Remember the time you learnt in school about electrolysis and wondered what use it is for you and how it affects your life or will affect your life in the future? Well this is how it is going to affect you because Anodization is one process used a lot on case of bikes and in the making of bikes. Many a times you might have noticed people use terms while describing bikes like hard anodized frame, or hard anodized metal parts. This hard anodization or anodization is actually a curing process used to make bike parts stronger and more resistant to the harsh environment.In the beginning, it all started with people wanting to make bikes stronger yet lighter and due to this began the use of Aluminum instead or regular iron or steel. Now the thing is even though everything said and done, the aluminum would still react with the oxygen in the air and get dull and weaker. This even led to reduction in the shine of the Aluminum finish of the bike products and hence started the lookout for something better.
In comes Anodization, a simple process using basic chemistry which changed everything. And seriously, the process is so easy that many DIY heads prefer doing this at their own homes. How anodization works is there is a cathode and an anode present along with an electrolyte like we have learnt in chemistry back in school. The negative electrode gives out hydrogen and the positive electrode gives out oxygen. This then forms a later of oxidation over the aluminum part present there in a nice even layer and that is how Anodization happens.If you have seen any Anodized products in the market, you might have notice them being into many different colors. This is possible by mixing in a little dye within the Anodization process. This dye then gets evenly applied to the Anodizing product and you get a nice colour along with an oxidation layer. There are many advantages of getting the colour anodized than applying it later on. The main being that the colour is pretty much permanently etched on the part like a tattoo on skin and hence it never really comes off while in case of an external paints it will come off if clipped or scratched hard.
Advantages Of Anodization:
Most of the times the companies use Anodized parts in motorcycles to make them long lasting but more importantly they are used in bikes which are used in harsh environmental conditions like high humidity, or very strong heat or cold, etc. This way it keeps the bike protected from the environment for years to come.- Shiny looks
- Long lasting parts
- Ability to colour the parts using custom colors
- Cost effective
One thing to remember about Anodization is that there is no specific set standard to it. If you happen to be doing it yourself at home, remember to do all your parts together at the same time because in different sets, the overall results may differ. It is the same reason why anodized parts from one shop will differ from those in the other shop. This happens since there is no standard in it and also being an electrolysis process, one cannot really dictate terms as to how it should happen. It happens on its own. Hence if you are buying anodized products, then make sure to get them all from the same shop for a uniform look.
So remember that as small as it may seem, anodization actually plays a huge role in our bikes. It makes our bikes look really cool with all those colors but also make them last long, really long. So remember to always be grateful to it and if you do plan to make any mods to your bikes, prefer going in for anodized parts rather than regular metals, because anodized might cost you just a tad bit more, but in time it surely pays itself back.
By: Pratik Patole