WHAT IS THE BEST MATERIAL FOR BIKES?
My thinking regarding bike material is basically this: Steel is Real. For more than a century, steel was the material of choice for bicycle manufacturing. It’s durable, flexible, and malleable. Even today, when most bikes aren’t made from steel alloys, the riding quality of a steel frame bicycle is the standard against which other materials (aluminum, carbon fiber, titanium) are compared. Most bikes sold today are aluminum. It’s cheaper (and more profitable) for bicycle manufacturers, but there are issues with aluminum. Namely, how stiff and inflexible it is. For short rides, no problem. For longer rides, aluminum could be brutal, with a harsh ride even on the best pavement. Again, this is an over-simplified opinion; some bike makers have been able to create a more comfortable riding aluminum bike–using thicker tubes, different geometry, suspension seatposts, carbon fiber stays, etc. (For the record, I have several aluminum bikes, including a Jamis Commuter, Bianchi Boardwalk, Giant H
