Hybrid Bicycles - 6061 Al vs. 7005 Al

Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.



PDA

View Full Version : 6061 Al vs. 7005 Al

eventhorizon
05-18-10, 11:14 PM
Sorry to be asking so many questions.

Does 7005 Al contribute to a lighter bicycle than 6061? The Felt Speed 30 uses 7005 Al for its frame, while most other bicycles (e.g., Trek) use 6061. I understand that 6061 is a Mg/Al alloy while 7005 is a Zn/Al alloy. 7005 is harder to work with but does not require heat treatment.

The Felt Speed 30 is 4 lb lighter than the Trek 7.6fx (Felt Speed weight from their web site, Trek 7.6fx actual weight in LBS). Componentry seems similar. I hope the lighter weight does not make the Felt less durable.

Also, an LBS told me that Trek has its own manufacturing while Felt outsources. Is this significant from a quality/reliability/durability standpoint?

Thanks!

badger1
05-19-10, 06:41 AM
The short answer to your first question is ... it all depends! Either alloy can be made to be clunky/heavyish or butted/light. Giant, for example, probably the leader in aluminum frame construction these days, works exclusively with variants of 6061.
As to your second question, delete the 'L' from the 'LBS' in question and you're left with a description of the info they gave you:D The only frames Trek actually manufactures in its own facilities are a few of their very top-end carbon frames; less expensive carbon and all their aluminum frames are 'outsourced', just like those of Felt, Specialized, etc. The better ones are made for these companies by Giant, Merida, Kinesis, or one or two other Taiwanese frame companies.
The 7.1 frame is probably manufactured in either mainland China or Vietnam; the higher-end FX frames perhaps in Taiwan.
Irrelevant, really, to questions of durability etc. What matters is design, materials selection, and quality control.
Wanderer
05-19-10, 06:47 AM
And, if you are going to weigh one on a scale - weigh them both.

Manufacturers seem to have a habit of weighing their bikes without pedals, grips, bells, tires, always weigh their smallest frame, etc......... I'll bet it weighs lots more than they report on their website, ready to ride!

kaliayev
05-19-10, 02:51 PM
I believe Trek still makes the steel framed 520 at it's Waterloo plant.