02-24-2015, 07:57 AM
What JScott is saying is absolutely true. The basic molecular weight of the two materials is so close it's not a factor. Tensile and yield strength, Young's Modulus are all completely different for the two materials. Heat treatment of the material really doesn't make it much better in you application, it only adds wear resistance. 4130 tubing is plenty stiff.
This also why when bike frames are made out of aluminum they tend to be huge diameter and relatively thick wall. It is hard to achieve the strength of a good chrome-molybdenum steel for the price and weight. There's one piece of "old school tech" that you can't beat at an economical price.
This also why when bike frames are made out of aluminum they tend to be huge diameter and relatively thick wall. It is hard to achieve the strength of a good chrome-molybdenum steel for the price and weight. There's one piece of "old school tech" that you can't beat at an economical price.