Bicycles made in China are used all over the world. In 2021, China's bicycle production exceeded 80 million units and exports totaled 69.26 million, an increase of 14.9% year on year. Exports amounted to US$5.108 billion, an increase of 40.2% year on year, achieving a double jump in volume and price. Chinese bicycles are consumed in more than 140 countries and regions around the world. There is a wide range of models, including mountain bikes, shock absorbers, Road Sports cars, city cars, performance vehicles, folding cars, snowboards, child cars, electric bikes, etc. In terms of automotive metal materials, steel is the main material, accounting for about 55% of the total material consumption, followed by aluminum alloy, magnesium alloy, titanium alloy, and composite materials. Although the quality of titanium and composite materials is good, they are prohibitive because of the high price. The price of the frame made of ti3al2 pipe is $2000 - $4200 / pair, and the selling price of the whole bicycle is about $3000 - $8000. In 1985, the titanium frame was not yet available; In 1990, the sales volume of titanium frames was about 1.5 million US dollars; In 1995, the sales volume reached 5million dollars. The main reason for the slow growth of titanium frame sales is the high price.
The titanium alloy used for bicycles is mainly Ti3Al2.5V, an American titanium alloy developed for the manufacture of aircraft structures. Its Chinese brand is TAl8.The main advantages of the alloy are low yield strength, easy processing and forming, strong corrosion-resistance, and high fatigue strength, it is an α Type a titanium alloy, which mainly contains α Stable element, in the stable state at room temperature, basically α Phase titanium alloys, such as industrial pure titanium (TA0, TA1, TA2, TA3) and TA7.α Titanium alloys are mainly used in the manufacturing of chemical, petrochemical and processing industries. When applied in the above industries, the first consideration is the corrosion resistance and processability of the alloys. There are four types of industrial pure titanium (TA0, TA1, TA2, and TA3). See Table 1 for the maximum impurity content, Ti3A2.5V is also an α Titanium alloy, there are 7 kinds according to GB/T 3620. See Table 2 for detailed ingredients.
