From: severn@titan.ksc.nasa.gov (Dave Severn)
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles.tech
Subject: Summ. of Frame Materials for Review
Date: 27 Aug 92 14:05:24 EST
Organization: NASA, Kennedy Space Center

This is the summary of information I received on frame materials. I hope it
helps others to clear the mystery from trying to select a material for your new
frame as it has me. Thanks go to:    David Tan tan@msc2.msc.cornell.edu
                                     Albert Lew lewa@teradyne.com
                                     Eric Praetzel praetzel@sunee.uwaterloo.ca
                                     Lawrence You you@taligent.com
If anyone could help fill in the blanks please feel free to e-mail me and I
will update and add this to the FAQ.
Thanks for everyone's help!
Dave

Columbus (Italy): Columbus makes a chromium-molybdenum alloy called Cyclex
which they then fashion into a bewildering array of tubesets.
	Columbus Cromor: a seamed tubing deemed by most to be less than
       			desirable.
	Columbus SL: This seems to be a good tubeset for the money as most have
			told me. SL is a double butted tubeset typically 0.9 mm 
			at the ends and 0.6mm in the middle.
	Columbus SP: Similar to SL but heavier. 1.0mm at the ends and 0.7mm in
			the middle. Typically for heavier riders/larger frames.
	Columbus SLX (SPX): This is similar to SL (SP) except that it has
			helical ribbing inside the tubes. This offers an
			increase in rigidity without a substantial increase in
			weight.
	Columbus EL: This tubeset uses a different starting alloy called
			Nivachrome, a niobium-vanadium-chromium alloy, which is 
			much stiffer that Cyclex. This tubeset is typically
			0.7mm on the ends and 0.4mm in the middle.
	Columbus MAX: This tubset is basically the same as EL except it is
			oversized. This tubeset is definately for the BIG
			riders.

Reynolds (Great Britain): 
	Reynolds 501: ???
        Reynolds 531: This was the "other" standard tubeset for many years.
			Drawn from a manganese-molybdenum alloy 531 comes in
			many different forms, some double butted, some straight
			gauge. Slightly lighter and less rigid than Columbus SL
	Reynolds 653: ???
	Reynolds 753: A heat treated super-thin, super-light tubeset which must
			be silver brazed. I am told that it is very fragile and
			if a tube is bent a new one cannot be brazed in. Sort
			of the Carbon Fiber of steel.

Tange (Japan):
	Prestige: Comparable to SL/SLX ????

Ishiwata (???):
	????????

Excell (France)
	???????: Just like 753 except that when you bend a tube a new one can
			be brazed in.


============================================================================
Dave Severn                         McDonnell Douglas Space Systems Company
Severn@Titan.ksc.nasa.gov           Kennedy Space Center, Florida
      _   /|   
      \'o.O'   
      =(___)=  
         U      
 ACK.. THPPT!!!!
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The opinions expressed above are mine and NOT those of my employers, since I
have not the slightest idea what my employer's opinions are.
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Newsgroups: rec.bicycles.tech