# 853 vs OX Platinum vs Columbus Life



## anthonyinhove (Nov 3, 2007)

My impression is that most ordinary riders believe that 853 is the 'best' steel tubing for mtbs, but I just wondered whether you frame builders on here would agree with that, or are 853, OX Platinum and Columbus Life all roughly equivalent in their composition and performance? 

And if you choose one over the others as your preferred tube, what are the characteristics that lead you to that choice?


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## coconinocycles (Sep 23, 2006)

anthonyinhove said:


> My impression is that most ordinary riders believe that 853 is the 'best' steel tubing for mtbs, but I just wondered whether you frame builders on here would agree with that, or are 853, OX Platinum and Columbus Life all roughly equivalent in their composition and performance?
> 
> And if you choose one over the others as your preferred tube, what are the characteristics that lead you to that choice?


all steels have the same density. diameter and thickness are the charictaristics that influence ride quality. things i look at are modulous of elasticity and elongation. people focus too much on ultimate yield strength and tensile strength. i'm a true temper verus, verus heat treat, and dedacciai zero-uno kinda guy. still very high ratings as far as yield and tensile strength {as much as almost 4x the top easton aluminum alloy} and really great elongation and elasticity. you want a tube that will stetch before it buckles. plain 4130 is great for this. also, i like tubes more in the .9/.6/.9 range for longevity and dent resistance. i built allot of zona .7/.4/.7 bikes, which are all still out there but they had lons of "pinger" dents from flying debris and accidents. also, you don't wanna ream a 853/ox plat seat tube or face a head tube from these materials..........belive me on this one. steve.


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## jay_ntwr (Feb 15, 2008)

coconinocycles said:


> all steels have the same density. diameter and thickness are the charictaristics that influence ride quality. things i look at are modulous of elasticity and elongation. people focus too much on ultimate yield strength and tensile strength. i'm a true temper verus, verus heat treat, and dedacciai zero-uno kinda guy. still very high ratings as far as yield and tensile strength {as much as almost 4x the top easton aluminum alloy} and really great elongation and elasticity. you want a tube that will stetch before it buckles. plain 4130 is great for this. also, i like tubes more in the .9/.6/.9 range for longevity and dent resistance. i built allot of zona .7/.4/.7 bikes, which are all still out there but they had lons of "pinger" dents from flying debris and accidents. also, you don't wanna ream a 853/ox plat seat tube or face a head tube from these materials..........belive me on this one. steve.


Steve, so essentially it sounds like 4130 is going to exhibit those "great" ride qualities of a steel frame. I suppose the downside is that it is heavy (because of lack of butts)?

I'm assuming this true tember verus/verus heat treat/dedaccaiai zero-una tube sets are similar to 4130 in terms of machining from what you're saying about the 853 and ox platinum?


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## coconinocycles (Sep 23, 2006)

jay_ntwr said:


> Steve, so essentially it sounds like 4130 is going to exhibit those "great" ride qualities of a steel frame. I suppose the downside is that it is heavy (because of lack of butts)?
> 
> I'm assuming this true tember verus/verus heat treat/dedaccaiai zero-una tube sets are similar to 4130 in terms of machining from what you're saying about the 853 and ox platinum?


 you are correct. 4130 rides great. lots of great bikes have been and are still made from 4130. you can get most common frame tube diameters down to .035, about .9mm, and smalled diameters {<1.125"} down to .028 about .8mm. pretty light. and, i meant to say deda zero-tre. the zero tre and the verus machines pretty smooth, but the verus heatreat is pretty damn tough, a hard but do-able handmiter. steve.


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## anthonyinhove (Nov 3, 2007)

coconinocycles said:


> you are correct. 4130 rides great. lots of great bikes have been and are still made from 4130. you can get most common frame tube diameters down to .035, about .9mm, and smalled diameters {<1.125"} down to .028 about .8mm. pretty light. and, i meant to say deda zero-tre. the zero tre and the verus machines pretty smooth, but the verus heatreat is pretty damn tough, a hard but do-able handmiter. steve.


Please forgive my ignorance, but are you saying that Zona isn't a variety of 4130?

I have an mtb in Columbus Cyber Nivacrom, so I assume it's similar to Zona. It has a 28.6 x 7-4-7 TT and a 31.8 x 8-5-8 DT, and its all-up weight is 4.2lbs, which I take to be fairly light for a 17 c-t ST / 22 c-c TT size frame. I don't suffer from excessive ding-damage. So is Cyber Nivacrom a harder alloy than 4130? And could that be why it has survived my clumsiness over all these years, even though 7-4-7 is thinner than any Tange Prestige tube of its time?


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## coconinocycles (Sep 23, 2006)

anthonyinhove said:


> Please forgive my ignorance, but are you saying that Zona isn't a variety of 4130?
> 
> I have an mtb in Columbus Cyber Nivacrom, so I assume it's similar to Zona. It has a 28.6 x 7-4-7 TT and a 31.8 x 8-5-8 DT, and its all-up weight is 4.2lbs, which I take to be fairly light for a 17 c-t ST / 22 c-c TT size frame. I don't suffer from excessive ding-damage. So is Cyber Nivacrom a harder alloy than 4130? And could that be why it has survived my clumsiness over all these years, even though 7-4-7 is thinner than any Tange Prestige tube of its time?


depends on where you live............arizona is rock-city. all the bikes here have dings. zona ic nivachrome. nickle/vanadium/chromium. still, it has the same density as other steels. i BELIVE the usa has most of the world's molybdenum.........i know it was a big factor in WW2. the nazis had to mine all their moly from a single vein, whereas we has an entire mountain made of it in climax, colorado. steve.


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