Originally Posted by
Pompiere
There is a beryllium plant near my house that processes the metal into bars and rods for machining. I got to handle some finished pieces while on a factory tour and I can vouch for the lightness. A bolt the size of your thumb had the weight of a paper clip. I would guess the reason beryllium never caught on for bikes would be the cost. From what they said at the factory tour, all their product goes to military and aerospace use.
From what I understand, what is needed to set up an acceptable welding environment for beryllium makes working with titanium look like an 8th grade shop class project. Such welding environments are spendy.
I know the folks who made the frames did a lot of aerospace work (including for Space Shuttle payloads). I suspect but don't know that they did a goodly amount of military stuff, too. I do remember hearing that the tolerances to which they had to build stuff were beyond my imagination, and waaaaay beyond anything I could ever accomplish. As a Poli Sci/History major, my knowledge of such things is less than detailed.
