The Difference Between Aluminum Alloy And Magnesium Alloy

Aluminum alloy is mainly composed of aluminum, with other trace metal elements added, magnesium alloy is mainly composed of magnesium, with other trace metal elements added, aluminum alloy may also contain more or less magnesium elements.

A comparison is made between aluminum alloy and magnesium alloy in terms of tensile strength, fatigue strength, metal oxidation resistance, manufacturing cost, density, elastic modulus, etc., to understand the difference between magnesium alloy and aluminum alloy.

Tensile strength description: The frame made of the same volume of magnesium alloy material is not as strong as that of aluminum alloy. To achieve the frame strength, the material thickness and pipe diameter must be increased, so magnesium alloy has no advantage compared with aluminum alloy from the weight perspective.

Fatigue strength description: The durability of the frame made of the same volume of magnesium alloy material is worse than that of the aluminum alloy frame. It is also a fatal disadvantage of magnesium alloy. As the number of rides increases, the number of stresses will increase, the strength will be significantly reduced, and even the frame life will not exceed 2-3 years, so professional riders rarely use magnesium alloy frames. If they are used in competitions, they are also replaced in the form of discarding according to the mileage.

Metal oxidation description: The periodic table clearly shows that magnesium alloys are more susceptible to oxidation corrosion than aluminum alloys.

Manufacturing cost description: Because magnesium alloys are active metals, there are higher requirements for manufacturing equipment and environment, resulting in high manufacturing costs, and the cost performance of bicycle frames produced is far less than that of aluminum alloy frames.

Specific gravity density description: Under the same volume conditions, magnesium alloys are lighter than aluminum alloys, which is the advantage of magnesium alloys.

Elastic modulus description: The rigidity of frames made of magnesium alloy materials is worse than that of aluminum alloy frames. Frames made of the same thickness and diameter will absorb more pedaling force during actual riding, affecting riding efficiency.