Carbon Vs Alum
Babbs
Posts: 81
Being comletely new to all of this can some one give me some ideas to the pros and cons of both? Is it true carbon fractures easliy and can lead to the bike braking? is alum the stronger frame?
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No problems so far. Try this thread and try a search on Carbon Frames.
http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12547362&highlight=carbon+frame
But thougth you were looking at a Scale 50. To go Carbon you will about double the price to get to a Scale 30.0 -
Both ali and carbon frames can break. It happens very seldom with either though on decent bikes. With the modern generation of carbon many argue that it is in fact less likely to break than ali - however will be more expensive!0
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Carbon looks sexxxxxyyy! Not very technical I know but counts!!!0
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The strength of a frame will come more from the way in which it is built than the starting material: the frame's structure will dictate its ridgidity/strength."Melancholy is incompatible with bicycling." ~James E. Starrs0
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BlackSpur wrote:The strength of a frame will come more from the way in which it is built than the starting material: the frame's structure will dictate its ridgidity/strength.
I sort of agree.... but then again don't
Carbon is a very different material to handle and shape than ali. So just because you can make a good ali frame doesn't mean you can do the same with carbon. Personnaly I would only trust manufacturers who have worked in carbon for many years... they will have learnt how to use it best. I found this from previous sports.0 -
which companies have been in the carbon market for a while? I was looking @ giant, scott, specialized but i dont know which way to turn so many choices so many different specs...... only thing i know is i want a hard tail for XC use.0
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ow thanks for that link lots of good info on it for me. your all rather friendly and helpfull on here which is nice!!!0
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While I'm not a mountain biker I can tell you that really good carbon and alum.
mtb's are not cheap. If it were myself and just getting into biking I wouldn't spend
tons of money the first time out, unless you've got lots of diposable income. If that's
the case go for the best. Your local bike shop will give you all the help you need.
If however, you are like many of us on somewhat restricted budjets I would recommend
a lower end alum. or, dare I say it, steel frame. Spending bunches on
a sport that you may not even like might not be a good idea. Also, after you have done
some riding you will know a bit more about what you like and don't like and be a little
more informed when, and if,you decide to go "big".
Dennis Noward0 -
Cheers for the advie Dennis, i dont want to spend loads and loads i just dont want to buy foolishly now and regret it when i start to upgrade. I have been riding casually for a few years but its only now im finding more time to get out and enjoy mother nature on what is a raleigh activator 2 i dont know if you remember the bike i got it when i was 15 its still clinging on bless it. but its hard work to ride compared to a few friends who have newer carbon & alum bikes. i seem to fall further and further behind!! i just put that down to the weight of my antique!!!0
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I think it speaks volumes that massive companys like Giant, Merida and Specialized all offer full 5 year warrenties on their carbon frames which is the same length as on their alloy frames!0
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Once you get into the upper end of the market I don't really think there's any danger of breaking a frame regardless of what it's made from.
As you spend more, each "niche" in the market gets more refined and more developed. Manufacturers put all their effort into their upper end bikes, and much like cars the results will trickle down into the lower end models as the years pass by.
Like anything else, each material has it's pro's and con's, it's adherants and it's detractors. Steel, aluminium, titanium and carbon fibre are all excelelnt structural materials for frames. A lot of what the frame does and how it will behave is down to what you want to get out of it.
Just from a personal stand point, I'd say aluminium for full suss every time and steel for a hardtail.0 -
Carbon frames are typically more comfortable to ride than aluminum ones.
Though this doesn't apply so much on full-sus bikes.
Did you already rule out steel? It does offer a very good compromise between strength, weight, comfort and ride quality for hardtail frames.0 -
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Activator 2 wow they'll like that on http://www.retrobike.co.uk/ see if they wanna give you some money for it! Best thing to do would be trying to test ride or borrow friends bikes made from differant materials and see what you think of them, personally (as you probably realise from my first post) i've got a bit of a thing for carbon and so would sway that way if the margin between their 'feel' was quite small.0
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I bought a carbon Giant XTC composite as my first bike and love it. It was a previous year's model, and the frame was ex-demo (with all new components) so it was a bit of a steal, I loved the looks too, which made it an easy choice.
I'd say go down to your local bike shops and have a look at last year's bikes that are on offer and in your size, that way you should be able to get a bike with better components for your money. If you have a choice of carbon it's a bonus, if not never mind.New '06 Giant XTC composite.(Black bike No.3)
Specialized Allez double (Black bike No.2)
Suzuki Sv650s (Black bike No.1)
Subaru Legacy GT-B twin turbo (White not Black)0 -
Chaka Ping wrote:Carbon frames are typically more comfortable to ride than aluminum ones.
Though this doesn't apply so much on full-sus bikes.
Did you already rule out steel? It does offer a very good compromise between strength, weight, comfort and ride quality for hardtail frames.
Same here
I've 3 steel hardtails and don't want to go back to aluminum
Steel - Strong, cheap, flexible, comfy - heavy
Carbon - Bling, lightest - expensive
Aluminum - Cheap, light - stiff0 -
Generally steel frames are 'comfier' than alu, but not always - it entirely depends on the frame structure and tube profiles. Alu frames are generally oversized to add rigidity to give it strength and prevent flex which will weaken it prematurely. As a material, steel is 3 times as stiff as aluminium! But double a tubes diameter and its stiffness goes up by a factor of 8. The harshest frame I rode was an oversized steel frame. I have ridden alu frames fleier than some steel.
Generally speaking, alu frames on the whoke are stiffer and lighter than steel ones.0
