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What Would Happen?


Luke_zoo

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i thought about this, as the steerer snaps at either end of the headset as that is where it can flex, so middle bit of the steerer inside of the headtube shouldnt have much stress on it as to flex it both cups of the headset would have to move aswel which doesnt happen (unless you have a flared headtube) so in theory you should be drill it alot... how steerers have you seen snap inside the headtube? none... iv killed over 10 pairs of forks and never seen it also.

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Something I mentioned to Matt yesterday, has anyone ever thought of a titanium steerer? I know it would cost a bomb but the weight saved would be unbeleivable. I reckon it would be worth it on bikes like the silver sky, kamel, boxx etc....

Just a moment of madness but meh!

thats a really good idea is that it would of been thought of before im pretty sure but would cost the manufactures more to make so the idea would get scraped i guess

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thats a really good idea is that it would of been thought of before im pretty sure but would cost the manufactures more to make so the idea would get scraped i guess

yea would cost a fortune, prob would not sell many on the principle. remember how much the middle ti bash was..

More on topic drilling your forks would be a mistake, weight saved would be next to nothing as well.

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yea would cost a fortune, prob would not sell many on the principle. remember how much the middle ti bash was..

More on topic drilling your forks would be a mistake, weight saved would be next to nothing as well.

Correct.

the cost of Ti parts isn't just the material itself, it's the tooling costs. There is not much machining on a steerer tube compared to the bashring/sprocket.

The thing is with machining titanium alloys, is that the stuff is really tough. This isn't the same property as strong or hard. These are separate properties. Lead is also tough, but very soft (malleable).

Anyway to keep it simple, titanium blunts tools, fast. You also have to machine more slowly and you must keep it very cool, otherwise it catches on fire.

I was once machineing a titanium alloy component when I was an apprentice and it caught on fire. I shit myself, the old guy that used to teach me machining, just laughed and said to leave it burn. Titanium is also very hard to put out once it goes up, like magnesium.

A set of forks with ti steerer would not be massively more expensive to produce. Don't forget markup on Ti Items, companies get away with it because the general public thinks titanium alloys are magical.

The thing is with Ti components is that they must have some mistique so the money can be charged. There is also a thin line between what someone is willing to pay and what they are not.

You can sell more alloy steerer tubed forks say for £50 because more people are willing/can afford a £50 set of forks than even a £70 set of forks (examples not facts).

The xtra, £ it costs to have a Ti tube then becomes an issue.

This is due to the tooling costs.

For every 100 alloy forks you sell at £50 you may only sell 10 Ti at £120.

The tooling has cost you the same as the alloy forks + the extra because of the above mentioned Ti tooling problems.

I think I have confused myself :blink:

Anyway my point is that it would not cost much more to manufacture the Ti steerer forks it's just you couldn't make the figures add up enough to be worth it so companies don't do it.

Imagine getting all that Ti for a reasonable cost then asking mucho libre for a poxy axle, people would think you were having a laugh.

Matt

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good luck if you drill them, i remeber a mate of mine who thought it would be cool to drill holes through his handlebars .. you can imagine what happened to him!

I can imagine how that went.

"Hey mate i just drilled my bars"

crunch

"Dude you want your teeth back?"

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Something I mentioned to Matt yesterday, has anyone ever thought of a titanium steerer? I know it would cost a bomb but the weight saved would be unbeleivable. I reckon it would be worth it on bikes like the silver sky, kamel, boxx etc....

Just a moment of madness but meh!

just imagine yourself shortening that steerer without special machines :D

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Lighter bikes are easier to ride but you can go too far with it, and randomly drilling things is not the way to go with it.

There are loads of other ways to make your bike lighter without corrupting the integrity and designed safety factor of their original manufacture, let alone risking smashing your teeth out or worse.

Once you have done all the usual stuff then it may be time to look at drilling things, but personally I think drilling the steerer is going a bit far.

You may as well start thinking about taking up pakour or whatever it's called. Trials on yer feet.

You could always hold your hands out in front of you like your holding the bars and pretend to do pedal kicks and shit......... :lol:

Sorry I can't go on I'm laughing to much.

Matt

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