Grades of Aluminum

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I haven't exceeded the fatigue life of my 88 Cannondale Crit bike. She's got way over 40000 miles on her and her aluminum fork. She does get checked 2x a year, cause she still gets ridden in crits.

It's the 01 DeRosa MerakI worry about. She has a 2 lb frame, which I worry was built to the edge of engineering. It is a Dedaccia 6061SC tubeset, which claims to be micro-shot peened (KET is what they call it) to prevent fatigue related problems. She also claims a 185 lb. rider limit. I check her for cracks too.

I think the heat treatment is what raises the cost on 6061-T6. Doing it right takes time and knowledge and equipment.

Does anyone know what alloy flexy old Vitus aluminum frames were made from ? They weren't known for breaking, even at the bonded lugs.
 
Originally Posted By: Wheel
Does anyone know what alloy flexy old Vitus aluminum frames were made from ? They weren't known for breaking, even at the bonded lugs.


I don't remember, but I do know that many (even U.S. amateur) road sprinters (or track sprinters riding crits back then) out right REFUSED to ride them way back when, due to EXTREME 'whippiness'.
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That said, didn't Sean Kelly ride for one or two seasons on one back at the start of his pro career?
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I had a friend with a Vitus and at the time I had a Klein performance, this was around 1984 more or less. Any was we did lots of riding and we would switch off bikes. The Vitus was flexible but when spinning it was a real nice ride. He went from the Vitus after many years to a Trek Carbon fiber road bike and I went to a Trek 1500 which wasn't as light as the Klein but I liked the geometry and feel way better.
 
7075 will last longer in drivetrain applications than 6061, for example get 7075 chainrings, they're not that much more.
 
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