Bill_B Posted May 22, 2007 Report Share Posted May 22, 2007 What do people think is the better material for frames and why?Aluminium is lighter and stiffer but more brittle (hence cracks)steel is heavier (although thinner tubing means frame shouldn't be far of Alu weight) but possibly more robust and has a bit of spring/bounce to itSteel is much easier to work and build IMHO (Maybe just my aluminium welding that is poor )Aluminium doesn't rustWhat are your thoughts people? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomm Posted May 22, 2007 Report Share Posted May 22, 2007 Rust is not important, I've never heard of anyone using a frame for long enough for it to rust. All trials frames break before that can happen. Besides, it takes aaaaages for steel frames to rust - My 10 year old 4130 mountain bike is still going strong, no signs of rust damage yet.Steel frames ARE generally a pound or so heavier than an alu equivalent. So there's not much in it but if you want super-light then go for alu. Yes, aluminium is more brittle and it fatigues, but it's also usually stronger to start with. On the whole, I'd say that alu trials frames are probably more durable than steel ones, maybe that's because they're made better or something, but I reckon the failure rate is probably lower for alu frames... Maybe. But yeah, Steel is Reel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Garland Posted May 22, 2007 Report Share Posted May 22, 2007 Im sure there are 10,000 topics involving this, which could be found using the search.However, none are amazingly recent so;Alu is a lot cheaper to get as far as I am aware and seeing as 99% of the trials frames on the market are alu I think that must be a good indicator of which is better. Its cheaper, lighter and I think stronger as the tubes can be thicker however it might fatigue quicker.A lot of people will ride an alu frame for about a year or two then change it, I know I do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenLeacock™ Posted May 22, 2007 Report Share Posted May 22, 2007 Steel is alot easyer to get repaired than alu, however alu is more popular on modern bikes Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anodised Adamant Posted May 22, 2007 Report Share Posted May 22, 2007 Steel is alot easyer to get repaired than alu, however alu is more popular on modern bikes Beni agree with you mate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinJI Posted May 22, 2007 Report Share Posted May 22, 2007 Steels awesome, just feels right, and can be repaired much easier, and can be modified and things along those lines. Aluminium has it's advantages though. If I was to just go for a normal low long trials frame, I'd go for alloy, but for a custom frame, or anything else you intend to keep for a serious amount of time then I'd go for steel , and for streety stuff the smaller diameter tubes just give them that twang to it that makes them feel so nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill_B Posted May 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2007 cool replies, I'm more looking for a discussion than advice, I've just gone from a steel to aluminium XC bike and the alu frame lacks the compliant feel of steel, I'm only really starting to play with trials so do not have the experience to translate that to trials riding. I know Aluminium frames will be cheaper to produce than a good steel frame and being stiff and light will make them popular, especially with the very slim low frame designs you see now.anyone else have any thoughts (I did try searching first but found nothing). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.