Aluminum frames

[iffyjoe]

Anyone out there with any experince putting foam into an aluminum frame? It's said to improve the ride without adding much weight. What kind of foam I wonder, and does it really work?

[Ozz]

start here: http://www.velonews.com/tech/report/articles/7120.0.html

read about Eric Sampson...

[David Kirk]

I should think it would make it lighter....the more light stuff you put on a bike the lighter it gets.

Dave

[stevep]

i tried gillette foamy.
the bike did not feel any different
... but it did clean out the bb.

[William]

My old aluminum Bianchi Reparto Corsa had the foam core technology. I'm not sure how much it helped the road feel. I think the 28c's I was running did more to mute the road feel then the foam did. Being the Boston Whaler of the biking world though....they won't sink so they got that going for them.




William :beer:


PS: What happens when you've had a little too much vino on your lunch break in the Bianchi factory? Some one goes nuts with the Insta-pack machine and wallah!!! New Technology!! :banana:

[Bill Bove]

I should think it would make it lighter....the more light stuff you put on a bike the lighter it gets.

Dave
Ouch! I hit my head falling over bacwards laughing :D

[sspielman]

The foam in the tubes is an interesting idea. I was pretty skeptical of any benefits, but when Bianchi started doing it on the real big aluminum frames, it seemed to put an end to the breakage issues that they were having. It was interesting that they only did it on the largest sizes...I am wondering if the foam is a simple polyurethane foam like "Great Stuff'...it seems strong as can be when it dries, but it makes one HECK of a mess of anything that it gets on, because it really sticks and takes a strong solvent to clean it up onceit dries....

[fstrthnu]

Wrap your frame in duct tape imho. Much easier maintenance and you get that "day glow" effect.

Fstrthnu

[sspielman]

Wrap your frame in duct tape imho. Much easier maintenance and you get that "day glow" effect.

Fstrthnu

Yeah, but you don't get much shock absorption from it...unless the frame was cracked badly enough before the taping.....

[fstrthnu]

Yeah, but you don't get much shock absorption from it...unless the frame was cracked badly enough before the taping.....

When taping an uncracked frame maybe it is better to use scotch tape or better yet clear packaging tape. This way you can see the initial cracks forming and when there are enough of them you can make the change to duct tape further enchancing the ride and aesthetics of the bike.

Brilliant!
Fstrthnu

[mosca]

i tried gillette foamy.

probably helped you shave a few grams.

[sspielman]

When taping an uncracked frame maybe it is better to use scotch tape or better yet clear packaging tape. This way you can see the initial cracks forming and when there are enough of them you can make the change to duct tape further enchancing the ride and aesthetics of the bike.

Brilliant!
Fstrthnu

...and when the taping is complete, THEN you could inject the frame with the polyurethane foam....as a side benefit, it would weatherproof the inside of the frame...and could keep some of the lighter aluminum frames from rusting out!

[davids]

Foam in the tubes...

http://mowabb.com/aimages/images/02-04-05-2.jpg

[mike p]

Foam in the tubes...

http://mowabb.com/aimages/images/02-04-05-2.jpg


No longer made in Latrobe!

Mike

[iffyjoe]

The foam in the tubes is an interesting idea. I was pretty skeptical of any benefits, but when Bianchi started doing it on the real big aluminum frames, it seemed to put an end to the breakage issues that they were having. It was interesting that they only did it on the largest sizes...I am wondering if the foam is a simple polyurethane foam like "Great Stuff'...it seems strong as can be when it dries, but it makes one HECK of a mess of anything that it gets on, because it really sticks and takes a strong solvent to clean it up onceit dries....
The frame in question is indeed a large frame, my concern is in cost. It's 150$ to add this foam which to me sounds a tad high. I only know of a couple of types of foam, unless this is something very new. I'm just not sure about throwing another $150 at this frame unless it'll make a real differnce. I really could care less about the weight issue. This will end up as an "errand bike" anyway.

[texbike]

I should think it would make it lighter....the more light stuff you put on a bike the lighter it gets.

Dave

Very under-stated. Definitely quote of the day material! :)