# raw 7005 Aluminum suppliers?



## bcmanucd (Oct 18, 2005)

Hi folks,
I've pretty much decided to build a time trial bike out of 7005 aluminum. Nova has a tubing kit that's reasonably priced, but I need to make a few odds & ends like dropouts and a seatpost clamp and I need some raw material. Nova wants $45 for a foot of 5/16"x4" plate. Anyone know of a good metal supplier that stocks 7005 Aluminum?


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## themanmonkey (Nov 1, 2005)

Check your local phone book would be my first advice. If nothing is available try Aircraft Spruce.


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## longcat (Apr 24, 2008)

http://www.onlinemetals.com/merchant.cfm?id=239&step=2&top_cat=60
dont know if tha link works but try onlinemetals.com its not 7005 but still.

dont know much about aluminum but make sure you get the right temper, otherwise you need an oven.


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## pvd (Jan 4, 2006)

7005 is notoriously hard to find. Most people have to import directly from Taiwan in custom orders. Most of the bicycle specific 7005 tubes and stock choices are pretty limited and lame.

7005 is not 7075!


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## SuspectDevice (Apr 12, 2004)

Fairing and Nova are the only 2 place in NorthAmerica that have any 7005 stock.

http://www.yesspro.com/ Yess up in Vancouver is the only major fabricator still using 7005 on these shores, they may possibly be willing to sell you some bar stock out the back door, but honestly, 7005 just isn't really worth it anymore to work with domestically.


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## bcmanucd (Oct 18, 2005)

Thanks for all the suggestions, folks. I'll see what Fairing's prices are like.


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## Vlad (Feb 7, 2004)

I'm not a framebuilder--I really don't know, but isn't Easton 7005? It was all the rage in the early to mid 90s. What happened?


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## SuspectDevice (Apr 12, 2004)

Vlad said:


> I'm not a framebuilder--I really don't know, but isn't Easton 7005? It was all the rage in the early to mid 90s. What happened?


A whole lot happened... the short story is thus; Most mid-size contract frame shops in the US went out of business, and 7005 can not be drawn in North America anymore due to environmental regulations.

As a material, it is inferior to 6061 as well, it's super susceptible to corrosion, and very unstable when stored (it ages considerably, effecting the post-weld age process a ton).

There are no good 7005 (and by extension Scandium) tubes available on the open market in the US. The builders who have any of the newer stuff basically got the tubing when Kinesis USA closed up 3 years ago, or import tubing directly from Taiwan themselves.

If you aim is, like mine, to use as much domestic material as possible, 7005 has to get tossed out the window.
7005's sole benefit is that the post weld age process can be done in a pizza oven or powdercoat oven. 90% of all custom frame builders live in remote places where a facility to solution heat-treat 6061 frames is 6+ hours away.

I personally have horded some 7005 tubing that I use for geometry protos or really odd custom bikes, but frankly, lightweight steels have progressed so far in the last decade that I'd rather do customs in a nice steel. It's 3x more expensive, but easier on my end, domestically produced, and there is a wider array of tubes available.

Being 1.5 hours from heat treat means that we build with 6061 as well, and I honestly beleive it is impossible to beat a well designed aluminum frame on price and performance, but we pay for oven TIME, not space, so It is optimal to send 15+ frames at one time... Either increasing the cost, or leadtime of custom 6061...


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## Kavik (Apr 13, 2007)

SuspectDevice said:


> A whole lot happened... the short story is thus; Most mid-size contract frame shops in the US went out of business, and 7005 can not be drawn in North America anymore due to environmental regulations.
> 
> As a material, it is inferior to 6061 as well, it's super susceptible to corrosion, and very unstable when stored (it ages considerably, effecting the post-weld age process a ton).
> 
> ...


Great info...So has Easton stopped offering it altogether (even in large quantities)?


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## pvd (Jan 4, 2006)

You can get anything you want from Easton. It will not be produced in the US and you need to order several thousand peices at a time.


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## SuspectDevice (Apr 12, 2004)

Yup, what PVD said...


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## Vlad (Feb 7, 2004)

Thank you, Suspect Device.


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