Chromoloy tubing is made from a family of low alloy steels that contain chromium and molybdenum sae 4130 or 4140 along with the iron carbon and other elements.
Chromoly vs mild steel weight.
A stronger mild steel rod such as 80s d2 can be used to weld thin walled chromoly without post heat but 70s rod is a better choice for frames as the increased ductility will serve better at absorbing repeated impacts.
Imo the time effort labor side of grinding fitting moly vs mild steel is pretty much a wash in the end.
Given the same o d.
One of the never ending topics of conversation is the use of 4130 steel over mild steel in professional drag racing builds.
The docol tubes have slightly lower yield strength but higher tensile strength.
The docol tubes showed a better behavior at fracture compared to the crmo tubes.
In conclusion if weight reduction is important in the design of your chopper then chromoly tubing is an excellent choice.
It is a steel that is stronger than carbon steel more commonly used in bike manufacturing so we can use thin wall tubing giving you a lightweight frame that will last through years of riding.
It was designed for and is used extensively in the aircraft industry due to it s high tensile strength and torsional load ratings.
Chromoly is a chrome alloy steel with a medium carbon content and 8 1 1 molybdenum for strength.
The mechanical properties of the docol 800 dp tubes are very similar to the 4130 chrome moly tubes.
In this short video tim mcamis explains some of the differences between 4130 chromoly and mild steel tubing for use in drag race chassis construction.
The chromium adds strength hardenability and a level of corrosion resistance to mild carbon steel though chromoly is not as corrosion resistant as stainless steel.
And wall thickness a chrome moly tube weighs the same as a mild steel tube.