General Cycling Discussion - What kind of materials do you prefer?

there are so many bicycle frame materials, such as steel, aluminum, titanium, carbon fiber, magnesium, scandium...i prefer titanium frame.

butted Chrome Moly... for the frame..

Carbonfiber - seatposts, handlebar, fork

I ride an aluminum bike.....I don't ride any bikes that are other materials but the aluminum seems just finnneeee.

It depends on the application. For frames, I'm a big fan of carbon fibre but not all CF is the same just as not all steel or Ti or Al frames are the same just because of the material used. The manufacturing process and design contributes more to the feel of the bike than the material. I will admit that based on past experience I am partial to steel and CF frames with Ti coming in second. I would not turn down an Al frame but I don't generally gravitate towards them initially.

I'm generally in the Steel is Real camp,
but I have no real objections to other materials
(read Serotta Ottrott for CF or Legend for Ti)
if I had the chance.

Marty

Well, I have two steel frames and one ti. I like them all, but each bike is so different from the others in such substantial ways that I can't attribute their ride qualities solely to the frames.

I will say this much: I rode a Roubaix Pro and a Roubaix, each on the same 8-mile loop on the same day. These bikes have the same geometry, the same wheels and tires, the same carbon fork. The Pro had a steel frame and a double, while the Roubaix had an aluminum frame and a triple. Those were the only differences.

Based on this ride, I believe the people who say frame material doesn't matter are full of it. These bikes were *different.* The best way I can characterize it is that I was rarely aware of the steel frame; it was me, the bars, the pedals, the saddle, the road.

The aluminum frame kept making its presence known. It would kick more on bumps than you'd expect; it would push back when standing and grinding on a climb.

I didn't like it. That's why I ended up with a Roubaix Pro and swapping in a triple.

RichC

I'm with Lotek. I ride steel (2 CrMo/Columbus/Tange Prestige, 2 MnMo/Reynolds531, and 1 plain carbon), but I think there are good and bad specimens for every frame material. I like Sheldon's article on frame materials.

My bike has an 'Alloy 7005' frame, whatever that means. I thinks its aluminium. Maybe someone can enlighten me.

Although I haven't got the experience to 'prefer' a material, I'd love to have a titanium frame.

Before my recent purchase of a new bike I had the luxury of trying out many bikes of many different materials and none were created equal in any way. There were carbon frames that felt like riding on a cloud and carbon which felt like you were riding on bricks. There was aluminum, steel and Ti that vibrated your spine out of your body and others which were like butter. There were combinations of materials all resulting in different rides.

My advice is not to get stuck on any one material but to ride everything you can and make your decision from there.

By the way I finally decided on aluminum with carbon rear end and carbon fork and seatpost. It rides like a dream.

Adult!:lol:

With all the different grades of materials now being used to fabricate frames, it's almost impossible to say one material is better than the next.

For instance: Aluminum being used by one frame maker can (and most likely will) ride completely different than aluminum from another brand. The wall thickness, butting, joints, angles and swagging will all change the ride quality and the material itself can range from high end Deda U2 to low end 6000 series aluminum and everywhere in between.

Same goes for Ti frames. 6/3 frames will ride a lot different than 3/2 frames.

Carbon frames: Well it gets really interesting here because most carbon frames are built using aluminum lugs (except monocouque frames). Aluminum and carbon don't tend to get along to well, so if the frame is not built properly and these materials react poorly, HELLO disaster (see also: Trek Y bikes) Also the way a carbon frame is constructed (bladder v. 2 piece) will yield considerable difference.

Steel is no different. Depending on grade of steel, your bike could be a light and lively climber or a bogged down pig in the mud.

In fact, you can make an aluminum bike ride with more spring than a Ti, if you chose to do so and make a carbon frame more stiff than an aluminum frame.

So you see, it's really a matter of material quality, design and construction process that will dictate ride quality, not the type of metal.

Ride a bunch and see for yourself.

Any high quality steel frame and with lugs but the lugs issue is more of a looks thing with me. I also like Titanium but because of no lugs used on these frames they look to industrial for my taste. I feel those are the 2 strongest and longest lasting materials for bikes. Hey, if Sheldon Brown can commute on a steel bike made in 1918 of inferior steel compared with todays high tech steel and not feel he is riding a bike that is going to crumble to dust or break while riding it, then there must be something good about steel.

I wish I could be alive in another 80 years just to see how many current generation carbon fiber and aluminium bikes are still around and ridden daily!!!

On the road I like carbon fiber the best, lugged steel is nice but flexes too much for me. On the trail I like 853 steel for hardtails and aluminum for full suspension frames. That said, it is such a personal choice that I don't really think there is a truely bad frame material. At least not from what I have seen in the industry currently. Everyone has their own take on what is best and what works. I even remember seeing a picture of an old japanese bike made of bamboo! So if it is something you want to ride, do so, at least that's one more bike frame under a cyclists bum out there.....it's all good

chuck

Titanium in the 6Al/4V and the 3Al/2V alloy type, which are different in their own ways, the material I really wish to try out and own.

Carbon fibre, not bad a material if Lance Armstrong (hey legstrong, I thought of that nick before, hehe) is riding it. It is said to provide a ride like steel but better. Carbon is one material that has great damping properties, that is why many forks are made of carbon fibre.

Steel is not bad, but heavy. I don't have too good a experience with steel though, it rusts! The one I had didn't exactly provide a smooth ride, maybe because it was rusting. Others have said that it provides a excellent ride, hopefully I can try one of those out, but it won't be my dream bike since it will be slightly heavier. I'm a lightweight rider, can't afford to carry too much mass.

Aluminium, good experience with it. It is a good ride with my new Trek 2200. It damps the vibration better than my previous steel hardtail, maybe because of the carbon fibre fork, not sure.

Anyway, all I want to say is that all bikes are different for different people. A 100kg guy riding on a sub-1kg frame will definitely be complaining, it will be flexing too much. A 40kg guy on a very stiff aluminium frame will also be complaining since he will be the shock-absorber of the bike. It also depends on the manufacturer and the other components on the bike that handles the road vibrations, like the tyre pressure and wheel, the saddle etc.

I think that every material has it's good and bad sides. If there were a "perfect" material, all bikes would be made of that.

I currently ride an Al road and Mountain ride. I have test ridden carbon fiber frames and ti frames and until I have enough expendable income, I can't make the cost to benefit ratio work well enough to make the switch.

Of all the bikes I ever owned, i once had a Diamondback mountain bike made out of Easton Elite tubing. That thing was sweet. It rode like a mix of alum. and titanium. It really broke my heart when i cracked that frame. (after the warranty had expired, which is another issue altogether.)