whic one durable, i.e. stand up against abuse (crashes)
Hmmm. Usually to answer these questions we do a Google search, consult a materials engineer from U of M (we have several who are customers, one a metalurgist) or look in a materials/metals text book.
If I recall this correctly (I may not), the tensile strength of 6/4 is higher than 3/2.5 but it is less maleable and has a lower modulus of elasticity.
That may suggest it is stronger, but more brittle, especially at potential stress raisers or joints. ONce a crack gets a foothold in 6/4 it may begin to propegate more readily through the material depending on the alignment of its grain structure, location of the failure, etc- a lot of factors.
Double check me on this, it’s done from memory and its early here…
http://www.litespeed.com/2005/tech_material.aspx
This is a brief synopsis from the Litespeed website.
yeah, i read that, and it would inply that 6/4 is better in everything, but ive read a rwview from tom in which he stated the only ti frames hes ever seen broken (even from crashes) are 6/4. that was in a review of the blade years ago, and was wondering A) why, and B) is this still true
6/4 is a much tougher material and is actually a great material to build bikes with, if you have the capability. Very few companies can actually work with it. The 6/4 frames we build are stronger despite being lighter, but just like with everything, it is possible that something breaks (both in 3/2.5 and 6/4). But we work very hard to keep it to an absolute minimum, and of course unlike other materials titanium is actually repairable. That is true whether you run your bike into the garage on top of your car, or whether a true warranty issue has come up.
Plus we give a lifetime warranty on all of our titanium frames and feel very confident that we rarely have to cash it in.
Hope this helps.
Herbert
Litespeed/QR
That’s true, the only broken ti frames we’ve seen have been 6/4. They broke in serious crashes. My buddy Michel R. Rabe plowed the back of a parked car about four years at full speed on a 3/2.5 bike and sheered the carbon fork right off but didn’t break the frame. Front wheel was (oddly enough) fine too. Rabe was in the hospital. He conintued to ride the bike for 2 years after that. We couldn;t get him on a new bike he liked his 3/2.5 bike so much.
I like 3/2.5 myself also. The saber is just a suber little bike, the long top tube suits me too, and it is truly 78 degrees in most frame size which I like too (for me).
Frames made from 6/4 seem to be much more expensive than 3/2.5. Are they worth the price premium for a tri bike? For a road bike used for racing? How about for a road bike used for training and touring?