Why are bike frames made from different materials ?
• Steel is real, or so they say. The original material for bike frames, it tends only to be found on good value bikes, such as: • Trek T10 • Trek T10 wsd • Trek T30 • Trek T30 wsd • Marin Muirwoods 29er • Surly framed bikes More compliant than aluminium, but often a bit heavier, steel has the classic spring and comfort that is ideal for, say, touring bikes. There are many different combinations of carbon steel with chrome, molybdenum, manganese that produce lighter, stiffer frames, as the tensile strength of the material increases. A superlight steel frame can weigh almost nothing and deliver eye watering speed and performance. • Aluminium is the default frame material these days, used for almost all bicycles. As with steel, it is alloyed with traces of other metals to produce a strong light material that can be formed into tubes, or pressed and welded into monocoques, or the tubes themselves can be “hydroformed” with oil under immense pressure into intricately formed multi-dimensional
