[Nick09]

Tubing is harder to explain because every company's marketing department makes up names to differentiate it's tube sets from other companies. There's no standard to any of the naming, and the names can be misleading.

Can't you judge the frames quality by the welds (on metal frames), the weave (on carbon fiber), and the quality of the material used ex: 6061 Aluminum, etc...? Shouldn't the manufacturer have some type of label on the bike of the material used, or at least have it printed somewhere in a specs list that you can look up? If they do print the material, there has to be superior materials and inferior ones.

Just a guess here, feel free to call me an idiot if I am wrong.

 

[Nick09]

Didn't know that about Carbon frames. Good to know.

I do not have x-ray vision unfortunately, but I always hear people talking about the welds. Didn't know if it meant anything or not.

As for the materials science classes, who needs an edumacation when Google has all the answers. Just search Aluminum Grades... Though, you may run into a problem when companies put their own names on it (i.e. Advanced SL-Grade Composite" and "OCLV2 SSL Carbon.)

http://www.google.com/search?source...q=aluminum+grades&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

I am curious now... Are there different grades of carbon fibre??? I assume there would be, just like metals, but then again, something like fibreglass just as different weights, not really that much quality difference... maybe a little, but from my searches, just different weights and weaves... Maybe different weaves are better/stronger than others?

 

[Nick09]

wow... lots of info on Aluminum here....

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/mepages/aluminfo.php