Bikes have been around for hundreds of years and there are so many different bikes to choose from now. Traditionally bikes have been made of steel but there have been many alternative bikes produced using different materials. A very popular alternative at the moment is aluminium, which is even now being used in snowboards and surfboards. So how does aluminum match up against the traditional steel frame?

Strength. Because aluminium as a metal has about 50% less tensile strength than steel, lots of people consider its use for aggressive bike riding not suitable. However, because aluminium is a great deal lighter than steel (forty percent lighter) the frames can afford to have a greater circumference and thus almost rival the strength of steel. That said, some forms of bike riding really do subject the frame to some extreme forces and in this instance thick strong steel is the only option.

Performance. Aluminium is around 1/3 as stiff as steel. Whilst you would automatically think a more forgiving ride would result, bike riders tend to say the opposite is true. Many say that they find steel-framed bikes have greater comfort. The performance of aluminum bikes does beat steel in events such as climbing or sprinting where weight really matters, but for more high-impact bike riding steel usually wins hands down

Cost. This really does vary on a number of factors, not least the quality of the steel. Some steels have been developed to be very light and even rival aluminium for weight, but these tend to be very expensive. Also, as aluminum use becomes more widespread, is costs in lower end products is coming down. However, due to the fact steel is more readily available and is the standard for most new and second hand bikes, it is usually cheaper than aluminium.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 15th, 2009 at 6:31 pm and is filed under Bicycle Parts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.