3 ms·

Just as an aside, when I was working at a bike shop, we had a guy come in and was looking for a road bike. After some small talk, he told me he owned a cryogeni

Just as an aside, when I was working at a bike shop, we had a guy come in and was looking for a road bike. After some small talk, he told me he owned a cryogenics lab and said they could freeze anything, including bike parts. Doing so, made them permanently in the range of 20-30% stiffer than the original material. Most guys at the shop thought about frames, cranksets, drivetrains, forks etc. Places on the bike which experience high levels of torsional flex and stress. I'm wondering how many engineers ever thought about using cryogenics to enhance the stiffness properties of metals to achieve higher levels of performance. The cost to do it was around $1,500 if I remember correctly. A pretty small fee to get what I'd consider a big gain in performance.

damoncali 12y ago
I'm not aware of any cryo process that increases stiffness. Usually, it's more of a machinabily/stability thing they're after. But I've seen many miraculous claims in what I'd call "hobby industries" for cryo treatment. There are guys who freeze gun barrels, for example - with wild benefits that never seem to really bear fruit. I'd be highly skeptical of such claims.
chromaton 12y ago
I don't have much experience with cryo treating, but heat treating to gain strength is quite commonly done, especially for metals that are too hard to work in their strongest state, or for metals that lose their heat treat when welded.
- eitally 12y ago
  Here's a watch industry instance of cold hardening steel: http://www.damaskousa.com/technology-watchcase.asp http://www.damaskousa.com/technology-watchcase.asp
nether 12y ago
These are standard processes for high strength alloys: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quenching http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quenching http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryogenic_treatment http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryogenic_treatment
qb45 12y ago
I'm just wondering, how well is the influence of frame stiffness on racing performance studied and understood? I have no personal experience in this matter, but recently I was reading some random stuff on the 'net and I found these guys swearing by flexible steel tubing: https://janheine.wordpress.com/2011/10/03/science-and-bicycles-frame-stiffness/ https://janheine.wordpress.com/2011/10/03/science-and-bicycl... https://janheine.wordpress.com/2014/11/23/what-is-planing/ https://janheine.wordpress.com/2014/11/23/what-is-planing/ I don't know what to think about this.

damoncali 12y ago

I'm not aware of any cryo process that increases stiffness. Usually, it's more of a machinabily/stability thing they're after. But I've seen many miraculous claims in what I'd call "hobby industries" for cryo treatment. There are guys who freeze gun barrels, for example - with wild benefits that never seem to really bear fruit. I'd be highly skeptical of such claims.

chromaton 12y ago

I don't have much experience with cryo treating, but heat treating to gain strength is quite commonly done, especially for metals that are too hard to work in their strongest state, or for metals that lose their heat treat when welded.

eitally 12y ago
Here's a watch industry instance of cold hardening steel: http://www.damaskousa.com/technology-watchcase.asp http://www.damaskousa.com/technology-watchcase.asp

nether 12y ago

These are standard processes for high strength alloys: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quenching http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quenching http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryogenic_treatment http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryogenic_treatment

qb45 12y ago

I'm just wondering, how well is the influence of frame stiffness on racing performance studied and understood? I have no personal experience in this matter, but recently I was reading some random stuff on the 'net and I found these guys swearing by flexible steel tubing: https://janheine.wordpress.com/2011/10/03/science-and-bicycles-frame-stiffness/ https://janheine.wordpress.com/2011/10/03/science-and-bicycl... https://janheine.wordpress.com/2014/11/23/what-is-planing/ https://janheine.wordpress.com/2014/11/23/what-is-planing/ I don't know what to think about this.