Ask the Editors: A Stronger Reed Valve
You’re logic is sound but you’re thinking is taking you in the wrong direction. Early reed valves were indeed equipped with stainless steel petals and while they did last a while, guess what happened when the metal finally let loose? The engine sucked them in and you were looking at a top-end rebuild at best.. A new cylinder and possibly bottom end damage as well at worst.
This situation wasn’t limited to stainless either as titanium was also experimented with for a time. The results in the event of a failure were similar.
Fiberglass material is still the most common because it’s been proven a good combination of both durability and minimal damage once they start to fail. As a bonus it’s relatively affordable to produce.
Carbon fiber has become another popular choice though the material is more rigid and hence prone to fracture, even this hasn’t been proven able to dethrone the tried and true fiberglass. Not to mention it’s much more expensive to manufacture. As the old saying goes- if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
