Titanium tube bike frames are popular in high-end models created by top manufacturers. Their reasoning for favouring the material comes down to its strength and other attributes. These include a lower weight if you compare to other metals. In addition, titanium is adaptable so you can choose services like bending, tube drilling, and more.

Excellent properties

Another crucial property of titanium is its density. It’s actually double that of aluminium. As a result, it makes the metal stronger and tougher. That is very useful for bicycles.

A third intriguing attribute is the stiffness. Explained using scientific terms, this is called modulus. It explains the relationship between flexibility and stiffness. The titanium for bike frame tubes possesses a modulus of 15 million pounds/sq. inch. This is 50% less than what you find with steel’s modulus. So, there’s a big advantage to using titanium.

Manufacturers love titanium mainly because its properties enable them to create resilient bike frames that absorb shocks. These tend to show up during rides because of uneven ground.

Something you have to understand here though is that you can’t utilise titanium to manufacture super lightweight bike frame tubes. If this were to occur, you’d have a frame that is too flexible. It would suffer under cycling pressure.

How to choose a material?

In selecting a material for creating bike frame tubes, there are factors manufacturers must consider. You need to look at the properties and ensure they match your needs. It is also worth considering how the materials behave when you need to do processing and finishing, including bending, tube drilling, and even things like painting.

Safety is one of the most crucial factors. Titanium is a safe metal. It has a high elongation % to deliver, meaning it is between 20% and 30%. First, you should know that elongation is the material’s ability to curve before suffering alterations. Compared to titanium, steel comes with an elongation of 10-15%. Aluminium delivers between 6-12%. So it is far superior.

Another reason why titanium is fantastic is its high endurance limit. One other term for the property is fatigue strength. This is a reference to the durability of the bike frame tubes when you expose them to physical stress. With a bicycle it includes things like pedalling or bumps.

Titanium grades

We’ll finish by discussing the grades that manufacturers use here. They represent different alloys where elements have been added to titanium to improve the properties. There have been manufacturers that experimented with pure titanium to make bike frame tubes. However, they did not have the right degree of durability for an active riding experience.

Grade 9 is an alloy that contains 3.5% aluminium alongside 2.5% vanadium. Grade 5 has 6% aluminium and 4% vanadium. Both are very popular for bicycles.

Grade 9 is the alloy usually employed to make these tubes. This is because it supplies the best degree of durability. Not to mention, it has plenty of mechanical advantages.

As for grade 5, it is more commonly utilised for parts like brazed-on accessories. The same goes for frame dropouts and bottom brackets.

Our tube drilling service can help you

At Multiform Tubes Engineering Ltd, we use our expert services to offer solutions for all kinds of situations. Apart from bike frames, you can use them to help you create utensils for automotive and furniture parts as well as many other products. Thanks to our pre-drilled holes, assembly is quicker. As a result, you will be able to save money, time, and effort.

So, if you’d like to work with us for tube drilling and more, please get in touch. We can arrange services for almost any needs.