Thomas1

I was going through the description of the 1994 KHS Montaňa Trail on bikepedia and came up against the following frame material:

Frame & Fork

Frame Construction TIG-welded steel
Frame Material True Temper AVR
Fork Chromoly, butted
Fork Materal Not Available
Rear Shock Not Available

https://www.bikepedia.com/QuickBike/BikeSpecs.aspx?item=15207

True Temper AVR doesn't tell me much regarding the frame material and I didn't find much about it on the Internet either (it does pop up in texts about bicycle frame setups but is usually followed by some information about the material.

1. Could someone please explain to me (=a layman) what True Temper AVR (especially the AVR part) means?
2. What specific metal (steel?) is it?
3. What is the 1994 KHS Montaňa Trail frame? I guess it's steel as can be inferred from the othe parts of the quoted description, but what kind?

dsaul

I googled that and it seems that AVR was the predecessor to Verus tubes. They were non-heat treated chromoly steel butted tubes. There was nothing special about them and they were probably the least expensive butted tubes that True Temper was making at the time. Being a non-heat treated tube means they likely had thicker walls and were heavier than their heat treated counterparts. Heat treatment makes the steel harder and more resistant to denting, so the tubes can have thinner walls and still retain some resistance to damage.

Nessism

Agree on all counts. Non-heat treated tubes will typically be thicker and stiffer than a thin heat treated tube (unless the OD is increased.) And while the softer metal will be more prone to denting the fact that the tube will be thicker offsets that to a large extent.

Andrew R Stewart 

Most all my bikes and possible millions of others are made with some TT AVR/Verus tubes and are still running with no issues. There is no reason why these tubes won't work well for many others in the future (except that TT is out of the bike tubing business, sad to see another US manufacturer die off) Andy

Andrew R Stewart 

To add more- Having used all the common tube brands I have not noted any construction/frame building differences between tubes of similar grade. Their tensile strengths, ability to cut and braze (I only braze) are pretty much the same. Their ride qualities for similar diameters and wall thicknesses are the same. The tubes "quality" are the same, all brands have a range of roundness and straightness as well as can have anomalies. The builder's component of the resulting construction (the frame) is vastly greater a difference then those of similar tube brands, IMO.

I choose TT long ago because of a few reasons. A wide variety of diameters, walls butt profiles. Availably from one of the god fathers of US framebuilding supplies (henry James). Moderate cost. US made. Ease of construction (files and cutters last a lot longer then with heat treated tubed). And when all else is equal the frame's stiffness/flexibility is the same as these steel alloys have the same mechanical properties WRT ride quality (for the same tube diameters and walls). To me all this made for a no brainer.

What is a factor is the status/marketing one. Since Reynolds and Columbus have been around for so much longer and since (in the road racing field) the views are so Euro centric these brands are held above the other tube brands. Not for mechanical or construction reasons but for public awareness/marketing ones. If these drive your opinions that Ok and just avoid the tubes you think can't cut it. Not that is what you asked about, Andy

Nessism

Henry James (Hank and his wife) used to live just a few miles away from me in So. Calif (since moved to the Pacific NW.) Back then I'd drive by and pick up tubes & lugs from them and they were very nice and gracious (particularly Hank's wife (can't remember her name)). They would invite me into their home to discuss my questions and what have you. Good people. Much like Joe Bringheli when I lived in the Cleveland area; he invited me into his home many times. True Temper, Dedacciai, Columbus, Reynolds, it doesn't really matter as long as the tube physically meets your needs. Only thing that was noticeably different was some of the heat treated tubes like TT Platinum which was a ***** to file. All good.

unterhausen

I guess it doesn't matter much since they just gave up on the product line and decided to concentrate on importing shovels

Nessism

True Temper still makes a lot of golf shafts in the USA. Quality stuff.

bulgie 

IIRC James was his middle name. He went by Hank Folson; Henry James was just the company name.

It's like calling ex-prez Nixon "Richard Milhouse".