early 80's. It's possible to special order some tubes in different thicknesses and tapers for almost every tubeset listed In this table The tubes listed here are the ones you're most likely to encounter. | |||||||||||||
| Butting configurations are read as follows: | |||||||||||||
| plain gauge 0.9 single butted 0.9/0.6 double butted 0.9/0.6/0.9 triple butted 0.9/0.6/0.8 quadruple butted 0.9/0.6/0.7/0.8 | |||||||||||||
| In addition to being single butted, the steering columns for each of the following tubesets contain straight or helical reinforcing ribs to better resist torsional (twisting) stresses: COLUMBUS RECORD, KL, SLX, SL, SP, OR; ISHIWATA 015, 017, 019, EXO-L, EXOM, MTB; SUPER VITUS 980, VITUS 181; TANGS PRESTIGE, TANGS CHAMPION # 1-4, TANGS MTB. | |||||||||||||
| 2. The " TYPE(s) OF CYCLING" and "MAXIMUM RIDER WEIGHT" columns are intended to be only rough guidelines. Each of these can vary depending upon frame size, expected frame life, desired performance characteristics, weight, etc. | |||||||||||||
| For Information on the NEW Reynolds 953 STAINLESS tubing follow this link: 953 | |||||||||||||
| Thickness, in millimeters | MAXIMUM | ||||||||||||
| TUBESET | RIDER | ||||||||||||
| BRAND | TOP TUBE | DOWN TUBE | SEAT TUBE | HEAD | FORK | CHAIN | SEAT | STEERING | WEIGHT, | WEIGHT 2 | |||
| TUBE | BLADES | STAYS | STAYS | COLUMN | in grams | in pounds | |||||||
| Columbus Record | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 2.5/1.65 | 1610 | 125 | |||
| Columbus SL | 0.7/0.5/0.7 | 0.7/0.5/0.7 | 0.5/0.7 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 2.5/1.65 | 1670 | 125 | |||
| Columbus SLX | 0.9/0.6/0.9 | 0.9/0.6/0.9 | 0.6/0.9 | 1 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 2.5/1.65 | 1959 | 150 | |||
| Columbus SL | 09/06/0.9 | 09/0.6/0.9 | 0.6/0.9 | 1 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 2.5/1.65 | 1925 | 150 | |||
| Columbus SP | 1.0/0.7/1.0 | 1.0/0.7/1.0 | 0.7/1.0 | 1 | 1.05 | 1 | 1 | 2.5/1.65 | 2295 | 200 | |||
| Columbus OR | 1.0/0.7/1.0 | 1.1/0.8/0.9/1.2 | 0.7/1.0 | 1 | 1.1 | 1 | 1 | 2.7/1.65 | 2580 | all weights | |||
| Ishiwata 015 | 0.6/0.4/0.6 | 0.6/0.35/0.6 | 0.7/0.4 | 1 | 1 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 2.2/1.60 | 1595 | 125 | |||
| Ishiwata 017 | 0.7/0.4/0.7 | 0.7/0.4/0.7 | 0.7/0.4/0.7 | 1 | 1 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 2.2/1.60 | 1855 | 150 | |||
| Ishiwata 019 | 0.8/0.5/0.8 | 0.8/0.5/0.8 | 0.8/0.5 | 1 | 1 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 2,2/1.60 | 2015 | 150 | |||
| Ishiwata 022 | 0.9/0.6/0.9 | 0.9/0.6/0.9 | 0.9/0.6 | 1 | 1 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 2.2/1.60 | 2185 | 175 | |||
| Ishiwata EXO-L | 0.8/0.5/0.4/0.7 | 0.8/0.5/0.4/0.8 | 0.8/0.5/0.4/0.7 | 1 | 1 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 2.2/1.60 | 1950 | 150 | |||
| Ishiwata EXO-M | 09/06/05/0.8 | 0.9/0.6/0.5/0.9 | 0.9/0.6/0.5/0.8 | 1 | 1 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 2.2/1.60 | 2125 | 175 | |||
| Ishiwata EX-F | 0.9/0.6/0.7 | 0.9/0.6/0.7 | 0.9/0.6 | 1 | 1 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 2.2/1.60 | |||||
| Ishiwata EX-T | 10/7/2008 | 1.0/0.7/0.8 | 1.0/0.7 | 1 | 1 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 2.2/1.60 | - | 200 | |||
| Ishiwata MAGNY-V | 1.0/0.7/1.0 | 1.0/0.7/1.0 | 1.0/0.7 | 1 | 1 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 2.5/1.60 | 2235 | 200 | |||
| Ishiwata MAGNY-X | 0.9/0.6/0.9 | 0.9/06/09 | 0.9/0.6 | 1 | 1 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 2.5/1.60 | 2420 | 200 | |||
| Ishiwata MTB-D | 1.2/0.9/1.2 | 1.2/0.9/1.2 | 1.2/0.9 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1 | 2.7/1.60 | - | all weights | |||
| Reynolds 753T | 0.7/0.3/07 | 08/0.5/08 | 0.7/0.3 | 1 | 1.0/0.5 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 1.55 | 1750 | 150 | |||
| Reynolds 753R | 0.7/0.5/0.7 | 0.8/0.5/0.8 | 0.7/0.5 | 1 | 1.0/0.5 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 1.55 | 1800 | 150 | |||
| Reynolds 531 PRO I | 0.7/0.5/0.7 | 0.8/0.5/0.8 | 0.7/0.5 | 1 | 1.0/0.5 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 1.55 | 1900 | 150 | |||
| Reynolds 531 C | 0.8/0.5/0.8 | 0.9/0.6/0:9 | 0.8/0.5 | 1 | 1.0/0.5 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 2.3/1.60 | 2050 | 150 | |||
| Reynolds 531ST | 0.8/0.5/0.8 | 1.0/0.7/1.0 | 0.8/0.5 | 1 | 1.2/0.8 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 2.3/1.60 | 2200 | 175 | |||
| Reynolds 501 | 0.9/0.6/0.9 | 0.9/0.6/0.9 | 0:9/0.6 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 2.3/1.60 | 2300 | 200 | |||
| Reynolds 501 All- Terrain | 1.0/7./1.0 | 1.2 | 1.0/0.7 | 0.9 | 1.4/0.9 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 2.3/1.60 | 2900 | all weights | |||
| Super Vitus 980 | 0.8/0.5/0.8 | 0.9/0.5/0:8 | 0.8/0.5 | 1 | 1 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 2.5/1.60 | 1805 | 150 | |||
| Vitus 181 | 1.0/0.7/1.1 | 1 0/07/1.0 | 1.0/07 | 1 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 2.5/1.60 | 2241 | 175 | |||
| Tange Prestige | 0.1/0.4/0.7 | 0.7/0.4/0.7 | 1.2/0.9/0.6 | 1 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 2.5/1.60 | 1987 | 150 | |||
| Tange Champion #1 | 0.8/0.5/0.8 | 0.8/0.5/0.8 | 0.9/0.6/0.9 | 1 | 1 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 2.5/1.60 | 2220 | 175 | |||
| Tange Champion #2 | 0.9/0.6/0.9 | 0.9/0.6/0.9 | 0.9/0.6/0.9 | 1 | 1 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 2.5/1.60 | 2,290 | 200 | |||
| Tange Champion #3 | 1.0/.7/1.0 | 1.0/0.7/1 | 0 9/0.6/0.9 | 1 | 1 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 2.5/1.60 | 2360 | 200 | |||
| Tange Champion #4 | 0.9/0.7 | 0.9/0.7 | 0.9/0.7 | 1 | 1 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 2.5/1.60 | 2270 | 175 | |||
| Tange Mangaloy 2001 | 1.0/0.7/1.0 | 1.0/0.7/1.0 | 1.0/07/0.85 | 1 | 1 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 2.7/1.60 | 2415 | 200 | |||
| Tange MTB | 1.0/0.7/1.0 | 1.2/0.9/1.2 | 1.0/0.7 | 1 | 1.1 | 1 | 1 | 2.6/1.60 | 3207 | all weights | |||
Tensile strength is a measure of how much force per unit of area, or the stress, it takes to break the tube;
Yield strength is the stress needed to permanently deform the tube a specific amount;
Percent elongation, a measure of the tube's ductility, is the amount the tube stretches relative to a portion of its original length.
Frames are made from either seamed or seamless tubing. Generally, inexpensive discount store bikes are made from seamed tubing because it's cheap to make. Most seamed tubes are made of low-strength plain carbon steel; these tubes must be thick walled to compensate for their low strength, but they are adequate for a bicycle that features a bargain-basement price rather than quality. A seamed tube begins life as a flat strip of sheet steel which is rolled into the shape of a cylinder and then welded along its length. The steel always suffers a drop in strength in the vicinity of the welded seam that only additional processing can correct. True Temper has perfected this additional processing through heat treating. This seam is easy to spot and is the best way to identify this type of tubing in other brands. Figure I shows how seamed tubes are made, and the resultant seam.
Most bicycles will be made from seamless tubes. In fact, all tubesets listed in Table 4 are seamless. Seamless tubes can be more expensive than seamed tubes because they are made from better quality steel and they are manufactured by costlier methods. Seamless tubes are made either from solid bars of steel or else fabricated like seamed tubes with additional processing. A seamless tube made from bar stock starts out red hot (between 1700-1800 degrees F). It is first pierced and drawn over a pointed steel bar called a mandrel. The tube is kept hot as it's next drawn between a series of dies until its dimensions are close to that of the finished tube. The tube is then softened by heat treating, cooled, cleaned to remove surface oxides, and then cold drawn to its final dimension.
Figure 2 illustrates the drawing process. Cold drawing also involves placing different sized mandrels inside the tube and drawing it between dies. But cold drawing is done at a temperature below 1300 degrees F. As the final drawing operations take place, the tube is given a series of low temperature heat treatments to refine its microstructure. Lastly, the tube is cleaned and polished. The second way to make a seamless tube is a hybrid of the seamed and seamless methods. Sheet metal is rolled and welded into a seamed tube, and then cold drawn to flatten out the seam. A final heat treatment refines the entire tube's microstructure so that it's impossible to distinguish from genuine seamless tubing. Tubing made from strip costs less than tubing made from bar stock because the machinery, mandrels, and dies needed to hot-pierce and draw solid bars of steel are very expensive. Several good quality tubesets are made from strip, including the Magny-X and Magny-V tubesets from Ishiwata. The seamed and heat treated True Temper tubes are every bit as good as the seamless tubes from Europe; True Temper makes its tubes from strip simply to be price competitive except for the Platinum and S-3 series.Most high-quality seamless tubes go through one final manufacturing step that has evolved just for bicycles. They are internally "butted"- made thicker at the ends than in the middle- while their outside diameters remain constant.
Table 4 lists the wall thicknesses and weights of many popular brands of tubing. I've also included approximate guidelines for the type of cycling each tubeset is best suited and the limitations on rider weight. The tube thickness given in Table 4 corresponds (from left to right) to the dimensions of the tubes shown in Figure 3. Bicycle manufacturers take pride in displaying tubing manufacturers' decals on their bicycles that say the frame tubes are butted. But sometimes the decals aren't entirely accurate. Take, for example, the decal found on a frame built with an Ishiwata EX tubeset. It says, "Guaranteed built with EX Cr Mo Triple Butted Tubes." This statement implies that all the tubes are butted, and triple butted at that. In reality, only the top and down tubes are triple butted. The seat tube and steering tube are single butted, and the fork blades, chainstays, seatstays, and head tube are straight gauge. This mix of butted tubes is standard for most high quality tubesets, but check Table 4 for variations.
"Taper Gauge" is another buzz-word bantered about in conversations about frame tubing. This term, used by Tl Reynolds to describe the cross sectional dimensions of their fork blades, implies that the wall thickness of the blades tapers. But it doesn't; the wall thickness of a Reynolds fork blade is constant. Rather, the tubes are tapered prior to becoming fork blades. The tapering is done to assure that the wall thickness of the fork blade is constant after one end is reduced in diameter. Otherwise, a tube of constant wall thickness would be made into a blade with a wall thicker at the narrow end. So to make fork blades with a constant wall thickness, you must start out with a tube which has a gradual decrease in wall thickness over the length of the tube. Hence, a "taper gauge" tube. Some fork blades listed in Table 4 appear to be single butted, but those numbers represent their dimensions prior to tapering.
As supplied to a bicycle manufacturer, they are straight gauge. Bicycle frame tubes are joined by welding, brazing, or braze welding (also known as fillet brazing). Most BMX framesets are welded, as are several brands of off-road clunkers. But most good road bicycle frames are joined by brazing. And most tandem frames are joined by the braze welding technique. Brazing bonds tubes together by heating the joint to a suitable temperature, then introducing a non-ferrous filler metal. The filler metal, usually copper- or silver-based, must melt at a temperature above 840 degrees F, but below the melting point of the base metal (i.e., the tubes). Molten brazing alloy is sucked into and distributed throughout the joint by forces developed by close-fitting surfaces, called capillary forces.
Braze welding is similar to both brazing and welding. Like brazing, braze welding uses filler metal to bond the tubes together, but the filler metal is built up around the joint like a weld bead rather than being distributed into it by capillary forces. Braze welding simply involves getting the joint hot enough so that the filler metal will stick to the tubes and hold them together. Unlike welding, the base metal is not melted. Each tubing manufacturer recommends a maximum brazing temperature, as shown in Table 3. They feel that higher temperatures will jeopardize the strength of the steel tube. If this and a few other recommendations are followed, the manufacturers guarantee their tubes against failure.
But many, if not most, experienced bicycle manufacturers and frame builders neglect recommended brazing temperatures. They've discovered that tubing failures are uncommon, even when they braze at temperatures well above the recommended limit. Another reason manufacturers exceed the recommended limits is to make production more flexible and economical. If they were to conform to the recommended temperatures, they would have to use a silver brazing alloy which contains 45 - 50 percent silver and is just too expensive and time consuming. It's really the skill and technique employed in the frame building process that determines the integrity of the brazed joint. However, Tl Reynolds won't distribute their ultra-thin 753 tubing to any frame manufacturer that won't follow recommended brazing techniques. Reynolds specifies a brazing temperature of 1200 degrees F or below for this tubing. They're concerned that higher temperatures will create a weakened area in the tube.
Figure 4 (on next page) shows the results of some work comparing the location of the softened zones produced by brazing at about 1200 and 1700 degrees. Notice that when brazing at 1200 degrees, the tube is softened up to about 7 mm behind the lug, while the higher temperature softens the tube at a point about 22 mm behind the lug. In each case the softened zone is normally well within the butted section of the tube. But it's possible that when sizing tubes, some frame builders may have to cut off a good portion of the butted section. If they then use a high brazing temperature, the softened area may form past the butted section in the tapered section or even thinner straight gauge section of the tube. This puts a weak spot in the tube in an area of the frame that may not be able to take the stress. Conforming to Reynolds' temperature restrictions requires brazing 753 with low-temperature, high-priced silver brazing alloys. But some frame builders prefer to use these alloys on all frames they build, even when they don't have to. There are several reasons why they choose to do so, although there is less validity in some than others: -Lower temperatures cause less distortion of the tubes, so less post-brazing frame alignment is required, along with the tubeset's integrity remains intact. It's easier to braze with silver brazing alloys. This is true; silver brazing alloys flow better into a joint and there are fewer problems during brazing and with post-brazing cleanup. -Silver brazed joints are stronger. This is not true; joint strength depends on factors other than just the type of filler metal. The main factor is where the tubes soften, which is temperature dependent. Silver brazing places the soft spot closer to the joint. -Frame repairs are easier to make on frames that have been silver brazed.This is true; less heat is needed to remove damaged tubes. Low-temperature silver brazing is a sales feature. No doubt about this. Many hand-built frames are regarded as jewelry by their owners. To say that the frame is silver-brazed adds to the mystique. It is also easy to strike fear into a customer with talk of the dire effects of heating steel tubes to orange-hot when brazing with brass filler. But Figure 4 clearly shows that higher temperatures only push the softened zone farther back from the joint and actually detract less from the yield strength of the tube ahead of the softened zone. This is not a problem if the right tubeset is selected. Most frame tubing is not nearly as finicky as Reynolds 753. In fact, the only reason that 753 needs special care is that it is so thin, not because it is any special sort of steel. (Table 2 shows that 753 is the same alloy as 531; 753 just has a different heat treatment.) Columbus Record tubing, for example, is just as hard to work with because its walls are also very thin. All tubing listed in Table 3 is plenty strong if the tubing gauges are sized correctly for the intended rider. This is why I included the tubeset weights and maximum rider weights in Table 4.
A frame built from Tange Prestige tubing will give a great ride to a sub-150-pound rider, but the same frame in the hands of a 200 pounder will be too flexible and may actually fail in use. Heavy riders need heavy gauge tubing. Since all the steels are very similar to each other, it is hard to pick favorites. Yet people who have ridden a number of bicycles made from different brands of tubing often claim that one brand of tubing is more rigid than another. This is not true; rigidity of steel tubing is a function of its outside diameter, wall thickness, and length. And since the outside diameter of tubing is fairly standard, a frame's rigidity will depend only on the thickness of the tubing and frame geometry. Thicker tubes resist bending simply because there's more metal there; short tubes bend less because forces act over shorter distances. So for equal lengths, gauges, tapers, and frame geometry, a frame made of Columbus SL tubing will be as rigid and ride identically to the same frame made from Ishiwata 022.
Even though many new types of tubing have been introduced in recent years, the steels used to make them are nearly the same as those used for the last 40 years. I think that is surprising, considering how much more we know about steels today. What have changed over the years are the types of heat treatment and the manufacturing processes used to impart impressive before-brazing strengths. Reynolds 753 and Tange Prestige tubesets are examples of tubes whose chemical compositions are the same as sister tubesets (Reynolds 531 and Tange Champion, respectively), but have different microstructures because of different heat treatments. Their increased strength allows them to have very thin walls. However, you may notice that Tables 3 and 4 list other tubesets with walls as thin or thinner than these (Columbus Record and Ishiwata 015, for example), which aren't any stronger than thicker grades in the same quality product line. These tubes have proven themselves to be reliable performers (within the limits of their intended use), so the justification for producing exotic tubing like Reynolds 753 and Tange Prestige out of standard alloys with current manufacturing techniques can be called into question.
All this information about tubesets, and your new knowledge about their virtues will help you understand why I am working with True Temper and Henry James. The consistency of manufacturing that this company has for their product will give consistent results in the final product. Also, if I cannot receive the proper materials that I have ordered, then time constraints can ruin a project. Hence the reason I have chosen Hank as my supplier. His attention to this concern helps the experience be more pleasurable. I want you to know that just about any tubeset (steel) is available and if there are certain needs that you have just let me know!
Second, low-hardenability steels require rapid cooling to transform martensite, while high-hardenability steels form martensite when they're air-cooled. These ‘hardenability’ characteristics are important because they help identify how much a steel tubing will harden during welding.
Tempering Martensite
Martensite in the "as quenched" condition is usually extremely
brittle and, therefore, not much good to anyone. Methods in heat treatment
tempering can increase ductility and toughness effectively with only slight
to moderate reduction in strength.
Generally speaking, tempering involves reheating hardened steel to a specific
temperature and holding it there for a short time before cooling. This
increases toughness (resistance to shock or impact loading) and reduces
brittleness by allowing carbon to precipitate into tiny carbide particles.
The microstructure that results is called ‘tempered martensite’.
The relationship between the resulting hardness and toughness is actually
a
compromise that's controlled by using a specific tempering time and temperature.
The higher the temperature is, the softer and tougher the steel is. I'll
get into more detail on this later in this article. Quenching and tempering
improve the qualities of structural steels, pressure vessels, and even
machinery. When low-alloy steels are quenched and tempered, the result
is high tensile and yield strength and improved notch toughness, especially
when compared to hot-rolled, normalized, or annealed steel.
Strengthening Metals
There are four ways to increase a metal's strength:
1. Cold working
2. Solid-solution hardening
3. Transformation hardening
4. Precipitation hardening
While precipitation hardening is an effective way to develop high strength
and hardness in some steels, it's most often an aluminum-alloy application
and is a little more complicated than the others.
Cold working a metal deforms and stresses its crystal structures, causing the metal to work-harden. Steel mills use a method of cold-working steel by running it back and forth through rollers with the steel at a temperature below the plastic state. This distorts the steel's grain structure, which increases its hardness and tensile strength, while decreasing ductility. Sheet metal fabricators and hammer formers deal with this too. After a piece of tempered sheet metal or aluminum is worked with a hammer for a while, it begins to get hard and brittle, so you may need to temper it again to be able to keep working it without cracking or splitting it.
Solid solution hardening stresses a metal's crystal structure by adding alloying metals that don't fit easily in the base metal's crystal lattice. This added stress increases tensile strength and decreases ductility.
Transformation hardening is the heat-quench-tempering heat treatment
cycle addressed earlier in this article. It's used to adjust strength
and ductility to meet specific application requirements. There are three
steps to transformation hardening:
1. Cause the steel to become completely austenitic by heating it 50 to
100 degrees F above its A3-Acm, transformation temperature (from that
steel's iron-carbon diagram). This is called austenitizing.
2. Quench the steel; that is, cool it so fast that the equilibrium materials
of pearlite and ferrite (or pearlite and cementite) can't form, and the
only thing left is the transitional structure martensite. The idea here
is to form 100 percent martensite.
3. Reduce brittleness by tempering the martensitic steel, which requires
heating it, but keep temperatures below Al. Typically, this means temperatures
are between 400 and 1,300 degrees F, which allows some of the martensite
to turn into pearlite and cementite. The steel then is allowed to air-cool
slowly.
By using the proper heat treatment and choosing a steel with just the
right amount of carbon, you can get just about any combination of hardness
and ductility to meet a specific requirement. Remember, the more pearlite
and cementite that forms, the more ductile and less brittle the steel
will be. Conversely, more martensite means less ductility but more hardness.
One topic I've ignored up to this point is grain structure changes during
precipitation hardening. Grain size depends on the austenitizing temperature.
When transforming a steel by heating to slightly above its A3 temperature
and then cooled to room temperature, grain refinement takes place. Fine
grain size offers better toughness and ductility.
Austenitizing temperatures higher than 1,800 degrees F generally cause
a coarse austenitic grain structure, and these coarse-grained steels are
usually inferior to fine-grained steels in terms of strength, ductility,
and toughness. Steel forgings and castings are often normalized specifically
to refine their grain structure.
How Welding Affects Hardening
It should be apparent that it sometimes requires a lot of effort to strengthen
a metal correctly. How much do you affect two pieces of hardened steel
when you weld them together? It depends on the how far from the weld you
want to consider important.
First, recognize that it's not just the welded joint but the entire heat-affected
zone (HAZ) that's subject to influences from welding heat. Defined as
the portion of the base metal whose mechanical properties or microstructure
have been altered by the heat of welding, brazing, soldering, or thermal
cutting, the HAZ can sometimes be quite large. This is where the tube
butting length is important to the frame builder.
Second, it depends on what form of strengthening was used. For example,
work-hardened metals re-crystallize and soften substantially in the HAZ.
Solid solution-hardened metals will have a little grain growth next to
the fusion line, but it's usually only a few grains wide and has little
effect on the metal's properties.
Transformation-hardened alloys that are capable to form martensite or
have formed martensite during previous heat treatment react much like
a solid solution-hardened metal: There's little change in the HAZ compared
to other hardening techniques, aside from minor grain growth at the fusion
line. Precipitation-hardened metals go through some complex changes, but
the result is similar to work-hardened metals: Base metal in the HAZ goes
through an annealing cycle and softens.
These concepts are just the basics of metal strengthening techniques and
how those techniques influence a metal's microstructure. Deciding on the
tubing to be used for frame building should be based on the joining method
because heat affects its properties. Here at Desperado Cycles I use 45%
cadmium free silver and do not get the tubing glowing orange, hence the
reason I specifically use True Temper’s Platinum series tubing!
Good ol' bike tech articles. PDF'ed for your enjoyment.
| The Front Triangle tubes are organized in order of increasing diameter, and within groups by increasing wall | ||||||||||
| thickness. Dimensions are metric unless otherwise indicated. Yield and tensile strengths are in units of 1000 | ||||||||||
| Psi. | ||||||||||
| Tubes with unequal double butting are marked with paint at one end. An asterisk (*) in the chart shows where | ||||||||||
| the tube is marked. | ||||||||||
| Double asterisks (**) show where external butting occurs. | ||||||||||
| The chart will print out in 3 pages if you set the browser font size to 10 points. | ||||||||||
| For Information on True Temper S-3 | ||||||||||
| 25.4mm (1.000") | Walls | Length | Butt 1 | Taper 1 | Center | Taper 2 | Butt 2 | YId/Tensile | Part Number | Special Features |
| OX PLATINUM | .7/.4/.7 | 580 | 60* | 51 | 321 | 38 | 110 | 185/195 | HOXPLAT02 | *Paint |
| OX PLATINUM | .7/.4/.7 | 620 | 60* | 51 | 361 | 38 | 110 | 185/195 | HOXPLATOI | *Paint |
| OX PLATINUM | .7/.45/.7 | 612 | 102 | 64 | 280 | 64 | 102 | 185/195 | HOXGOLD-TT7 | |
| VERUS HT | .7/.5/.7 | 600 | 102 | 62 | 270 | 63 | 102 | 175/185 | HRCXTT2 | |
| VERUS | .9/.6/.9 | 600 | 102 | 63 | 270 | 63 | 102 | 100/110 | RC2TT | |
| 28.6mm (1.125") | Walls | Length | Butt 1 | Taper 1 | Center | Taper 2 | Butt 2 | YId/Tensile | Part | Special Features |
| OX PLATINUM | .7/.4/.7 | 580 | 60* | 51 | 312 | 38 | 110 | 185/195 | HOXPLAT05 | *Paint |
| OX PLATINUM | .7/.4/.7 | 620 | 76 | 51 | 365 | 38 | 90 | 185/195 | HOXPLAT04 | |
| OX PLATINUM | .7/.4/.7 | 680 | 89* | 51 | 392 | 38 | 110 | 185/195 | HOXPLAT03 | *Paint |
| OX PLATINUM | .7/.46/.7 | 612 | 114* | 51 | 320 | 51 | 76 | 185/195 | HOXGOLD-TT3 | *Paint |
| VERUS HT | .76/.5/.65 | 650 | 102* | 51 | 345 | 51 | 102 | 175/185 | HOXPLAT-STI | *Paint |
| OX PLATINUM | .7/.5/.65 | 650 | 102* | 51 | 340 | 51 | 102 | 185/195 | HOXGOLD-TTI | *Paint |
| VERUS HT | .7/.5/.7 | 600 | 76 | 51 | 320 | 51 | 102 | 175/185 | HOXRCXTT | |
| VERUS HT | .8/.5/.8 | 650 | 89 | 51 | 358 | 51 | 102 | 175/185 | HOXRCXST | |
| VERUS HT | .8/.56/.8 | 650 | 178* | 63 | 244 | 63 | 102 | 175/185 | HRCXDT2 | *Paint |
| VERUS | .9/.6/.9 | 620 | 102 | 63 | 290 | 63 | 102 | 100/110 | RC2DT | |
| VERUS | .9/.6 | 650 | 102 | 63 | 485 | - | - | 100/110 | RC2ST | |
| VERUS | 1/.7 | 540 | 64* | 63 | 413 | - | - | 100/110 | AVRST | *Paint |
| 28.6mm External Butt | Walls | Length | Butt 1 | Taper 1 | Center | Taper 2 | Butt 2 | YId/Tensile | Part Number | Special Features |
| VERUS | .99/.56/.97 | 635 | 178 | 38 | 419 | 38** | 76** | 100/110 | HOXPLAT-ST5 | **Ext. Butt, 76mm |
| OX PLATINUM | .99/.56/.97 | 635 | 178 | 38 | 419 | 38** | 76** | 135/150 | HOXPLAT-ST7 | ** Ext. Butt, 76mm |
| 1 VERUS | .8/1.3 | 560 | - | 1 - | 452 | 38** | 70** | 100/110 | AVROBST560 | ** Ext. Butt, 70mm |
| 1 VERUS | .8/1.3 | 580 | - | - | 472 | 38** | 70** | 100/110 | AVROBST580 | ** Ext. Butt, 70mm |
| 1 VERUS | .8/1.3 | 649 | - | - | 541 | 38** | 70** | 100/110 | AVROBST649 | ** Ext. Butt, 70mm |
| 30mm (1.181") | Walls | Length | Butt 1 | Taper 1 | Center | Taper 2 | Butt 2 | YId/Tensile | Part $ Number ] | Special Features |
| VERUS HT | .81/.56/.9 | 635 | 65 | 51 | 303 | 89 | 127* | 135/150 | HTTHBDDT | *Pamt |
| VERUS | .81/.56/.9 | 635 | 65 | 51 | 303 | 89 | 127* | 100/110 | TTHBDDT | *Paint |
| 31.8mm (1.250") | Walls | Length | Butt 1 | Taper 1 | Center | Taper 2 | Butt 2 | YId/Tensile | Part Number | Special Features |
| OX PLATINUM | .7/.4/.7 | 580 | 60* | 51 | 321 | 38 1 | 110 | 185/195 | HOXPLAT08 | *Paint |
| OX PLATINUM | .7/.4/.7 | 620 | 76 | 51 | 365 | 38 | 90 | 185/195 | HOXPLAT07 | |
| OX PLATINUM | .7/.4/.7 | 680 | 89* | 51 | 392 | 38 | 110 | 185/195 | HOXPLAT06 | *Pamt |
| OX PLATINUM | .7/.45/.7 | 650 | 102 | 51 | 345 | 51 | 102 | 185/195 | HOXGOLD-DT3 | |
| OX PLATINUM | .7/.45/.7 | 645 | 63* | 51 | 378 | 51 | 102 | 185/195 | HOXGOLD-TT2 | *Paint |
| OX PLATINUM | .7/.5/.7 | 665 | 102* | 63 | 271 | 63 | 165 | 185/195 | HOXGOLD-TT4 | *Paint |
| VERUS HT | .7/.5/.7 | 665 | 102* | 63 | 271 | 63 | 165 | 175/185 | HOX3TTI | *Paint |
| VERUS HT | .8/.5/.7 | 665 | 102* | 63 | 271 | 63 | 165 | 175/185 | HOX3TT2 | *Pamt |
| VERUS HT | .76/.56/.76 | 610 | III | 51 | 152 | 51 | 244* | 135/150 | HOX2TT | *Paint |
| VERUS HT | .8/.5/.8 | 650 | 102 | 51 | 332 | 51 | 114 | 175/185 | HOXRCXDT | |
| VERUS HT | .8/.6/.7 | 645 | 102* | 51 | 335 | 51 | 127 | 185/195 | HOXGOLD-DT2 | *Paint |
| VERUS | .9/.6/.9 | 600 | 89 | 63 | 295 | 63 | 89 | 100/110 | AVRTT | |
| VERUS | .9/.6/.9 | 635 | 89 | 63 | 330 | 63 | 89 | 100/110 | AVRDT | |
| VERUS HT | .9/.6/.9 | 635 | 89 | 63 | 330 | 63 | 89 | 135/150 | HAVRDT | |
| VERUS HT | .7/.6 | 635 | 147 | 51 | 437 | - | - | 135/150 | VERUS STI | |
| OX PLATINUM | .7/.6 | 635 | 147 | 51 | 437 | - | - | 135/150 | HOXPLAT-ST6 | |
| 34.9mm (1.375") | Walls | Length | 1 | Taper 1 | Center | Taper 2 | Butt 2 | YId/Tensile | Part Number | Special Features |
| OX PLATINUM ' | .7/.4/.7 | 640 | 76* | 51 | 365 | 38 1 | 110 | 185/195 | HOXPLATIO | *Paint |
| OX PLATINUM | .7/.4/.7 | 691 | 89 | 51 | 423 | 38 | 90 | 185/195 | HOXPLAT09 | |
| VERUS HT | .7/.6/.7 | 665 | 100* | 63 | 271 | 63 | 165 | 175/185 | HOX3DTI | *Paint |
| 1 VERUS HT | 1.1/.9/1.1 | 585 | 102 | 51 | 280 | 51 | 102 | 135/150 | HOX2DT02 | |
| 44*4mm (1.750") | Walls | Length | Butt 1 | Taper 1 | Center | Taper 2 | Butt 2 | YId/Tensile | Part Number | Special Features |
| VERUS HT | 1.1/.8/1 | 549 | 102 | 51 | 244 | 51 | 102 | 135/150 | HOX2DT05 | |
| VERUS HT | 1.1/.8/1 | 585 | 102 | 51 | 280 | 51 | 102 | 135/150 | HOX2DT04 | |
| Special Tandem Shapes And Aero Shapes | Walls | Length | Butt 1 | Taper 1 | Center | Taper 2 | Butt 2 | YId/Tensile | Part Number | Special Features |
| 25.4mm Round, Oval Ends | .7/.5/.7 | 600 | 102 | 63 | 270 | 63 | 102 | 135/150 VHT | HVELTT | 31.8x17.8 oval@90° |
| 26.6x42.6 mm | .7/.6/.7 | 724 | 152 | 51 | 368 | 51 | 102 | 135/150 VHT | HVELDTI | Teardrop X-Section |
| 26.7x37.2 mm | .7/.5/.7 | 711 | 152 | 38 | 381 | 38 | 102 | 135/150 VHT | HVELDT2 | Teardrop X-Section |
| Curved Aero Seat | .68/.58 | 754 | 76 | 38 | 648 | - | - | 135/150 VHT | HVELSTI | 41x27 Oval Bottom |
| Curved Aero Seat | .68/.58 | 754 | 76 | 38 | 648 | - | - | 135/150 VHT | HVELST2 | 34.9 Round Bottom |
| TANDEM TOP TUBE | .9/.6/.9 | 1296 | 152 | 38 | 380 | 38 | 34.9 Round | |||
| (3 BUTTS) | .9/.6/.9 | 368 | 38 | 76* | 100/110 V | TANDTT | *Paint | |||
| 34.5x54.9mm Oval | 0.9 | 692 | - | - | - | - | - | 100/110 V | FI-TDBT | BB Connector Tube |
| OX PLATINUM - AIR HARDENABLE STEEL T | ||||||||||
| TRUE TEMPER'S OX PLATINUM Series is based on state of the art steel metallurgy. The | ||||||||||
| metallurgists at True Temper began with an aerospace grade of air hardening steel and | ||||||||||
| modified it to enhance its properties for light weight bicycle frames. The ultimate tensile | ||||||||||
| strength exceeds 195,000 psi. | ||||||||||
| Air hardenable steels are desirable for high performance welded steel frames. At the edges of | ||||||||||
| the molten weld pool, as the metal freezes, an unavoidable microscopic notch is formed. This is | ||||||||||
| a stress concentrator that magnifies the actual stresses of riding by a factor of 4 to 6 times. The | ||||||||||
| weld is relatively small and cools so quickly that metallurgical changes occur creating | ||||||||||
| localized hard and brittle areas, if the alloy is not specifically designed to avoid this. | ||||||||||
| Air hardening steels are metallurgically designed so that as the steel cools and solidifies from | ||||||||||
| the molten state in air, the steel hardens to an even higher strength. The metallurgists must | ||||||||||
| control the alloying elements so that the hardened steel is also tough and able to absorb | ||||||||||
| impacts, rather than brittle and subject to fracturing. | ||||||||||
| True Temper not only solved these problems, but went further: Most heat treated steels tend to | ||||||||||
| anneal, or soften, when heated between about 1000°F and 1500°F. TIG Welding, which heats | ||||||||||
| the joint up to the melting point, must heat the part of the tube adjacent to the weld up into this | ||||||||||
| annealing range, thus locally weakening the tube. This drop in strength has no effect on every | ||||||||||
| day riding, but it does reduce the potential long term fatigue life and, in a crash, can lead to | ||||||||||
| buckling of the frame. | ||||||||||
| OX PLATINUM is very resistant to this annealing. Thus an OX PLATINUM frame will | ||||||||||
| survive crashes better, and also have a much better fatigue life. | ||||||||||
| When used on silver brazed lugged frames, OX PLATINUM neither air hardens nor | ||||||||||
| anneals. Your frame is at 195,000 psi strength throughout, with no weaknesses! | ||||||||||
| The PLATINUM Series alloys are ideal for both lugged and lugless frame construction! | ||||||||||
| PLATINUM main triangle tubes come in a range of wall thicknesses and butt lengths so | ||||||||||
| builders can fine tune the frame's stiffness and strength to the rider's needs. | ||||||||||
| VERUS HT - SPECIAL HEAT TREAT 4130 ST | ||||||||||
| True Temper's VERUS HT Series tubing is made possible by True Temper's decades of | ||||||||||
| experience in the heat treatment of 4130 steels for maximum performance. As steels are | ||||||||||
| strengthened by heat treatment, the ductility is reduced. If you were to heat treat 4130 steel as | ||||||||||
| hard as possible, the tensile strength would go all the way up to 255,000 psi. But the steel | ||||||||||
| would very brittle and subject to failure by fracture, making it unsuitable for bike frames. The | ||||||||||
| metallurgists at True Temper designed the VERUS HT heat treatment to reach the high level of | ||||||||||
| 175,000psi., while still maintaining good ductility. | ||||||||||
| VERUS HT is also available at 150,000 psi tensile strength, midway in strength between True | ||||||||||
| Temper's 110,000 psi Stress Relieved VERUS steel, and their 175,000 psi VERUS HT steel | ||||||||||
| tubing. Naturally, frame builders use this tubing when they want characteristics between these | ||||||||||
| two strengths of steels. This VERUS HT maintains the workability of the stress relieved | ||||||||||
| VERUS, and approaches the strength of the VERUS HT Special Heat Treat. | ||||||||||
| The VERUS HT tubes, when designed for road bikes, gives you a light and lively frame which | ||||||||||
| will hold its alignment. In mountain bike diameters, you get a frame that goes where you want | ||||||||||
| it to, and will survive many more seasons than aluminum frames, while riding much better for | ||||||||||
| all those miles. Knowledgeable aggressive riders know that steel frames have just enough | ||||||||||
| compliance to improve handling on rough terrain. | ||||||||||
| VERUS: With all the hype in the bike industry about high strength this and higher strength | ||||||||||
| that, why would True Temper even offer a 110,000 psi steel? Well, caviar is a lot | ||||||||||
| fancier than pasta, but if you're going on a century ride, pasta is the better choice. True | ||||||||||
| Temper's RC2 Series tubing has twice the strength of a basic steel, so it is definitely a high | ||||||||||
| strength steel. It has been proven plenty strong for bicycle frames when used in wall | ||||||||||
| thicknesses of .6mm or greater. | ||||||||||
| True Temper's VERUS Stress Relieved 4130 steel is designed for reliability that is even | ||||||||||
| better than commercial grade 4130. This heat treatment removes internal stresses left over | ||||||||||
| from the manufacturing process. The end result of removing internal stresses is that the tube | ||||||||||
| (and your frame) lasts much longer. | ||||||||||
| The trade off for increased strength in ANY material is decreased ductility. The real world | ||||||||||
| result is that the failure mode gradually changes from controlled gradual bending to instant | ||||||||||
| catastrophic fracture. Heat treatment can vary the strength of 4130 steel from a very ductile | ||||||||||
| 70,000 psi up to a hard and brittle 225,000 psi. At 100,00 psi, Stress Relieved 4130 is a very | ||||||||||
| reliable material with optimized properties for bicycle use. | ||||||||||
| But, you say, having absorbed all the hype, "Doesn't low strength mean high weight?" Not | ||||||||||
| necessarily. It turns out that, by the time you make a steel bike stiff enough that it feels great, | ||||||||||
| you have used enough steel in the tube walls to lower the stresses to where you don't need a | ||||||||||
| high strength steel to withstand the loads and still have a good safety factor. | ||||||||||
| For these reasons, True Temper uses Stress Relieved 4130 steel for the general purpose | ||||||||||
| VERUS main triangle tubing, seat stays and chain stays, and its fork blades. (There is a lot of | ||||||||||
| marketing effort going into graphite composite fork blades these days. Graphite composites | ||||||||||
| have one favorite failure mode: catastrophic fracture. Me, I'll continue to ride steel forks, | ||||||||||
| Ultimate Tensile Strength: | 150-217 ksi | ||||||||||||||
| http://www.desperadocycles.com | Yield Strength: | 135-185 ksi. | |||||||||||||
| Hardness: | RC 30 min. | ||||||||||||||
| Elongation: | 10% min. | ||||||||||||||
| MECHANICAL PROPERTIES | |||||||||||||||
| The ultra light weight S3 - Super Strength Steel - seamless tube sets from True Temper Sports are the result of our on-going commitment to provide the cycling world with the most technologically advanced designs and materials. Hand-crafted in the USA from an advanced True Temper Air Hardening steel, S3 tubing has been optimized in every way to deliver ultimate light weight steel designs while maintaining the legendary FEEL OF STEEL. | |||||||||||||||
| Precision triple butted 5-4-5 wall profiles are ultrasonically inspected for pinpoint control of butt transitions and extreme weight savings | |||||||||||||||
| Salt Furnace quenched for consistent, distortion-free tubes and all of the benefits of our legendary True Temper Heat Treatment process | |||||||||||||||
| Oversized geometrically enhanced bi-oval down tube for optimized stiffness at the highly stressed head tube and bottom bracket interface | |||||||||||||||
| Small Tube Dimensions: (Frame Size 46 to 54 cm) | |||||||||||||||
| Part # | Desc. | OD | Length | Wall Thick. | Butt 1 | Taper 1 | Center | Taper 2 | Butt 2 | Notes | |||||
| HS3DTS | Down Tube | 45.5/31.2 | 620 | .51/.41/.61 | 31.8 | 38.1 | 440 | 381 | 72 | Bi-Oval | |||||
| HS3TTS | Top Tube | 36/28.2 | 530 | .51/.41/.51 | 31.8 | 38.1 | 335 | 38.1 | 87 | Tear Drop | |||||
| Finite element analysis inspired teardrop top tube for an unprecedented level of torsional stiffness control | HS3STS | Seat Tube | 28.5 | 530 | .51/.41/.61 | 31.8 | 38.1 | 286 | 38.1 | 136 | |||||
| HS3HT1 | Head Tube | 35.6 | 170 | 0.8 | |||||||||||
| HS3SS1 | Seat Stay | 16 | 600 | 0.51 | 11.3 mm tip | ||||||||||
| HS3CS1 | Chain Stay | 27.6 | 430 | 0.51 | 12.7 mm tip | ||||||||||
| Medium Tube Dimensions: (Frame Size 53 to 59 cm) | |||||||||||||||
| Part # | Desc. | OD | Length | Wall Thick. | Butt 1 | Taper 1 | Center | Taper 2 | Butt 2 | Notes | |||||
| HS3DTM | Down Tube | 45.5/31.2 | 640 | .51/.41/.61 | 31.8 | 38.1 | 469 | 38.1 | 63 | Bi-Oval | |||||
| All S3 tubes are hand polished and individually packed to ensure 100% satisfaction | |||||||||||||||
| HS3TTM | Top Tube | 36/28.2 | 570 | .51/.41/.51 | 31.8 | 38.1 | 383 | 38.1 | 79 | Tear Drop | |||||
| HS3STM | Seat Tube | 28.5 | 580 | .51/.41/.61 | 31.8 | 38.1 | 336 | 38.1 | 136 | ||||||
| HS3HT1 | Head Tube | 35.6 | 170 | 0.8 | |||||||||||
| True Temper's proprietary TrucoteTM anti-corrosion provides the ultimate protection for your investment | |||||||||||||||
| HS3SS1 | Seat Stay | 16 | 600 | 0.51 | 11.3 mm tip | ||||||||||
| HS3CS1 | Chain Stay | 27.6 | 430 | 0.51 | 12.7 mm tip | ||||||||||
| Large Tube Dimensions: (Frame Size 5e to 64 cm) | |||||||||||||||
| Part # | Desc. | OD | Length | Wall Thick. | Butt 1 | Taper 1 | Center | Taper 2 | Butt 2 | Notes | |||||
| 3 discreet tube sets allow builders to produce a full range of frame sizes - from 46cm to 64 cm | HS3DTL | Down Tube | 45.5/31.2 | 650 | .51/.41/.61 | 31.8 | 38.1 | 470 | 38.1 | 72 | Bi-Oval | ||||
| HS3TTL | Top Tube | 36/28.2 | 590 | .51/.41/.51 | 31.8 | 38.1 | 403 | 38.1 | 79 | Tear Drop | |||||
| HS3STL | Seat Tube | 28.5 | 626 | .51/.41/.61 | 31.8 | 38.1 | 382 | 38.1 | 136 | ||||||
| HS3HT1 | Head Tube | 35.6 | 170 | 0.8 | |||||||||||
| HS3SS1 | Seat Stay | 16 | 600 | 0.51 | 11.3 mm tip | ||||||||||
| HS3CS1 | Chain Stay | 27.6 | 430 | 0.51 | 12.7 mm tip | ||||||||||
| Optional round down and top tubes | Misc. Tube Dimensions: (frame Size 53 To 64cm) | ||||||||||||||
| Ridden by the world's #1 ranked triathlete, Barb Lindquist. | Part # | Desc. | OD | Length | Wall Thick. | Butt 1 | Taper 1 | Center | Taper 2 | Butt 2 | Notes | ||||
| HS3DT-R | Down Tube | 660 | .51/.41/.61 | 38.1 | 38.1 | 457 | 38.1 | 89 | Round | ||||||
| HS3TT-R | Top Tube | 610 | .51/.411.51 | 38.1 | 38.1 | 368 | 38.1 | 127 | Round | ||||||
| weight | |||||
| NB uncut length | |||||
| 953 frame kits | |||||
| PART NO | Diameter | Wall | Length | Butt Profile | Weight |
| mm | mm | mm | mm | gms | |
| 953 FRAME TUBES - SUFFIX D | |||||
| Drawn , NOT heat-treated prior to despatch | |||||
| SS4000D | 28.6 | 0.5/0.3/0.5 | 600 | 40.40.380.40.100 | 149 |
| SS4010D | 28.6 | 0.5/0.3/0.5 | 600 | 75.50.280.50.145 | 162 |
| SS4020D | 28.6 | 0.55/0.35/0.55 | 625 | 120.50.320.50.85 | 190 |
| SS4070D | 28.6 | 0.6/0.4 | 635 | 125.75.435 | 198 |
| SS4100D | 31.75 | 0.55/0.35/0.55 | 635 | 40.40.400.40.130 | 200 |
| SS4110D | 31.75 | 0.6/0.4/0.6 | 650 | 40.40.400.40.130 | 231 |
| SS4120D | 31.75 | 0.6/0.4/0.6 | 650 | 120.50.300.50.130 | 245 |
| SS4130D | 31.75 | 0.55/0.35/0.55 | 650 | 120.50.300.50.130 | 220 |
| SS4200D | 34.9 | 0.55/0.35/0.55 | 680 | 40.40.420.40.140 | 238 |
| SS4210D | 34.9 | 0.6/0.4/0.6 | 680 | 40.40.420.40.140 | 267 |
| SS4220D | 34.9 | 0.6/0.4/0.6 | 680 | 120.30.320.30.180 | 285 |
| SS4230D | 34.9 | 0.65/0.45/0.65 | 680 | 120.30.320.30.180 | 313 |
| SS4300D | 36.4 | 0.6/0.45/0.6 | 685 | 120.50.300.50.165 | 315 |
| SS4310D | 37.3 | 0.65/0.5/0.65 | 685 | 120.50.300.50.165 | 338 |
| PART NO | Diameter | Wall | Length | Butt Profile | Weight |
| mm | mm | mm | mm | gms | |
| Shaped Tubing | BASED ON PART | ||||
| SS4700D | 31.7->28.6 | swaged 31.7mm | SS4120D | 235 | |
| SS4710D | 34.9->31.7 | swaged 34.9mm | SS4220D | 275 | |
| SS4720D | Teardrop 34.9 | full length | SS4220D | 285 | |
| SS4730D | 31.7 OVAL | full length 35/26 | SS4100D | 200 | |
| SS4732D | 31.7 Bi-Oval | 90 degree opposed oval | SS4120D | 245 | |
| SS4740D | 34.9 OVAL | full length 40/30 | SS4210D | 267 | |
| SS4742D | 34.9 Bi-Oval | 90 degree opposed oval | SS4220D | 285 | |
| Please ask for other alternatives or custom shapes | |||||
| chainstay in 953 - butted | |||||
| FS4510D | 20/31 oval | 0.7/0.5 | 410 | taper to 15mm tip in 953 | 146 |
| Head tube | |||||
| HS4400D | 38.1 | 0.7 | 200 | 129 | |
| HS4410D | 38.1 | 0.7 | 600 | 386 | |
| 953 FRAME TUBES - SUFFIX A | |||||
| Drawn , AND AGED prior to despatch | |||||
| SS4000A | 28.6 | 0.5/0.3/0.5 | 600 | 40.40.380.40.100 | 149 |
| SS4010A | 28.6 | 0.5/0.3/0.5 | 600 | 75.50.280.50.145 | 162 |
| SS4020A | 28.6 | 0.55/0.35/0.55 | 625 | 120.50.320.50.85 | 190 |
| SS4070A | 28.6 | 0.6/0.4 | 635 | 125.75.435 | 198 |
| SS4100A | 31.75 | 0.55/0.35/0.55 | 635 | 40.40.400.40.130 | 200 |
| SS4110A | 31.75 | 0.6/0.4/0.6 | 650 | 40.40.400.40.130 | 231 |
| SS4120A | 31.75 | 0.6/0.4/0.6 | 650 | 120.50.300.50.130 | 245 |
| SS4130A | 31.75 | 0.55/0.35/0.55 | 650 | 120.50.300.50.130 | 220 |
| SS4200A | 34.9 | 0.55/0.35/0.55 | 680 | 40.40.420.40.140 | 238 |
| SS4210A | 34.9 | 0.6/0.4/0.6 | 680 | 40.40.420.40.140 | 267 |
| SS4220A | 34.9 | 0.6/0.4/0.6 | 680 | 120.30.320.30.180 | 285 |
| SS4230A | 34.9 | 0.65/0.45/0.65 | 680 | 120.30.320.30.180 | 313 |
| PART NO | Diameter | Wall | Length | Butt Profile | Weight |
| mm | mm | mm | mm | gms | |
| SS4300A | 36.4 | 0.6/0.45/0.6 | 685 | 120.50.300.50.165 | 315 |
| SS4310A | 37.3 | 0.65/0.5/0.65 | 685 | 120.50.300.50.165 | 338 |
| Shaped Tubing | BASED ON PART | ||||
| SS4700A | 31.7->28.6 | swaged 31.7mm | SS4120A | 235 | |
| SS4710A | 34.9->31.7 | swaged 34.9mm | SS4220A | 275 | |
| SS4720A | Teardrop 34.9 | full length | SS4220A | 285 | |
| SS4730A | 31.7 OVAL | full length 35/26 | SS4100A | 200 | |
| SS4732A | 31.7 Bi-Oval | 90 degree opposed oval | SS4120A | 245 | |
| SS4740A | 34.9 OVAL | full length 40/30 | SS4210A | 267 | |
| SS4742A | 34.9 Bi-Oval | 90 degree opposed oval | SS4220A | 285 | |
| Please ask for other alternatives or custom shapes | |||||
| chainstay in 953 - butted | |||||
| FS4510A | 19/31 oval | 0.7/0.5 | 410 | taper to 15mm tip in 953 | 146 |
| Head tube | |||||
| HS4400A | 38.1 | 0.7 | 200 | 129 | |
| HS4410A | 38.1 | 0.7 | 600 | 386 | |
| OTHER FRAME TUBES | |||||
| CHAINSTAYS in 316L | |||||
| FS4500 | 19/31 oval | 0.7 | 410 | taper to 15mm tip | 170 |
| SEATSTAYS IN 316L | |||||
| GS4600 | 19.05 | 0.55 | 580 | taper to 13mm tip | 144 |
| PART NO | Diameter | Wall | Length | Butt Profile | Weight |
| mm | mm | mm | mm | gms | |
| FRAME FITTINGS | MTL CODE | ||||
| LS100A | BB Shell | OD 38.1mm, thread 24TPI | 68mm wide | 953 | |
| LS110A | BB Shell | OD 38.1mm, thread 24TPI | 68mm wide | 920 | |
| LS150A | Rear Dropouts(PR) | Standard 3.8mm slot | C/S tip = 15mm, S/S=13mm | 953 | |
| LS160A | Rear Dropouts(PR) | Lightweight 2.9mm slot, | C/S tip = 15mm, S/S=13mm | 953 | |
| 3.8mm at QR/qxle | |||||
| LS200A | Cable guides | set of 3 | SET OF 3 | 920 | |
| LS210A | STI bosses | set of 2 | SET OF 2 | 920 | |
| LS220A | Campy bosses | set of 2 | SET OF 2 | 920 | |
| LS225A | Campy bosses | set of 2 | SET OF 2 | 304 | |
| LS230A | Head tube cups | set of 2 - integrated style | SET OF 2 | 304 | |
| LS240A | Head tube cups | set of 2 - 34.mm ID | SET OF 2 | 953 | |
| LS245A | Head tube cups | set of 2 - 34.mm ID | SET OF 2 | 920 | |
| LS250A | Brake bridge | Standard allen key fit | EA | 920 | |
| LS255A | Brake bridge | Standard allen key fit | EA | 304 | |
| LS260A | Seat clamp | for 28.6mm OD | EA | 920 | |
| LS265A | Seat clamp | for 31.7mm OD | EA | 920 | |
| note: For Fittings, MTL CODE is stainless steel: | |||||
| 953 for MARAGING steel, 920 for Custom 630 type, or 304 alloy | |||||