Materials    
     
Aluminium   Steel
We started to produce frames in aluminium four years ago, more for necessity as the market was heading towards aluminium and the demand for steel at that time was nearly zero; the alternative was to close down.

After a year of testing, we started to sell these frames after having adapted to the change of material, as you can not use aluminium in the same way as steel. This required changes to the thickness and form of the tube diameters, until we were happy with the results.

For our frames we use two types; the 7000 and the U2.

We decided against using a tube that needed a heat solution because the problems caused by time, logistics, alignment and after treatment is not indifferent were substantial.

It is true that results obtained with this type of mechanical treatment is superior to that of a frame that has only been artificially aged, but by increasing the tube thickness slightly (and the weight as a consequence) we can obtain a guaranteed reliable good product. In the end, to our minds, at a certain level the weight of the frame it is not the fundamental problem which it seems to have been made out to be today. Remember that in the majority of cases where frame weight has been reduced, the result has been a frame that does not perform as well.

  

This is ‘our’ material. We were born with steel and it is the one which we know the best and gives us greatest confidence and security.

From the time of Excell our preference has been for heat treated tubes. The heat treatment (known as HT) gives the material a higher resistance and strength way above that of standard material, but in the end it is also the quality of the ride in terms of reactiveness and speed that is without doubt superior. In our range we use exclusively two types, EOM and 18MCDV6, both heat treated.

Building with these tubes brings many difficulties because of the hardness of the material, which needs a lot of preparation that is not visible and the thinness of the tubes means that welding is slower and has to be more accurate.

 

 

 
     
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