Thread: Scope rings - Steel vs Aluminium

Originally Posted by Ultimitsu

Hi there, I would disagree on two points.

firstly, steel is definitely not the stiffer of the two. It is well accepted that when it comes to bicycle materials, steel frame offers a more forgiving, shock absorbing ride. aluminium frames on the other hand is harsher, more punishing because it is stiffer.

secondly, I cannot agree that friction is not dependent on contact surface area. If so all race cars would have skinny tyres.

You dont have to agree, however steel has an elastic modulus of around 210GPa 7075 t6 is around 70 GPa, no where near as stiff. Your bike frame analogy is confusing section properties with material properties, in theory you could make a steel bike frame that was stiffer and lighter than an alloy one however wall thicknesses would be way to thin to be practical. Tyre force transmisson is limited by the tyre material