MinnMan

That's nuts.

WhyFi

I'd be interested to know what kind of Be content their alloy had - I can't imagine that it could have been that much, at those prices.

urbanknight

I believe it was a "proprietary blend" that kept us from knowing, but I was told there was MUCH more Al than Be in it.

If I recall correctly, we had a Merlin with full Record for $2,995 in the shop I worked at in 1996.

WhyFi

Interesting stuff on the Strong Frames website about Be in bike frames - looks like a company did a one-off Be frame for a bike show that cost north of $25k. The same company offers (offered?) four alloys with up to 62% Be. Crazy.

WhyFi

Yeah, I'm guessing they used enough for marketing and that's about it.

genejockey 

Huh. So, like "Kona Blend" or "Jamaica Blue Mountain Blend" in coffees? Toss in one fancy been with a pound of more mundane ones and call it a blend?

genejockey 

I'm waiting for the Sodium frame - "Don't sweat on it, or it catches fire!"

tomato coupe

Beryllium dust can cause Berylliosis, but solid Beryllium is safe. Berylliosis is treatable, so not necessarily fatal.

MinnMan

Not necessarily isn't how OSHA would see it. Nor would I if I worked in their shop.

And as already indicated in this thread, it's the machinists I was thinking about, not the consumers. Therefore dust.

tomato coupe

It's exactly how OSHA sees it:

indyfabz

Illudium Q-36 is the NBT in frame material. It can modulate space. I’ve already put in my order with Martin Bicycles.

genejockey 

So, you can be working below the PEL, and think you're safe, and then start getting sick, stop working with the stuff, and keep getting worse.

"Fatal" or "not necessarily fatal", that's some nasty s**t.

tomato coupe

Sure, because the stuff is still in your lungs after you quit working with it.

PeteHski

Just to clarify I was only referring to carbon vs standard plastics as a reference point, not this new material. Carbon is the benchmark it would be compared with. If it turns out to be lighter and stronger than carbon then we will probably first see it used in the space industry, F1 racing etc.

Bob Ross

What's old is new again: When I was a kid my dad worked in industrial plastics (the polystyrenics division of Arco Chemical), and I remember him showing me an announcement in an industry magazine about a new prototype bicycle frame made out of plastic. This would have been sometime in the early 1970s, definitely before 1974.

Bob Ross

Incorrect.

While there are polymers involved in the "carbon fiber" materials that bicycle frames are made of, it is both disingenuous and technically wrong to claim that that material "is" plastic.

But someone always has to drag that old trope out on a bicycle forum. :::sigh:::

signed, Captain Pedantic

urbanknight

Fair enough, I didn't mean to imply the fibers themselves are plastic, but the subject of the thread was frame materials.

edit: Just to make sure, the carbon fiber is laid up in a plastic resin, right?

NitroExpress

So, at this time the UCI mandates 6.8kg (14.99lb) minimum bike weight; we are already there. Unless this changes, I think the next big push will be to reduce fabrication cost and still maintain a solid (and aerodynamic) frame. What this is, I don't know, but polymers are the likely candidate...

MinnMan

Perhaps, but the UCI mandate is notionally based on the lightest bike weight that may reasonably be safe. The limit was established 20 years ago and UCI has long been under pressure to reduce it, as it is clearly outdated. If technology pushes further into lighter bikes with good structural integrity, the UCI could revise their limit.

And the UCI limit doesn't affect what manufacturers will produce or consumers demand.

Polaris OBark

Wut?

Ti ≠ Fe

joesch

True and here are some more = which dont include steel nor alloy

Iron = Fe
Chromium = Cr
Molybdenite = MoS2
Titanium = Ti
Aluminum = Al

I like Nivacrom and Cyclex Cromo steels and many other types of steels and alloys not including TI

genejockey 

(Pssssst! He didn't mean literally. He meant that Titanium is a lot like steel, only better. )

Dean V

Flax has already been and gone.
Museeuw used it in his frames.

Russ Roth

Was also gonna mention Museeuw and flax being used already. Have to say, its a nice riding bike, just wish I had a little more chainstay clearance.

tomato coupe

Heck, Schwinn used flax. It will eventually take over.