a manufacturer of tubing for bicycle frames and other bicycle components based in birmingham england established in 1898 . the reynolds 531sl fork blade decal showing on a set of 531sl fork blades . a reynolds 531 special lightweight race frame . contents 1 history 1.1 cycle tubing development 1.2 composites 2 tubing types 2.1 steel 2.2 aluminium 2.3 titanium 2.4 magnesium 3 see also 4 references 5 external links history edit the reynolds tube company was founded in 1889 by john reynolds in birmingham england 1 but traces its origins back to 1841 when john reynolds set up a company manufacturing nails . citation needed in 1897 the company patented the process for making butted tubes 2 which are thicker at the ends than in the middle this allowed frame builders to create frames that were both strong and lightweight . reynolds introduced the double butted tube set 531 in 1934 . 1 the patent butted tube co. ltd. the predecessor of the present company was spun off from john reynold s original company in 1898 . in 1923 the patent butted tube co. ltd changed its name to reynolds tube co. ltd. and retained this name up until 1928 when it was acquired by tube investments ltd and became ti reynolds 531 ltd. in 1996 coyote sports inc. a privately held company based in boulder colorado acquired ti reynolds 531 ltd. resulting in a name change to reynolds cycle technology ltd. in 2006 the company underwent another name change to reynolds technology ltd. reflecting the increasing revenues from diversification into new sectors for tubing outside the cycle industry . when coyote sports entered chapter 11 reorganization a management buy out resulted in the company returning to its base in the uk . cycle tubing development edit reynolds has over the years developed a number of steel alloys most notably reynolds 531 which has a high strength and can be made into strong but lightweight tubes for bicycle frames . before the introduction of more exotic materials such as aluminium titanium or composites reynolds was considered the dominant maker of high end materials for bicycle frames . according to the company 27 winners of the tour de france have won riding on reynolds tubing . the raleigh bicycle company of nottingham england was a big customer for reynolds 531 tubing used in their racing cycle range . reynolds 531 has now been largely replaced in new frames by still better steels . the latest for race or sports frames is reynolds 953 . 3 reynolds worked closely with carpenter speciality alloys to develop 953 . it started reaching frame builders in 2005 . 4 953 is based on a specially developed maraging steel stainless steel alloy that can achieve a tensile strength in excess of 2000 mpa 853 is around 1400 mpa giving a good strength to weight ratio . because of the high strength of the steel extremely thin tube walls down to 0.3 mm can be used thus reducing the weight . 5 composites edit a u.s. division called reynolds composites was created to manufacture composite components . tubing types edit steel edit 453 iron manganese titanium alloy . reynolds produced only the 3 main tubes in this alloy and they were single butted . sms plain gauge 0.8 mm drawn tubeset in high tensile steel . 6 replaced 531 plain gauge in 1980 replaced by 500 501 series . 500 a chromium molybdenum crmo steel seamed plain gauge tubeset of 3 main triangle tubes 500atb mountain all terrain off road 500 magnum same use as atb 501 reynolds 501 was a chromium molybdenum crmo steel seamed butted 3 tubes tubeset that made its debut about 1983 and was available in two different thicknesses . 501atb mountain all terrain off road 501 magnum same use as atb 501sb single butted 501sl special lightweight sl tubeset k2 reynolds k2 was a chromium molybdenum crmo steel similar to 501 seamed butted tubeset with eight laterally aligned ribs on the butt section designed and produced exclusively for raleigh between about 1993 and 1995 7 optima a chromium molybdenum crmo steel seamed butted tubeset designed and produced exclusively for raleigh from 1995 . similar to 501 but tweaked for tig welding . 7 520 cold worked chromoly . uts 700 900 mpa density 7.78 g cm3 8 tube set 525 cold worked chromoly . uts 700 900 mpa density 7.78 g cm3 8 tube set 525triathlon designed for triathlon framesets 531 manganese molybdenum . uts 700 900 mpa 48 58 tsi 100 130 ksi density 7.85 g cm3 531atb designed for mountain all terrain off road 531c competition racing tubeset . road racing track time trial and cyclo cross . main tubes were 8 5 8 double butted slightly thinner than columbus sl 531cs club sport . double butted 531 main tubes 501 forks and stays . 531magnum oversize heavy gauge tubeset for use in atb s. 531os oversize tubeset 531 professional superseded 531sl for road racing and time trials . comprises 531 lightweight main tubes and rear stays . 531sl special lightweight sl tubeset comprising 531 main tubes drawn thinner than standard 531 . latterly named 531pro . 531 speed stream 531sl oval shaped aerodynamic tube 531st special touring tubeset 8 531 super tourist superseded st. 531ds designer select tubing . alternative 531 tubes with differing gauges and profiles were available to the specialist builder . 631 seamless air hardened . uts 800 900 mpa density 7.78 g cm3 631os oversize tubeset 653 was a mixed tubeset which superseded 531 professional and combined tubings of different steels ; steering tube and fork 802n mm2 top down and seat tube 925n mm2 and rear triangle 1315n mm2 . 708 708 was a tube set in reynolds range in the 1980s . it has main tubes with special section . these were not butted but had 8 flats running along the length of the tube . the rear stays would be 753 . 725 heat treated chromoly the same basic alloy as reynolds 520 but with characteristics like 753 . uts 1080 1280 mpa density 7.78 g cm3 725os oversize tubeset 731 needs information 731os oversize tubeset introduced in 1992 double butted oversized tubes with laterally aligned stiffening ribs on the but sections to maximize stiffness and torsional rigidity . tubeset strength steering tube and fork 802n mm2 top down and seat tube 925n mm2 and rear triangle 1315n mm2 . 9 753 heat treated manganese molybdenum . the most exclusive tube set from reynolds . essentially 531 made with reduced wall thickness and heat treated to increase tensile strength . uts 1080 1280 mpa 70 83 tsi 157 186 ksi complete tube set of 11 tubes frame 8 fork 3 . 753 can only be lugged and fillet brazed with an alloy of 56 % silver below 700 degrees celsius and sale is restricted only to approved builders certified by reynolds 753atb mountain all terrain off road 753r road tubeset 753t track tubeset thinner tubes for track use 753os oversize tubeset 853 seamless air hardening heat treated . uts 1250 1400 mpa density 7.78 g cm3 853os oversize tubeset 921 cold work stainless steel 931 precipitation hardening stainless steel . tubing introduced in 2012 . can be used with 953 to reduce overall frame costs . 953 maraging stainless steel . introduced in 2005 . uts 1750 2050 mpa density 7.8 g cm3 aluminium edit 7005 al zn alloy . uts 400 mpa density 2.78 g cm3 6061 al si mg alloy . uts 325 mpa density 2.70 g cm3 x 100 al li alloy . uts 550 600 mpa density 2.65 g cm3 titanium edit 6al 4v seamless eli grade . uts 900 1150 mpa density 4.42 g cm3 3al 2.5 v seamless . uts 810 960 mpa density 4.48 g cm3 cp 2 supplied to raleigh during the 1990s magnesium edit mzm electron magnesium alloy . uts 300 mpa density 1.80 g cm3 see also edit columbus tubing references edit a b herlihy david v 2004 . bicycle the history . yale university press . p. 391 . isbn 0 300 10418 9 . provisional patent specification jpg . 1897 10 27 . retrieved 2009 09 11 . dead link bob jackson cycles . bobjacksoncycles.co.uk . 2002 04 10 . retrieved 2015 04 24 . bike builders embrace reynolds 953 bicycle business . bikebiz.com . 2005 10 07 . retrieved 2015 04 24 . 1 archived august 29 2008 at the wayback machine . http www.velo pages.com main.php g2 itemid 69438 a b reynolds 501 the entry level workhorse of vintage mountain bike frames vintage steel rider . retrosteelrider.wordpress.com . retrieved 2015 04 24 . cycle touring s favourite tubing reynols 531 . bretonbikes.com . retrieved 2015 04 24 . reynolds 731 . velocipedesalon.com . retrieved 2015 04 24 . external links edit reynolds website reynolds composites v t e ti group subsidiaries accles & pollock alfred herbert ltd brooks england carlton cycles dowty group hercules cycle and motor company norman cycles phillips cycles raleigh bicycle company reynolds cycle technology rudge whitworth russell hobbs sturmey archer sun cycles swallow sidecar company people ivan stedeford related articles smiths group ti automotive tube investments of india limited v t e british bicycle manufacturers current a bike bickerton boardman bootie brompton campion condor dawes defiance dolan ellis briggs enigma titanium falcon genesis halfords hetchins holdsworth islabikes lotus mercian moulton muddy fox orange paper pashley pedersen phillips planet x raleigh reynolds ridgeback robin hood saracen strida thorn ti group whyte defunct ariel bsa british eagle carlton claud butler chater lea coventry eagle coventry premier elswick hopper flying scot f.w. evans freddie grubb harry quinn hercules humber norman perry roberts rover royal enfield rudge whitworth sun sunbeam triumph viking warrick witcomb components brooks england dunlop middlemores saddles sturmey archer retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title reynolds cycle technology & oldid 739823378 categories cycle manufacturers of the united kingdommanufacturing companies based in birmingham west midlandscycle parts manufacturerscompanies that have filed for chapter 11 bankruptcyhidden categories all articles with dead external linksarticles with dead external links from november 2010articles with wayback machine linksall articles with unsourced statementsarticles with unsourced 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