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just being pedantic but isn't it "cheapness of replacement"? didn't think you could do much to repair ali stuff.then there's an ease of repair question
broadly agree tho.
If you're a Ninja, this may interest you 🙂
Anyway, once you've heard enough of the preamble - FF to 12:50
aluminium has it's uses - in places were you need something chunky but need to keep the weight down.
As for impact - nice thick chunks of metal - alu alloy or steel etc - no problem. You make hammer heads out of big heavy chunks or metal for a reason.
Impacts onto thin walled metal tubing - no thanks. If you are lucky and get a bend the part is now plastically deformed and the load path is different and the material is no longer consistent thickness. If you are unlucky you get a little hairline crack which will grow very quickly in a dynamic application.
Composite impact - yup it can get nasty but a delamination does not mean failure is imminent. Fibre failure does but fibre failure is significant. Most frames should be designed for rocks being thrown up. a 50g rock at 30mph is about 5J. If the carbon is not designed to take that itself then it really doesn't need much protection to protect it (have a paper due out on this very subject)
For anyone worried about composites surviving a harsh life then go buy a fibreglass handled sledge hammer or mattock and give it some stick: http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Hand+Tools/Axes+Picks+Sledgehammers/d10/sd3179
You would bend a metal handled one very quickly - that is if your hands and arms can take the vibrations.
uplink - Member
If you're a Ninja, this may interest youAnyway, once you've heard enough of the preamble - FF to 12:50
Arghhhh so much abuse of engineering terms but nice demonstrations. Would like to see bamboo compared to them too and mention of weight (for specific strength)