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No it's a non issue (unless baths and electric current are involved) as far as bikes are concerned. SO long as appropriate welding/brazing rods are used there's no issues with mixing stainless and non-stainless.
Cool what's the build? Far and away the biggest component in determining the stiffness of a tube is the size and shape, I'd be very surprised if you could tell the difference between any OS tube sets of equal diameter. It's a while since I've looked through the Reynolds catalogue but if I remember correctly 853 only goes up to a 35mm DT so you may want to look at Columbus offerings. There's other reasons to choose a tube though and 853 is an absolute world away from anything Columbus make in terms of toughness. It may or may not make a difference on the bike but it's a lot more robust.
Skant-
There's other reasons to choose a tube though and 853 is an absolute world away from anything Columbus make in terms of toughness
I'm curious how so, and in which way - 853 being tougher (dent-resistant?) in general or vice-versa?
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Absolutely. The stiffness of the bulk material won't be noticeably different between alloys, but the stiffness of the assembly will be - sometimes quite so - when tubing shape and size varies. And a stronger and tougher material allows bigger and therefore stiffer tubes with thin walls, this being a decent weight too.
Comments about thicker walls at joints for ease of welding in mass production environments aside, of course...
My project: I'm having a local builder create a replacement for my cross check, with some variations to geo and a few personalised touches. He's not got an online presence so I'll not throw names around here for the moment.
Tychom
Cupcakes
I'd steer clear of mixing stainless and non-stainless steel in something that can get wet, because I'm scared of bi-metallic corrosion. Is it a real concern when compared to normal rusting? Not sure.
On another note I'm considering tubesets for my upcoming build and am leaning towards oversized (853) to make the frame torsionally stiff to avoid shimmy when riding loaded. Does this sort of thing factor into your musings?