|
-Two Frame Materials-
Understanding what you get (and don't get) from the two alloys is not difficult, but here, we cut through the hype. Is 3/2.5 or 6/4 better? ... neither is ... and both are, it depends on how they are used. Here is a quick look at their differences and how we take advantage of them.
- Tensile strength- Tensile strength is the measurement of how strong a material is "in tension." I.e. what force it takes to tear apart the material. Ttitanium bicycle frames don't fail in tension unless they are defective. Today, we don't see that kind of failure in either 6/4 or 3/2.5 frames. Both alloys are so strong that neither is going to fail in tension and so it is safe to ignore tensile strength in our comparison of the two alloys.
- Young's modulus or bending stiffness is a measurement of a material's ability to resist a bending force. A 6/4 tube of the same dimensions will be 10% stiffer in bending than a 3/2.5 tube.
- Shear Modulus or torsional stiffness is the measurement of a material's ability to resist shear or twisting forces. 3/2.5 has a 2% higher shear modulus than does 6/4.
- Yield strength - Yield strength is a measurement of the force required to permanently deform a material. In the real world of bicycle frames, yield commonly comes into play in two ways. 1) a frame can yield in a typical head on crash where the front end of the frame folds up just behind the head tube. 2) during many crashes, the handlebar will swing around and dent the top tube. 3/2.5's yield strength is so high that we almost never see yield damage in either of these circumstances.
If we want to use thinner wall tubing for Merlin frames, and we don't want the frames as fragile as aluminum and steel frames, we need an alloy with a much higher yield strength than 3/2.5. 6/4 titanium allows us to safely build frames with significantly thinner walls because of its 42% higher yield strength.
THE WORKS 6/4
That is where the Works 6/4 frames are aimed. The Works 6/4 frames are extremely light, but they are not fragile. They are NOT functionally the same as the Works 3/2.5 frames either. The Works 6/4 frames are the "real world" toughest hyper light frames ever built, but they are not at the apex of rigidity or tight criterium performance. That frame is the Works 3/2.5.
THE WORKS 3/2.5
The Works 3/2.5 frames are not warmed over Extralights. They are a higher performance frame. Stiffer drive train, more comfortable ride, better control.
Two Frame Geometries | Two Frame Materials | Works Tubing Enhancements |
