aluminum bike tube thickness

I am considering building an aluminum mountain bike frame, size XL since I am 6'-3 250lb. Will probably use 1.75" diameter or 2" tube for the down tube. 6061 aluminum. What wall thickness should I use for down tube, top tube, and seat tube. I will buy straight tube, not butted to keep it simple at first.

There is a difference. Aluminum tubes will be significantly thicker than steel or titanium tubes. There are two ways to tell for sure what your current frame is, cut it apart and measure it, or find somebody with an ultrasound and the can tell you how thick the tube is and leave you with a bike that's still rideable. Every tube on the frame is different.

My old GT round tube frame AL bike has pretty thin tubes, I would guess .03″ or so. Even the round tubes are likely to be ‘butted’, that is thinner in the middle, thicker near ends and welding joints.

The usual combination was a 1” diameter top tube with 0.8 mm wall thickness on the ends and 0.5 mm wall thickness in the thinner (butted) section in the middle of the tube (.8/.5/.8) along with a 1 1/8” diameter down tube with .9/.6/.9 wall thickness and a single-butted 1 1/8” .9/.6 seat tube.

often considered, that the aluminum alloy 6061 more suitable for bicycle frames, than an alloy 7005, although the alloy 7005 and somewhat more durable. The tensile strength of the alloy is 7005-T6 350 MP, and alloy 6061 – 310 MPa, yield stress 290 and 275 MPa, respectively. When it comes to the strength of the frame as a whole, the large ...

At around 1300MPa tensile strength depending on heat-treatment, this steel is strong enough to be cold-drawn to tube walls around 0.4mm thick, offering light, competitive frame weights for durable frames with the RIDE OF STEEL.

There are no common tube diameters or thicknesses- this part of the bicycle industry is constantly in flux. You should remember, if you plan on making your own frame, that you just can't weld it up and ride away.

Frame weights are typically lighter than most steel tube sets. The added strength of 6/4 titanium allows it to be drawn out thinner than 3/2.5, resulting in a lighter frame. Reynolds as a lighter alternative to straight gauge tubing offers double-butted titanium. Thicknesses are down to 0.6mm on mainframe tubes.

This approach is relatively inexpensive and creates a good, solid weld. However, look closely at a bike's welds. You'll see that quality bikes offer a thick, even weld that goes around the entire tube. On department store bikes the welds are thin and spotty, dabbed down generally on the top, bottom and sides, but leaving open areas in between.

Variable wall thickness tube products. Since 1985, Vari-Wall Tube Specialists, Inc. has provided high strength, light weight variable wall thickness tubular components for critical applications. Our customers are spread across a wide range of industries, from bicycles to aerospace. For over 30 years, our goal has always been the same: to be the ...

In other words, aluminum has a lower strength-to-weight ratio than steel. For example, most aluminum bike frame tubes measure more than 1.5” in diameter. Steel frame tubes often measure around 1” in diameter. Even with the extra material, aluminum bike frames are almost always lighter than steel.

31.200. * These sizes are extruded; all other sizes are drawn tubes. Aluminum Pipe Sch. 40. I.P.S. in Inches. Outside Diameter Inches. Inside Diameter Inches. Wall Thickness Inches. Weight Per Ft. ALUMINUM PIPE - Schedule 40 - 6061-T6 & 6063-T6.