Mountain Bike Carbon Frame Vs Aluminum
Modern day trends often err on the side of either carbon or aluminum.
Mountain bike carbon frame vs aluminum. One of the most obvious and looked for advantages of carbon mountain bikes is their weight. As far as reputible brands making good frames. Mountain bike action is a monthly magazine devoted to all things mountain biking. One of the key considerations when purchasing a new bike is frame material.
It s a relatively light and stiff material and generally cheaper to produce than carbon. Let s take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of each material. But an aluminum frame wouldn t have come out of that crash in usable condition. He was riding a very expensive carbon framed mountain bike out in utah from a very well known manufacturer.
The perception is that if an aluminum product is bent in a crash it s the fault of the crash. Mix play all mix global mountain bike network youtube carbon fiber vs aluminium 5 things you didn t know about aluminium duration. So it s not a surprise that a lot of what goes into choosing a bike comes down to choosing the correct frame and with the frame it comes down to material construction. Most of the bikes ridden at world cup enduro world series level will be carbon although it isn t ubiquitous but it would be simplistic and maybe even wrong to say that carbon is objectively better.
Aluminium was the leader when it came to frame material before carbon become more accessible. There are two main frame materials you will encounter when deciding to buy a mountain bike carbon and aluminium. Two of the most common frame materials are aluminum and carbon fiber. Carbon mountain bike vs aluminium mountain bike.
On a carbon bike the catastrophic failure point is much higher than an aluminum bike due to the flex qualities of the carbon material. Global cycling network 1 201 681 views. Steel and aluminum can bend and or dent. Wheels in particular will make a huge difference in bike weight and how heavy it actually feels when riding.
These are the reasons i will only ride a steel or aluminum frame. The frame defines the identity of a bike and without it a bike is nothing. It s not a secret that it s a lot easier to fashion a lighter frame from carbon than it is from aluminium. Go look at the singletrack sampler on youtube.