so what's the big deal with titanium? why titanium and why so expensive?
first of all just a little bit of titanium history...
titanium also known as the "space age metal" is a light, noncorrosive and very strong metal. given these 3 qualities , this metal was mainly used for building space ships and space ship parts. because of the difficulties arousing when extracting this metal and because of the fact that it is rarer than aluminum or other metals, titanium has always been very expensive and only in the last 2-3 decades it has become available for bike frame builders. although it is hard to believe, titanium was discovered by William Gregor in 1791 and named by Martin Heinrich Klaproth for the Titans of Greek mythology .
there are various types of titanium , the one used in bike frame building is ti3al/2.5v or grade 9 which basically means that the titanium alloy consists of 3% aluminum, 2.5% vanadium and 94.5% titanium.
from what i understand this type of alloy is very good for welding having also a low corrosion level. for more types of titanium check out the link.
The two most useful properties of the metal form are corrosion resistance and the highest strength-to-weight ratio of any metal. In its unalloyed condition, titanium is as strong as some steels, but 45% lighter. There are two allotropic forms and five naturally occurring isotopes of this element; 46Ti through 50Ti, with 48Ti being the most abundant (73.8%). Titanium's properties are chemically and physically similar to zirconium.
carbon fiber on the other hand is something a little bit different :)
Carbon fiber is a material consisting of extremely thin fibers about 0.005–0.010 mm in diameter and composed mostly of carbon atoms. The carbon atoms are bonded together in microscopic crystals that are more or less aligned parallel to the long axis of the fiber. The crystal alignment makes the fiber very strong for its size. Several thousand carbon fibers are twisted together to form a yarn, which may be used by itself or woven into a fabric.
Carbon fiber has many different weave patterns and can be combined with a plastic resin and wound or molded to form composite materials such as carbon fiber reinforced plastic (also referenced as carbon fiber) to provide a high strength-to-weight ratio material. The density of carbon fiber is also considerably lower than the density of steel, making it ideal for applications requiring low weight. The properties of carbon fiber such as high tensile strength, low weight, and low thermal expansion make it very popular in aerospace, civil engineering, military, and motorsports, along with other competition sports like our most beloved cycling.
there are various types of carbon fiber the ones mainly used in bike frames being from 1k to 3k. the difference between these 2 is tensile strength vs weight, 1k being the lightest and also the one with a lower tensile strength(more fragile=dangerous)
| weight per unit area (g/m2) | weave | fibre |
| 80 | plain | CF 67 (1K) |
| 93 | plain | CF 67 (1K) |
| 120 | 5H satin | CF 67 (1K) |
| 150 | twill | CF 67 (1K) |
| | plain | CF 200 (3K) |
| | twill | CF 200 (3K) |
| | plain | CF 200 (3K) |
| | twill | CF 200 (3K) |
| | twill | CF 200 (3K) |
| | twill | CF 400 (6K) |
| 400 | twill | CF 800 (12K) |
| 600 | twill | CF 800 (12K) |
| | twill | CF 800 (12K) |
the special part about the bruto is that it has a special type of carbon 3k, called "boron"(not moron)
this type of boron carbon comes with a perpendicular fiber, meant to increase the rigidity of the tube. this is an option with paduano and Francesco himself recommended this upgrade.
so , the bruto is made out of high quality and high tech materials explaining why it comes at a price.
in the future posts i will take a look into the integrated seatpost option and softail vs full susser debate
in the future posts i will take a look into the integrated seatpost option and softail vs full susser debate
