Frame Material

davebee

Can someone tell me the difference between 6061 series aluminium and 7000 series aluminium tubing? Which one is better and why?

My current frame is 7000 series, but I have upgraded piecemeal and have a feeling the frame is a load of junk. It came on a cheapish Saracen *spit* bike. My aim is to build the bike up good then thrash it, and then replace the frame.

Hecubus

Neither kind is really better, they just have different properties.

hard_rock_god

im probaly a little late on answering this (as usual) but depends on what you are doing

the #'s 6061 & 7000 refer to the temper raiting

the 6061 is softer and more flexiable probaly better for mountain (hardly noticable softer ride)

the 7000 is harder and more rigid, britle but hooks up better (less frame flex) and i would say better for road bikes

the same method aplies to buying pocket knives most will come with a number stamped or printed on the blade such as [ex. 6061] and that number aplies to the temper also the higher the grade in temper the sharper you can get your knife but the easier it would be to brake it

boudreaux

6xxx series is claimed to be superior, since it undergoes a more extensive heat treament after welding,resulting in a stronger, supposedly longer lasting frame.

boudreaux

That's a barge load of hooey. AFWIW, there is not a pocket knife in my collection that has the temper or alloy stamped on the blade, altho there are some that say stainless. I would also hope that none are made out of 6061.

hard_rock_god

and just for defending my honer (no hard feelings and sorry to say to the creaters of this page off the topic of bikes, but sorry)

you must have some cheep pocket knives. i know for a fact that kershaw & harley stamps the temper raiting on there blades

you might have a few blades that have numbers such as [ex. 1660st or 1600ss] stamped on some of your stainless blades the number is in refrence to the temper raiting and st or ss are refering to the matirial. i belive that different materials such as aluminum vs. steel are ratted different in tempering

and if you don't belive me that the higher your temper the sharper you can get your knives. try this easy scince experiment. heat one of your knifes (you probaly dont want to use your favorite) under a torch for a little while. by heating steel and not "quick cooling" it you will lose your temper. it should already be "dull" imediatly after heating it and you will never beable to get that blade as sharp as it used to get unless you take it to get retempered

if you want to run a scince experiment on the "britleness" that unfortenetly comes with tempering a metal take a temperd screw-driver and try to bend it 90* in a vice. now get a new temperd screwdriver becuse you undoubetdly just broke that screwdriver, and heat the screwdriver with a torch untill it is "cherry red" where you want to bend it and this time it will almost fall over and easly bend to 90*. congradulations you just made a 90* bend screwdriver this can come in handy getting to a "hidden" screw

TheAndyDudE

My Smith and Wesson Knives all have Tempered Ratings on them...same stuff the U.S. Armed forces use f.y.i.

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boudreaux

I guess Buck and Gerber and several customs are just cheap knives.But, maybe you are confusing yourself with model #s ?? Not that it matters,but your BS about 7xxx and 6xxx was ROTFLMAO material...Like in '7000 hooks up better'. Yeah baby...LOL!

boudreaux

Actually, they are different alloys,and require different heattreatments after welding.

davebee

so to bring everyone back to the point!

What is the difference in cycling performance between a 6061 alloy frame and a 7005 alloy frame?

Me very confused now!

Hecubus

6061 is slightly lighter and needs to be solution treated after welding to restore its strength. 7005 is slighty stronger and heavier but is extremely dificult to manipulate and weld and only needs to be heat treated after welding. There really is no difference in performance between the two because the biggest difference will be determined by how the manufacturer implements the metal rather than what metal they choose. Factors such as tube width, wall thickness, frame design etc will play a far more important role in the way the bike feels and rides than the material that was used.
Read this article for a more detailed explanation on how Al works: http://www2.sjsu.edu/orgs/asmtms/artcle/alumin.htm

Duckwah

7005 and 6061 refer to different aluminium alloys.

If you do a search on google you should be able to find out the exact composition of each but basically its a matter of a few tenths of a percentage point in things like silicon, iron, manganese etc which affect the properties of the alloy.

7005 and 6061 are also treated differently after welding but neither is better or worse and it depends on what the manufacturer has done in terms of wall thickness etc.

bottom line, don't base a decision on some over hyped marketing pitch about one companies super dooper 7005 alloy etc

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choiman

it was because i was trying to reserch 6061 and 7005 that i stumbled on this very forum,so this is my first post. hi everybody. i found some info on 6061 which is an aircraft quality materal but so far have found nothing on 7005. im very interested in this subject as im looking at new bikes.

shokhead

Then dont get Alum. Opps,thats a war word. LOL I wouldnt worry if its 6601 or 6699,juust get the right bike that fits.

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