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Bicycle frames come in all sorts of colors, sizes and designs. You can literally lose yourself in the selection available. But, you should not only look at the outside appearance of the frame. You must know what it’s made of because this will very much affect the personality of the frame you’re getting. Here’s a rundown of the most common materials used in frames.
- Steel - Steel is the cheapest and most common material used in the making of frames. It is also the heaviest. This metal is used only in the lowest priced bikes and should be avoided.
- Chromoly - Lighter andmore pliant than steel, chromoly should be the material of choice for budget riders. Chromoly is basically a blend of iron, chromium and molybdenum offering higher tensile strength than steel. This greater strength allow the manufacturer to have the tubes “butted”. Butting is the process of making the tube walls thinner in the middle while retaining thicker walls at the ends where the welds are to be made. This makes for a lighter tube that retains the strength of regular steel tubes. Chromoly is also a very repairable material.
- Aluminum - Aluminum is a light metal that is used to make very stiff tubes. This stiffness makes for a very responsive albeit rough riding bicycle. Butting is also done in aluminum frames, but the tubes retain their stiffness. The downside of aluminum is that it is not very easily repaired with only a limited number of places having the capability to weld an aluminum tube. This is more relevant to the 6000 series tubing used by some manufacturers which require special heat treating after welding.
- Titanium - Titanium is one of the cutting edge frame materials available today. It offers much higher strength than steel, the pliant nature of chromoly and lightness comparable to aluminum. Another plus is the fact that titanium will never rust. The bad news about titanium is that it is quite expensive and if you break it, it’s gone.
- Carbon Fiber/Composite - Carbon fiber differs from the other materials in that it does not come in tubes. CF is molded into the shape the manufacturer wants. Although quite expesive, CF pays for itself in terms of weight and resilience. CF frames can be the lightest frames available. The fiber patterns may be made to make the frame absorb shock from certain directions and remain stiff in others. This makes for a very responsive yet comfortable frame.
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