Scanduim vs Carbon
Added by Mike 30 June 2009

We see stars in their eyes.......

So what’s all the fuss between Scandium and Carbon Fibre in MTB? And why are there no Carbon MTB frames in Maverick Cycles?

Carbon Fibre is all the rage at present, and everyone wants to have a carbon bike – so why is Maverick Cycles not following the trend. Well we have done some research into the differences between Carbon Fibre vs Scandium. We have kept it short and leave it up to you to make your mind up.

Carbon Fibre
Def: An extremely strong thin fibre made by pyrolizing synthetic fibres, such as rayon, until charred. It is used to make high-strength composites.

In plain English, Carbon Fibre is a long, thin strand of material about (0.005-0.010mm) in diameter and composed mainly of carbon. Several thousand fibres are then twisted together to form a yarn, which is then woven into a fabric. The fabric is combined with an epoxy and wound or moulded into shape to form various composite materials. Carbon Fibre was developed in the 1950’s. The strongest Carbon Fibre is 5 x stronger than steel. The expense of carbon is offset by its strength and extreme lightweight properties. It is also extremely stiff.

Carbon Fibre, though, is highly susceptible to Barely Visible Impact Damage (BVID). Often the fibre looks fine on the surface, but the structural integrity of the fibres below the surface is less than satisfactory. The amount of damage below the surface depends on the type and amount of force of the impact. BVID may only be detected through ultrasonics, if there is a standard to compare to. If not detected or repaired, this could lead to catastrophic failure.

Scandium
Discovered in 1878 by Lars Nelson. It is a silver-white material that more resembles the rare earth metals than Titanium or Aluminium. Scandium is the 50th most abundant metal on earth. It is the number 21 element on the periodic table. It is a very light metal and has a higher melting point than Aluminium. Scandium is believed to be a very common element in stars like the Sun. Scandium is a potent grain refiner, when added to aluminium alloys, elevating the strength and durability by up to 50%. It does this by “straightening” out the grains of the alloy, making the metal less susceptible to failure.

The use of Scandium in rockets (formulated by the Russians during the cold war) and in space travel is widely documented, due to its lightweight an high melting temperature.

Scandium is as light as Titanium, more durable than carbon, half the weight of steel and five times stronger than aluminium. With the use of Scandium in tube formation, Kona are able to shave weight off the aluminium frames by as much as 15%.

Doug Lafavour (AKA Dr Dew) from Kona explains: “one of the struggles in designing bikes is the between the conflict between consumer-driven design and purposeful function. The consumer is pushing for more carbon products, but the mountain bike platform demands something more durable. We feel to make a carbon frame durable enough for the rigors of mountain biking would make it heavier than the same frame made of Scandium.”

We are often approached by riders wanting a superlight this and a carbon thingy to make this lighter. There comes a point when form surpasses functionality and failure is eminent. Yes, the pro’s on the world circuit have all those fancy things, but the cost of replacement is not theirs to worry about, it is a concern of the end consumer. The advancements in carbon technology has been significant in the past few years, as are the costs associated thereto. Carbon does have a tendency to fail in an impact as it has very little “dent” factor, resulting in the aforementioned BVID’s. Scandium, has a tendency to dent quickly, but is stronger in the sense that it does not crack on impact.

It is widely written that steel gives the best ride comfort, due to its springiness. And riders of past days will testify to it. There was nothing as comfortable is steel. Aluminium was introduced to reduce weight – but to make Aluminium stronger, the diameter of the tubes had to increase; thereby resulting in a very rigid and punishing ride for MTB’ers. The advent of suspension systems offset the discomfort of Aluminium, resulting in a smoother less punishing experience.

The addition of scandium gives the rider the best of both worlds – a lightweight alloy that provides enough flex or springiness to provide better rider comfort.

Be that as it may, the decision to ride carbon, aluminium, steel, scandium rests with the rider. All we know that our current team riders are propelled by a material found most predominantly amongst the real stars.......
For more check out www.konaworld.com/08_tech_scandium.htm