what parts can or cant be sand blasted?
10-24-10, 08:41 AM
#26
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Pinole, CA, USA
Posts: 17,392
Mentioned: 24 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 443 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 27 Times
in
25 Posts
Sandblasting is pretty harsh for lightweight road grade tubing. Are you sure you aren't talking about glass bead blasting?
Just because you can sandblast an oil/gas tanks or a fender does not mean that its wise to literally sandblast thin bicycle frame tubes. Bicycle frames are built to be as light as possible and still withstand tremendous loads, involving highly variable and complex combinations of tension, compression, and strain. The same cannot be said for tanks and fenders. Thinning the tubes slightly could significantly weaken the frame and shorten its lifespan. Just because a pro sand blaster (who needs work) says its OK, doesn't mean that it is unless they have lots of experience with bicycles, and even then I would have reservations. I may have less hesitation about sandblasting a cheap gas pipe plain-gauge frame, but I'm not sure the expense would be worth it on a low quality frame.
Just because you can sandblast an oil/gas tanks or a fender does not mean that its wise to literally sandblast thin bicycle frame tubes. Bicycle frames are built to be as light as possible and still withstand tremendous loads, involving highly variable and complex combinations of tension, compression, and strain. The same cannot be said for tanks and fenders. Thinning the tubes slightly could significantly weaken the frame and shorten its lifespan. Just because a pro sand blaster (who needs work) says its OK, doesn't mean that it is unless they have lots of experience with bicycles, and even then I would have reservations. I may have less hesitation about sandblasting a cheap gas pipe plain-gauge frame, but I'm not sure the expense would be worth it on a low quality frame.
10-24-10, 09:10 AM
#27
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: St Peters, Missouri
Posts: 30,225
Bikes: Catrike 559 I own some others but they don't get ridden very much.
Mentioned: 16 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1572 Post(s)
Liked 643 Times
in
364 Posts
2. All bicycle frames aren't the same. Not even close. Most people are surprised at how thin quality bike frame tubes can be. Nivecrom tubes, for example, aren't nearly as thick in the middle as your sheetmetal fuel tanks.
10-24-10, 02:47 PM
#28
Senior Member
Yeah, fuel-tanks and fenders are typically 3mm thick. High-end steel bike-tubing can be as thin as 0.4mm.
