Originally Posted by
mstateglfr
@
Doug Fattic- thru the years(decades), did you ever look into building with aluminum? If you did look into it, why didnt you pursue?
Just curious from a historical perspective since even though aluminum came to be the preferred material for a handful of years, it really wasnt picked up by small builders.
No I never had the slightest interest in making aluminum frames. There are several complications in making one. 1st you need to have an AC tig welder. Titanium and steel can be welded with a DC welder. Adding AC costs more money. Before companies started making inverter AC welders, they seemed like they were the size of house and cost about the same. 2nd aluminum has to be teated after it is welded. Most builders don't want to make or buy an oven big enough or hot enough to do the treatment. And aluminum was being done by many production manufacturers and it is hard to distinguish what makes a custom one better than say a Cannondale.
I did take UBI's 1st titanium welding course exactly 29 years ago. I just texted my colleague Rich Gangl and asked where we ate Thanksgiving dinner on the way to Ashland. I'm not a big fan of titanium either. Although I certainly like it better than aluminum.
The aesthetics of a bicycle frame are very important to me and lugs allow for individualized treatment that can show off the skill of the builder. This desire to be creative with lug design is what got me into building in the 1st place. I hate the look of beaded welds on an aluminum frame. And if I were to file them off then it would now just look like a Cannondale. For some riders, a custom frame is just about the quality of the ride but for me a frame has to look good too. Also super light wall steel tubing is a joy to ride. I doubt many cyclists have ever tried riding one that fit properly. It isn't about weight savings but rather they have a lively ride I couldn't get on ti frames I made. Production companies avoided light heat treated steel because they might get broken if ridden by an obese person and they take more care and skill to build than most companies would want to be bothered doing.
Steel, titanium and aluminum all have about the same strength to weight ratio. Meaning that aluminum is 3 times lighter than steel for the same volume but you need 3 times as much aluminum to make it stiff enough. The weight savings can be in places like the bottom bracket shell and dropouts. But that isn't enough savings to make a difference for a recreational rider. Racers stopped using steel frames in about the mid 80s when they got serious sponsorship from big bicycle manufacturers. I might add that it is faster and cheaper for a production company to make an aluminum frame and that is part of the reason for its popularity.