Triple B uses special high tensile strength carbon steel for 3B Racing suspension links (drop and drag links) with Duplex Finish. Some of you may ask, why Carbon Steel over Stainless Steel (S/S)?
The short answer is, on a moving, structurally crucial part, Stainless Steel becomes brittle under stress and can fail without warning. So Stainless Steel is not a suitable material for suspension links
The longer answer is, suspension links are moving parts that bear heavy support loads, and they constantly move together with your bike’s working rear suspension. Therefore, flexibility and tensile strength are extremely important for such a moving part. On top of that, the material used in a suspension linkage must withstand both the heat cycles and the oscillating stress involved without hardening and suffering from metal fatigue. Stainless Steel hardens with each heat cycle and under stress becomes more brittle. Usually tiny hair cracks develop in S/S before failure but these can be hard to spot, especially without proper lab equipment.
Currently there is not a single motorcycle manufacturer that we are aware of that uses Stainless Steel for suspension links. And the reason for this is really simple: No one wants a suspension linkage failure.
So at Triple B, we also use special high tensile strength carbon steel but with the added benefit of an industry first: Duplex Finish.
We take pride in our products and 3B Racing suspension links will truly outlast your bike’s lifetime!
The problem with Stainless Steel in more detail:
The greatest safety concern with Stainless Steel for load-bearing moving parts is notably its modulus of elasticity and the fracture point which cannot be determined accurately. The fracture point (force/area) when failure occurs is not consistent for stainless steel, failure may occur already at as little as half the force for material that has sustained repeated pulling forces over time, compared to laboratory test of new material.
So at Triple B, we do not put our customers at risk and use special high tensile strength carbon steel with an industry first, Duplex Finish.
Since we are confident in our manufacturing process, 3B Racing Lowering Link Kits with Duplex Finish come with a Limited 5 years (Five years) Warranty against corrosion.
