Materials

[quint41]

I'm a relative newbie. Can someone explain to me the difference between steel, aluminum and carbon fiber (besides the obvious weight difference). I've read several postings where people mention they prefer steel, or aluminum or whatever. But I don't know what difference (besides weight) the material makes. Thanks!

[mimitabby]

well, i'll start. (and you forgot Titanium)

Steel (atomic weight of IRON= 56, steel is like 98% Iron) has been used to make bikes for 100+ years. It is flexible and sturdy.
It absorbs shock well and is considered more flexible than Aluminum.

Aluminum(atomic weight 26) is low cost and very lightweight. It is more rigid than steel, but weighs less. People in search of a good ride with lots of bucks will avoid aluminum, but i've had 2 aluminum bikes and they were pretty nice. So it's a darn good choice for someone without
a lot of funds but who wants a light bike. andyou can get carbon forks on it too.

Titanium is lighter than steel (atomic weight 48) but heavier than aluminum. It's VERY expensive. It's supposed to be a great ride, but it seems to me that unless you are a fanatic (those are the people who buy these bikes) :D :D :D
the 15% lighter than steel doesn't make it worth it.

Carbon fiber is what my company is making their new airplanes out of. I figure if they are making airplanes out of it; it should be safe enough for bicyclists too.
It's a man made composite material, sort of like plastic or resin. It is super light; sorry; no atomic weight; it's not an element, it's a compound.
All i can say is go pick a carbon bike up in the store. They are like riding on air (i am told) but they are expensive.

Most good bikes now have carbon fiber forks, because it is superior to even
steel for absorbing road bounce.

Last night i asked the bike guy what were the high points of carbon forks versus steel. He told me that carbon will give you the more comfortable ride, but if you want fenders, lights, etc attached to your fork, you are better off
with steel. I hope that helps you
mimi

[KnottedYet]

this was posted down in the "Bikes" forum.

http://www.rivbike.com/html/101_pureopinions.html

Bear in mind this is a company that does only steel frame bikes and sticks with tried-and-true stuff. So read with a grain of salt.

I just plain love the feel and sturdiness of a full steel frame, and I don't mind the little extra weight. From everything I've read, you just need to ride until you find the material that suits you best. Each material has it's plusses and minusses. And there are some STRONG opinions out there!

Edit: my commutermobile is aluminum with a steel fork. I love this bike! But for longer rides, I am happier with a full steel frame.

[KnottedYet]

Carbon fiber is what my company is making their new airplanes out of. I figure if they are making airplanes out of it; it should be safe enough for bicyclists too.
It's a man made composite material, sort of like plastic or resin. It is super light; sorry; no atomic weight; it's not an element, it's a compound.
All i can say is go pick a carbon bike up in the store. They are like riding on air (i am told) but they are expensive.

Most good bikes now have carbon fiber forks, because it is superior to even
steel for absorbing road bounce.

Last night i asked the bike guy what were the high points of carbon forks versus steel. He told me that carbon will give you the more comfortable ride, but if you want fenders, lights, etc attached to your fork, you are better off
with steel. I hope that helps you
mimi

Wow, Mimi!

[Toni]

My 2 cents........I just started biking about 1 month ago....I bought a carbon WSD (women specific design) Trek, and, well, I JUST LOVE IT!!!! I can fly on this bike.....I love speed. :D The farthest I have gone is 8 miles (long story) but at one point I was going 18 miles an hour, and didn't realize it!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I have been reading that sometimes carbon can crack, espec. in an accident, whereas steel frames may be more repairable and last longer. I am sure different frame materials all have their pros and cons. I really can't speak from first hand experience yet, but I hope to ride my new Rivendell through the countryside here for MANY years, and I don't plan on racing, so steel was a nice choice for me.
If one is not racing, weight is less important and should be balanced with other factors. Are you planning to tour? (long distances with camping/backpacking type loads) Mostly level riding? Going to be competing/racing? Have to carry your bike upstairs a lot? etc...

There was a bike weight discussion recently on a Rivendell (steel) bike list...someone had said: "From my reading, more riders are worried about taking grams off their bikes instead of pounds off their bodies and not to interested in the ride itself."

Now, when I was first describing and then showing my beautiful new Rivendell Rambouillet to my bike riding older brother recently, he kept asking how much it weighed, talking about how much his bike weighs, how much titanium and carbon and steel bikes weigh, how maybe I should have gotten a lighter carbon bike....etc etc. Sheesh! He doesn't even race. I had to really REFRAIN from suggesting that if he GOT on his bike more often and lost even just 5 of the 50 extra pounds he needs to lose to avoid his sky-high cholesterol heart attack waiting to happen any day now, he wouldn't have to worry at all about how much his bike OR my bike weighs! All this obsession he had about one or two pounds of bike...and I had just wanted to talk about the BIKE! :confused:
Made me curious though, and later on I actually balanced on my bathroom scale holding up my bike and WEIGHED my new 54cm Rambouillet with relatively big 700x37c tires (including the small saddlebag full of flat-fixing tube, tools, blinkie, and cable/lock that I usually ride with)....total 27 pounds. Probably 25 lbs without saddlebag and tools. Not sure I have any actual use for that information though. Maybe I will think of one some day while I'm riding a country road past some beautiful sunny farm field with the wind in my face listening to the crickets.

[Veronica]

I became more concerned with the weight of my bike when I started riding really long rides. If I'm doing a ride that's going to take me twenty hours to complete and a lighter bike will shave an hour or two off that time - it's important to me.

At the same time I want a bike that I can trust. I just have an inherent distrust of carbon fiber. I know I would always worry that if I took some of these bumpy descents too fast, that something would break. I know I would not allow myself to descend as fast as I do on steel. Nothing anyone could say, would cause to lose that distrust. Right or wrong, my gut says, this could break. So my new bike is going to be steel.

And yes, I've already shed weight off me. :D

V.

[Bike Goddess]

I have two bikes- a steel one with carbon forks and an all carbon one.

Yes, the steel bike is 5lbs heavier than my carbon one, and it has a different gearing on it. If I am going to do steep steep hills, I'd probably use the steel bike mostly because of the gearing as I have mountain bike gearing in the rear.

However, I find that I prefer my carbon bike for most of my rides. It's very comfortable and very fast if I want to zip down the hills. I also have found that I recover more quickly after going up hills.

IF you really want to get the full scoop, I Googled this subject and found an interesting article that explains every bike part and what it does. It also describes the different types of frames and how they are made. Excellent for learning terminology and understanding bike design!

Google: Advantage of carbon fiber road bikes.
Article I found: Racing bicycles-Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

IF you really want to get the full scoop, I Googled this subject and found an interesting article that explains every bike part and what it does. It also describes the different types of frames and how they are made. Excellent for learning terminology and understanding bike design!

Google: Advantage of carbon fiber road bikes.
Article I found: Racing bicycles-Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

In all fairness, one should also perhaps Google "Advantage of steel frame road bikes", etc.... or maybe read:
http://www.rivendellbicycles.com/html/101_framematerials.html

[Bike Goddess]

Ah- in the article I found, the author talks about every kind of frame- from titanium, aluminum, carbon, steel, you name it. He covers the advantages of each which is why I suggested this particular site. He also does bike terminology with diagrams and explanations for the terms. Quite useful if you are new to this type of language.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Nancy, sounds interesting- do you have an actual link to it? Thanks!

[quint41]

Thanks to you all for your thoughts! Mimi - impressive knowledge of the materials! Nancy - thanks for the article, I can't wait to read it. That is exactly what I need. I'm learning so much!!

I'm in New England, so hills can be a bear. I'm staying away from carbon for the sheer matter of breakability. I don't care about flying down the hills (I shy away from speed), but I do care about ease of climbing. I'm not planning to tour, but my current goal is a metric century. After that, I'll see what comes. I also stood on my scale while holding my current bike -- a 10-year-old steel Diamondback mountain bike with hybrid tires and a little pouch with a few tools. 34 lbs! Ouch! ANYTHING will be a huge improvement! I'm sure today's steel is lighter than 1996's steel. I do find my bike very comfortable, but everytime I climb a hill on that thing my mantra is -- "this is great training! this is great training! this is great training! AAAAHHHRRRR!!!!" :eek:

[KnottedYet]

I'm sure today's steel is lighter than 1996's steel.


I rode my Kona (aluminum) to an LBS and test rode a Jamis Aurora (steel). I lifted the Jamis and compared it to the Kona and really couldn't feel that the steel was any heavier.

My friend's dad is a metals specialist for Boeing. He says titanium is "the perfect metal". Haven't tried ti yet. Better not, cuz I might end up needing to buy one.... :D ("let's see, I'll have one of those, and one of those, and go ahead an give me a couple of that.")

[Petra]

The weight issue does not come from the differences in atomic weightm but in density of the material and which shape and tube wall thickness you can make for the particular mechanical properties. Steel has a huge range of compositions with vastly different properties, so a steel bike can be very light. On the other hand, steel can be welded and a cracked frame can indeed be repaired, not so for the carbon fiber. I think most people (including me) go for the feel of the bike, and it is great fun to test ride and see the differences.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I also stood on my scale while holding my current bike -- a 10-year-old steel Diamondback mountain bike with hybrid tires and a little pouch with a few tools. 34 lbs! Ouch! ANYTHING will be a huge improvement! I'm sure today's steel is lighter than 1996's steel. I do find my bike very comfortable

Like I said, my new lugged steel Rivendell road bike weighs 25 pounds total, including the wide 700c x 37cm tires. Might weigh less with thinner tires, but I plan on losing another 8 pounds anyway MYSELF! ;)