Carbon Fiber Mountain Bike Frame Vs Aluminum

Of the lead materials used for bike frames ranging from aluminum to titanium and even carbon fiber chromoly offers the best cost benefit ratio.

Carbon fiber mountain bike frame vs aluminum.

For more info check out my carbon fiber vs aluminum frame guide. In truth if we tested the strength of the same frame built from carbon and aluminum you would see that carbon fiber frames are much stronger per pound in terms of both stress tests and impact tests. Let s take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of each material. One of the most discussed aspects of carbon fiber frames is the weight savings over aluminum frames.

These are kind of a novelty at this point. The vast majority of modern bikes however will be made from aluminum or carbon fiber. Some manufacturers offer a lifetime warranty on. Aluminum is the second most commonly used material for bicycle manufacturing.

We fatigue tested aluminum and carbon bars with very similar surface damage. These joints are similar to carbon fiber. Most bamboo bikes are made by starting with strong bamboo poles then binding the joints together with fiber and resin. That said we still recommend replacing any carbon or aluminum product that has been damaged.

While both aluminum and carbon bikes will offer a little bit of flex in this way carbon bikes will offer a far greater amount of power. Conversely carbon possesses the longest fatigue life. Most bike frames will be made of either steel titanium aluminum or carbon fiber steel and titanium are the most popular options for custom and handmade bike building. Most manufacturers provide a lifetime warranty on carbon frames.

Even then current carbon fiber is very strong and a large impact force would have to be sustained enough to badly dent an aluminum frame. The typical aluminum frame possesses a life expectancy of five to 10 years. Uv damage is essentially non existent to reputable brand s carbon frames. Carbon fiber doesn t exhibit this type of crack propagation.

Aluminum frames possess the shortest fatigue life of any material used to manufacture bicycle frames. When you re riding a carbon fiber frame that has been designed with this in mind you can add a tremendous amount of power to your ride by transferring this energy to the back wheel. It s lighter and stiffer than steel but it s also more brittle and easily damaged. The fatigue life of the aluminum handlebar was reduced due to surface damage but the carbon bar was not affected.

Luckily damage to carbon frames can usually be repaired whereas re welding or patching a cracked aluminum frame is not safe.