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| *Vultures Knob>>>Mountain Bike |
Mountain bike: which frame is better; alloy or aluminum?thanks? |
Mountain bike: which frame is better; alloy or aluminum?thanks? An alloy only refers to a mix of compounds. Most alloy frames are currently an "aluminum alloy" or "Steel alloy". Pure "aluminum" is not used, with out mixing it with other compounds aluminum has very poor strength characteristics. When you go up to an "aluminum" frame bike take a finger and ping the top tube, It will ring, this is an "aluminum alloy". When a sales person says this bike has an aluminum frame it is really an aluminum alloy frame. aluminum Aluminum is an alloy (any metal comprised of two or more metals) as are most steels and titanium. It all depends on your specific needs. How do you ride? Do you care about weight? What kind of ride do you want? Full suspension, hardtail, or rigid? Aluminum can be lighter, but the walls of the tubing need to be thicker to add strength. Aluminum provides a harsher ride than steel or ti. Ti is very flexy, light, corrosion resistant, and pricey. Steel is a great all-around material and the material of choice for single-speeders and retro's. I've raced on all three, as well as carbon fiber. My personal favorite is steel for a hardtail (very forgiving - even supple). It's about 1 lb. difference for the frame. I hate to be rude; but a good trip to the bathroom before a ride can offset that. I've tried alloy full susser, but returned to a steel hard tail. I love the resiliance of steel. My steel frame built up into a 22lb rigid, light by comparison to earlier steel frames. Wouldn't go back to aluminium alloy. Steel Rules! I would say the same for Ti if I could afford it. Every material currently used in bicycle frames are alloy... -Steel is an alloy between iron, carbon, and other metals -Aluminum is too soft as a pure metal so it is mixed (alloyed) with other metals, then aged and heat treated to make it stronger If it were me, I'd suggest looking at magnesium at http://paketa.com if you want something superlight and practically indestructible. 27 years in the industry As the others have pointed out. All bike frames are made up of some kind of alloy. You must mean steel or aluminum. Most new frames are made of aluminum to save weight. |
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