Square vs Round tubing : square easier?

marka-ee

100 W
Joined
Mar 24, 2020
Messages
173
I would like to do some frame mods and suspension fab. Obviously round tubing is way more common in bike construction, but I find it much harder to work with due to the joint copes. What are the structural implications I should consider in using square tubing?
 
Having to use thicker walled square tubing.

You'll still have to cope the square tubing, and how do you incorperate round tubing with square tubing doing the seat tube.
That'd be a funky looking bicycle when its done.

Do keep us updated and post lots of pictures!
 
What little experience I have with the welding I remember how much easier it was to bend the round tube. The square tube also had some warping risk. I think the reason people expect square tube to be easier is the fitment, if you don't have maybe the Mittler Brother notching bits or simply a mill bit the right side, a good round fit is rough. But I never had those and I made some good welds. If I was going to get busy with welding I'd have had to have those Mittler Brothers notchers.

[youtube]S19787oetEw[/youtube]

[youtube]mHBanmfn_CA[/youtube]
 
Square tubing works fine (my SB Cruiser trike is built entirely of it except the headtube, fork legs, and some pieces on the trike kit it grew out of), and IIRC may actually be stronger...but it is heavier for that strength than the round tubing would be (which is one reason round tubing is used). But I used it because it was easier to use and because I had a lot of it (and not much round).

If I were to rebuild the trike I would probably still use square tubing for most of it, simply for ease of assembly and ability to bolt flat panels to them. But if I were given the budget for it, I would not use the cheap mild steel I did the first time, but rather would use good chromoly tubing like from AircraftSpruce or similar places (out of my budget for now, though, at over a couple thousand dollars not including shipping).


On Crazybike2, I used round tubing originally, merging two bike frames to make the main frame, with pieces of other frames added as needed. But later I added square tubing for a number of other things (mostly because I had it), so it's something like 2/3 round and 1/3 square.
 
My '96 vintage US Ross has fine welded aluminum rectangular stock stays.
#U96032869; FarmingDale NY
"7000 series Aluminum "
Frame: 45mm Down Tube, 31.8mm Top Tube 16mm X 21mm chain and seat stays
 

Attachments

  • Zion_Ross_BBS02.jpg
    Zion_Ross_BBS02.jpg
    549.5 KB · Views: 511
Back
Top