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Why Aluminum, Not Steel?


clerictgm

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After looking at new 2012 Inspired range (new fourplay weights 2.4kg!) I wondered why manufacturers use aluminum alloys instead of cr-mo steel? In trials it is clear - because of weight, but in street-trials is it not better to use steel if weight the same and durability of steel a lot higher?

Edited by clerictgm
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i think its all about the hype.steel has that granny bike image,and alu has that world-cup-winning-image.the bicycle industry managed to put it in the heads of the customers,and its a long way back to what really makes sense.

back from consumption to handcrafted quality.

we´ll have to wait and maybe,just maybe,a trials company with a big name will throw out a street crmo rig.

maybe...

until then marino or jaf would be my first choices.

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I wouldn't be massively surprised if inspired added a steel rig to their lineup at some point...

Don't forget it's not all about weight - the two metals ride completely differently. As far as I'm concerned steel rides 10x better, but others feel the opposite.

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With the cromo inspired, it's going to have a lot of testing before they can prove it's suitablee for the general public.

They are just releasing the new hex( hopefully very soon, my hex is starting to crack)

Since the hex is coming they won't release anything for a while

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And also - why not Titanium? For the cost of fourplay frame you can get custom Ti TRITON frame. So WTF? This stupid Al breaks down like cookies and world coolest manufacturers can't do a good Ti/steel frame? If it's now about weight and price of Ti, about what is it?

Also remember Flipp's frames for example - 4 Al frames broken in 6 months and marino lasts for 9 months.

Edited by clerictgm
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And also - why not Titanium? For the cost of fourplay frame you can get custom Ti TRITON frame. So WTF? This stupid Al breaks down like cookies and world coolest manufacturers can't do a good Ti/steel frame?

You definitely can't get a Triton frame for the price of a Fourplay frame here in the UK. Don't know if it's different where you are, but Fourplay frames are £449 here and Triton frames are over £700 if memory serves. I wouldn't really say Fourplay frames 'break down like cookies' either in fairness...

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You definitely can't get a Triton frame for the price of a Fourplay frame here in the UK. Don't know if it's different where you are, but Fourplay frames are £449 here and Triton frames are over £700 if memory serves. I wouldn't really say Fourplay frames 'break down like cookies' either in fairness...

I think he actually might be right about the price of tritons this time,basic frame costs around 550GBP,100quids for custom made ti frame isn´t that much of a difference imho.

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I think he actually might be right about the price of tritons this time,basic frame costs around 550GBP,100quids for custom made ti frame isn´t that much of a difference imho.

The cheapest Triton is £570, that's without the ~£50 shipping aswell. So is infact a fair bit dearer, on top of that it's roughly a 4 month wait for the custom frame build.

I'm assuming they must have dropped their prices recently then or something? I know the last time I saw someone talking about getting a Triton it was £700~ to the UK.

With a brushed or powdercoated finish it's closer to 700 yeah.

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I'm assuming they must have dropped their prices recently then or something? I know the last time I saw someone talking about getting a Triton it was £700~ to the UK.

I was surprised how cheap they were actually,such a nice frames and unique as well.I was expecting something like 1000-1200GBP,at this price it really is a bargaing for frame that most likely will last a lifetime.

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I was surprised how cheap they were actually,such a nice frames and unique as well.I was expecting something like 1000-1200GBP,at this price it really is a bargaing for frame that most likely will last a lifetime.

Yeah, definitely - they look pretty sweet! Seem like a much better sort of proposition at £550-600 too.

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You definitely can't get a Triton frame for the price of a Fourplay frame here in the UK. Don't know if it's different where you are, but Fourplay frames are £449 here and Triton frames are over £700 if memory serves. I wouldn't really say Fourplay frames 'break down like cookies' either in fairness...

I don't know about inspired, but many of trials components are really not strong enough. Anyway if Inspired cracks - it goes to trash can. Has Inspired any advantages in comparison to Marino?

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I would have to agree, the goal for frames is to make them pretty stiff, no-one likes a flexy frame. I've ridden both Steel and Alloy frames and I can't really say I can tell the difference just from material alone, I have ridden a Ti frame before and I could tell the difference with that, mainly because it had a shite chainstay yolk design and was as flexy as a wet noodle.

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