When did alloy and aluminum alloy become synonymous in the cycling world?

[zank]

This has been a curiosity of mine for some time. When did "alloy" become synonymous with aluminum or aluminum alloy? I read a post the other day that said "I am going with 6/4 ti bolts instead of alloy bolts". This made me chuckle. I knew what he meant, of course, but he literally contradicted himself since 6/4 ti is an alloy.

Monday musings...

[RPS]

You make my iron alloy frame seem modern.

[Kevan]

Now even CF has turned alloy, well kinda-sorta, with the mix of boron. Steel has been a cocktail too.

Yet with all the blending going on, we seem to know what 'alloy' means.

[sspielman]

...At least Scandium is still scandium.....

[gt6267a]

I am with you 100%. There is a lot of whack verbage in the industry about materials. My latest fun point: Salsa describes the tubes as scandium for the bike I recently purchased. Ummm, hello? They are Al tubes alloyed with scandium. Shouldn’t it be described by the base material not the alloy?

[zank]

and probably 2% Sc at that.

[Kevan]

I am with you 100%. There is a lot of whack verbage in the industry about materials. My latest fun point: Salsa describes the tubes as scandium for the bike I recently purchased. Ummm, hello? They are Al tubes alloyed with scandium. Shouldn’t it be described by the base material not the alloy?

but that's the foil.

[RPS]

IMHO it goes beyond materials. It’s a limitation of sharing information on the Internet – particularly technical information.

Readers don’t have the same background, and if the correct or proper term is used in lieu of the “normally accepted” term, what is written won’t be understood or perhaps even be misleading. The misuse of the word “damping” is the one that gets my attention the most. Other examples include strength versus power; and weight versus mass versus inertia.

Unfortunately if the writer uses the normally accepted language for the sake of clarity, he may be perceived as ignorant by some; and/or as promoting the misuse of the term.

[christian]

I am glad that my bike is an alloy bike. Because while I'm not a weight weenie, an iron bike does seem somehow wrong.

[Serpico]

just because people understand bikes doesn't mean they understand metallurgy imho

I struggle with words like 'alloy' and 'ferrous' sometimes (ferrous means "containing iron" so steel is ferrous, but is alu ferrous?). Is steel an "alloy"?

anyways--interesting thread :)

[rwsaunders]

I did read about a new element called Chucktanium on the Chuck Norris website. Will Chuck be making frames too?

[JohnS]

Is steel an "alloy"?

:)Yep. It's alloyed with manganese, nickel, carbon and chromium, among others...

[mcewen]

High-Strength AlloysDuring the 1930's, a new generation of steel came on to the market with over twice the strength of the basic steel used in bicycles. Known as chrome-molybdenum or "chromoly" alloys. Reynolds of England used a variation on this using molybdenum and manganese, called Reynolds 531. These alloys became the standard in the aircraft industry for decades.

Reynolds 531 quickly became the world standard for bicycle race tubing. From the 1950's through the mid-1980's, 531 dominated the professional race scene with a virtually unbroken record of Tour de France wins. It set the standard for all high-end bicycles.

Heat Treated Steels: In the 1970's Reynolds introduced an enhanced tubeset - Reynolds 753. 40% stronger than 531, 753 allowed lighter and stronger bike frames to appear on the race scene. Reynolds 753 perfectly matched our expertise in reliable low-temperature silver brazing. Waterford's predecessor pioneered low-temperature silver brazing in the 1950's as a way of maximizing the strength and durability of Reynolds 531. With heat treated alloy steels such as 753, low temperature brazing is critical to maintain all the strength added through heat treatment. With lug designs, this wasn't a problem but lugs don't offer the manufacturing flexibility of other joining methods. 753 was finally dropped from Reynolds' offerings in 2001.

The past quarter century has seen a flowering of new designs, from triathlete designs to mountain bikes - often with radically different frame designs from the classic road bike. Moreover, riders and builders both have come to recognize the importance of good fit, requiring highly individualized frame geometries.

As a result, flexibility of manufacturing has become as important as the actual mechanical properties of the material in assuring an ideal design. Thanks to its flexibility, TIG-welding has evolved to become a preferred joining method for bicycles that with plenty of margin in their structural design. As designers ventured near the structural limits of steel, the more they had to trade off the flexibility of frame geometry against maximizing the frame's strength to weight ratio.

The answer was to develop steels that could retain the benefits of heat treating even when TIG-welded. Just such alloys appeared in R&D programs in the early 90's and appeared in the market in the late '90's - air-hardening steels.

Air-hardening Steels: That's the name of this new generation of TIG-weldable steels. Two manufacturers have stood out in this area - Reynolds, with their 853, and True Temper, with their OX Platinum. If the temperature is raised above a threshold (1600 degrees F), air hardening takes place resulting in a heat affected area that is actually harder and stronger than the non-heat affected zone. This allows air-hardening steels to be brass-brazed and TIG welded in addition to silver brazing. Waterford's special welding techniques and special brazing alloys let us to achieve the highest possible performance from 853 and True Temper. This results in weight reductions and increases in strength over previous alloys regardless of the joining method.

[Bud]

I have noticed this too and find it a bit annoying. I just attributed it to syllabic economy (and general ignorance). I dunno, maybe "alloy" sounds cooler to most people.

I propose we refer to frame material by the atomic number of the dominant element. Aluminum would no longer be "aluminum" or "Al" (or "alloy" for that matter). It would be referred to as "13." CF would be "6" and Steel would be (primarily) "26." Fancy steel, such as Columbus alloy with Niobium, would be "26 and 41" or something like that.

Or not....

[PacNW2Ford]

While we're at it, why do people refer to sidewalks as "cement"? Cement is just dust, they're "concrete" sidewalks. But I agree, it's better to go with the flow.

[rpm]

I think using the term "alloy" to mean aluminum is a British convention that goes way back, certainly to the 1950's and probably earlier when it was used to contrast with steel (even though the steel was an alloy), as in "He replaced his steel Campag cranks with new TA alloy ones". The other term for aluminum was "dural", short for "duraluminum".

[JohnS]

[QUOTE=rpm]I think using the term "alloy" to mean aluminum is a British convention that goes way back QUOTE]
Wouldn't that be "aluminium"? :)

[Serpico]

.
cool framebuilders carry bidness cards with the title 'alchemist'
.

[gt6267a]

I disagree about going with a flow that is wrong. When reading the Salsa website, I found their reference to Scandium tubing confusing until I realized they were referencing the tubing by the alloying material. To establish ignorance as a standard is really not a positive means of procedure or communication. I say, if a vernacular of sorts has established itself and in official or semi-official presentation a company wants to use the slang, go for it but please also use the correct words somewhere because to not is down right mystifying.

[zank]

gt6267a, I am with you. I don't mind jargon at all. But, using correct technical verbage with reference to the accepted jargon first is always more professional.

[sspielman]

While we are at this...the term "Clincher" is actually correctly applied to a type of tire (tyre) that was in use in the 1920's-1930's...wht we use today is more correctly called a "wired-on"....

[RPS]

Next time we refer to alloy nipples: should we ask which kind?

Once a term is widely used, I'm not sure we can change back in order to correct it. IMO we have to let it go unless it misleads or confuses the subject matter.

[zank]

I agree that alloy is now common enough that everyone knows what we are talking about.

I was more genuinely interested in how the term came to be universally known in cycling as a short for aluminum.

[PacNW2Ford]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the desire for the correct use of technical language. I am a professional engineer and use very precise language in my work. I like the idea of using both the commonly accepted and the technically accurate terminology, good advice. But I have learned that "going with the flow" is much less stressful, because correcting someone online usually sends things spinning off topic.

[JohnS]

"Alloy" is also commonly used in the firearms industry to mean Aluminum. I think it stems from the past when aluminum was considered cheap or weaker than steel.

[J.Greene]

My earliest memory of this goes back to the late 70's when I started to race BMX. Alloy always preceded a component name instead of aluminum. Alloy rims, bars, seat post etc...

JG

This has been a curiosity of mine for some time. When did "alloy" become synonymous with aluminum or aluminum alloy? I read a post the other day that said "I am going with 6/4 ti bolts instead of alloy bolts". This made me chuckle. I knew what he meant, of course, but he literally contradicted himself since 6/4 ti is an alloy.

Monday musings...

[rwsaunders]

I recall when the car dealers indicated that a car came with "alloy" wheels? We called them "mags" when I was a kid.

[christian]

I struggle with words like 'alloy' and 'ferrous' sometimes (ferrous means "containing iron" so steel is ferrous, but is alu ferrous?). Is steel an "alloy"?

Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon and other materials. Bike frame steels often include small amounts of chromium, molybdenum, (CrMo), or manganese.

Non-alloyed aluminum is not ferrous; it's an element. Most aluminum alloys do have a small amount (<0.7%) of iron. However, the common elements for alloying with aluminum are zinc, copper, manganese, magnesium and silicon.

[RPS]

I recall when the car dealers indicated that a car came with "alloy" wheels? We called them "mags" when I was a kid.As I recall "mag" wheels originally referred to magnesium alloy wheels; which were used mostly on race cars. And I think you are right, the term was adopted for aluminum wheels as well.

[merckx]

This has been a curiosity of mine for some time. When did "alloy" become synonymous with aluminum or aluminum alloy? I read a post the other day that said "I am going with 6/4 ti bolts instead of alloy bolts". This made me chuckle. I knew what he meant, of course, but he literally contradicted himself since 6/4 ti is an alloy.

Monday musings...

When Klein started welding Budweiser cans together.

[csm]

I snorted when I read this and had to use a kleenex

[chrisroph]

I snorted when I read this and had to use a kleenex

it gave me a headache so i took a tylenol

[bcm119]

I used to have a bike with alloy forks.

[csm]

I'm gonna rollerblade to the library and xerox a copy of this.

[Louis]

I'm gonna rollerblade to the library and xerox a copy of this.

Where do you keep your :beer: ?

[pdxmech13]

.....a friend of mine described your belgian friend to a tee.
saw hem at worlds . very very very creepy.

[RIHans]

A Book I Read...The Dumbing Down of America