Road Cycling - Magnesium Frames

Calling all VeloNews Buyers Guides.

Is there any information on welded magnesium road or MTB frames there?

I wanted to find out more about these frames and how thay behave.

Den Brewers

On page 32 there is a road bike made by Pinarello called the Dogma Magnesium but it cost $8,000 American dollars. But magnesium is subject to corrosion and needs to be coated both inside AND outside to prevent it and the coating is critical to its strength (see page 42).

You want something that radical go with Titanium from Serotta or Merlin or others that are just as good.

Originally posted by froze

You want something that radical go with Titanium from Serotta or Merlin or others that are just as good.

Or how about beryllium? Nothing says good cycling fun like a hunk of toxic metal. Of course you might get hunted down by the US gov't for riding around on something made of a material that could be classified as an ingrediant for WMDs. :D

Originally posted by denbrewers
Calling all VeloNews Buyers Guides.

Is there any information on welded magnesium road or MTB frames there?

I wanted to find out more about these frames and how thay behave.

Den Brewers

I want to know how you can weld magnesium. Isn't it pretty flamable?

I think it is a magnesium alloy. Just a thought. I could be wrong. They might have some way of doing it that we don't know about.

Originally posted by khuon
Or how about beryllium? Nothing says good cycling fun like a hunk of toxic metal. Of course you might get hunted down by the US gov't for riding around on something made of a material that could be classified as an ingrediant for WMDs. :D

I think that Audi and Mercedes used beryllium in their Le Mans 24 hour cars. It has a pretty good weight to strength ratio, it seems.

Beryllium, atomic number 4, is a brittle, steel-gray metal found as a component of coal, oil, certain rock minerals, volcanic dust, and soil. Elemental beryllium is the second lightest of all metals and is used in a wide variety of applications. In its elemental form beryllium exhibits the unique properties of being light weight and extremely stiff, giving the metal several applications in the aerospace, nuclear, and manufacturing industries. In addition, beryllium is amazingly versatile as a metal alloy where it is used in dental appliances, golf clubs, non-sparking tools, wheel chairs, and electronic gadgets.

Unfortunately, beryllium also causes lung and skin disease in 2% to 10% of exposed workers. Occupational exposure most often occurs in mining, extraction, and in the processing of alloy metals containing beryllium. The adverse health effects of beryllium exposure are caused by the body's immune system reacting with the metal, resulting in an allergic-type response. Dust control is the primary preventative measure.


Notice that effective control is exercised by effective dust control. ie the element is only harmful in it's raw form.

It is not harmful to the end user, only the fabricator. If proper HSE measure are taken during the fabrication stage then it should be safe, however.......:rolleyes:

I'm just waiting for someone to try and make a bike out of carbon nanotubes ;).

Originally posted by Trek4100
I'm just waiting for someone to try and make a bike out of carbon nanotubes ;).

that would be one expensive bike :p

I seem to remember a bike made out of beryllium a few years ago...or am I mistaken? If I'm not mistaken, whatever happen the bike company or idea?

Originally posted by froze
I seem to remember a bike made out of beryllium a few years ago...or am I mistaken? If I'm not mistaken, whatever happen the bike company or idea?

They all died of cancer, of course. :D

well... I think this is one of those things..

Mag is used in 6000 series alloys

Aluminum + Magnesium + Silicon = 6000 drtird

Not sure how high a content of a substance before you call it Magnesium frame.. but I'm willing to think that "carbon frames" have lotsa resins?

*shrug*:confused:

Thanks for the replies, guys. Quite informative and... er... controversial, I'd say. The thing is, I was at a World Track Cup 6-day event in Moscow this April and well... actually saw some riders ride MAGNESIUM frames. I've talked to some of those riders and asked what they rid on. The reply I got was like - 'Don't ya know?! It's magensium, silly'. What on earth were they all on about?!

I did some asking-around though. It appears that THERE ARE indeed 2 companies that currnetly manufacture welded frames out of magnesium alloy - and which are affordable.

One of them is a well-known... er... Taiwanese manufacturer. Well, it's like Trek in the Orient in terms of bicycle numbers production, but it's name escapes me at the moment. They're more known in the MTB community though, I believe. Their magnesium road frame range starts at 1'000 USD or so. I've seen their frames just in Orient bike catalogues though.

Well, the frames I've seen in Moscow were not from the Orient! They are made by a... Russian manufacturer called Litech. And their logo has 'MG' letters on it. They make road, MTB and BMX frames. And, hold on to your hats now, guys. Because you ain't gonna believe what those frames cost. 240 USD (two hundred and forty!) for a road racing frame, standard geometry, or 300 - 400 usd for a custom-built. 250 USD for a MTB frame. But the most terrific thing is yet to come. The weights of the frames you won't believe. The road frame weighs in at a mere 1'200 g. It's slightly more for a MTB frame. I've tracked down the company web-site recently, and if anyone's interested, might give it out. And before you ask me, yes, the website is in English.

I went back to the track and accosted some of the riders there riding those frames and asked about the ride feel and all that. And again, the reply I got was, like, 'Don't'ya know?! It's magnesium, silly!' 'So? - I wondered. 'So, it's magnesium. The best thing there is'. - were the answers'. Then I spot a dazzling blue-eyed bunny (a woman rider) holding on to a bike with the name Olga in huge letters on one side and MAGNESIUM on the other painted on its frame.

She was a sprinter. (Surprise-surprise her name was Olga) And she said the riding quality was absolutely terrific. From what I gathered, with those frames every pedal stroke transfers directly to your drivetrain and to your rear wheel - the moment you apply preassure to the cranks - with no power loss whatsoever. Frame flex? Forget about it! She said she's forgotten what it was since she got that frame. Then her manager proudly presented me a long list of titles she's won since she started riding those frames.

Another thing, according to the article on the magnesium alloy used in these frames at the company website, the frames also have unrivalled dampening characteristics on rough roads - supposedly better than steel and titanium taken together. And when I asked Olga what it felt like riding those frames outside her reply was prompt: 'smooth as grass'. And then added: 'It's magnesium, silly!' (The girl in question won Women's Giro d'Italia in 2000, if I got it right, - riding that frame, of course).

Ok, it seems like in the track community magnesium is all the rage. And it's almost like 'classified' or something. And those who're 'in-the-know' are reluctant to tell you more about it. Frankly, my Moscow trip to the Track Worlds left me baffled. But I'm willing to find out everything about it in the near future.

So, if someone out there knows what the track riders are all on about with these frames - please, do drop me a line.


Den Brewers

denbrewers
Taiwanese manufacturer of magnesium frame is Merida.
www.merida.com

Yes, it is Merida indeed. It was right on the tip of my tongue, but it somehow slipped my mind. I thought Wheeler at first, but then no... Yes, it is Merida, thanks.

Originally posted by William Karsten
I want to know how you can weld magnesium. Isn't it pretty flamable?

It is. If we're talking about the one used in aviation and aerospace industries. But the one used in framebuilding is an alloy.

However, I've talked to a couple of welders and they told me that you can weld many metals, titan, included, with no problems. But magnesium - an absolute no-no. It's not that they're flamable. It's that you just can't do it. It doesn't weld or something. Now the question is, how do the Litech guys do it? Or are they bluffing?

Den Brewers

- How do you feel?
- I use my fingertips.