View Poll Results: Frame Material Preference
Carbon Fiber
40
31.25%
Aluminum
10
7.81%
Steel
61
47.66%
Titanium
17
13.28%
Voters: 128. You may not vote on this poll
Frame Material Preference Poll
#1
Just Pedaling
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Frame Material Preference Poll
I'm on the hunt for another bike (like I really need one) and was looking into the different frame material options available. In the poll, pick what your preference would be and not necessarily what you currently have. I know some of you probably have all the above options so your opinion will be very valuable to me. TIA Smokey
#2
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Will you buy the one with the most votes?
John
John
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#3
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Steel
#4
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It depends on the type of riding and a couple dozen other factors.
#5
Senior Member
My answer is ... it depends. I chose carbon when I went for a new road bike, but decided to stick with aluminium for my new mountain bike. If you were to ask for my reasoning I'd have to say I'm not entirely certain. Having broken one carbon frame in a crash I suppose that did weigh on my mind a bit - much more likely to crash a mountain bike. On the other hand, I have a friend with a full carbon mountain bike which has been great for him, and his riding style is quite a bit wilder than mine. Very pleased with both bikes. The only thing I'd change if I was buying a new road bike now is I'd certainly go for disk brakes and quite probably for eTap or Di2 rather than mechanical.
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My answer is ... it depends. I chose carbon when I went for a new road bike, but decided to stick with aluminium for my new mountain bike. If you were to ask for my reasoning I'd have to say I'm not entirely certain. Having broken one carbon frame in a crash I suppose that did weigh on my mind a bit - much more likely to crash a mountain bike. On the other hand, I have a friend with a full carbon mountain bike which has been great for him, and his riding style is quite a bit wilder than mine. Very pleased with both bikes. The only thing I'd change if I was buying a new road bike now is I'd certainly go for disk brakes and quite probably for eTap or Di2 rather than mechanical.
#7
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I'd have to think about it. The subject never comes up on BF or out in the cycling world. It's a new one for me.
#8
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Since you plan to use the bike for heavy touring I think you should go with steel. Or is this thread not sincere?
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If you're "on the hunt"..then make just a tiny bit of effort and do some research here on BF..or anywhere else. This topic get regularly flogged to death, and has been for years. There's nothing new from the last flogging or the flogging before that......
Unless, of course, you're just trolling
Unless, of course, you're just trolling
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#10
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Carbon and derailleurs for really fast and really useless toys for rich folks.
Steel and IGH Rohloff14 for round the world touring. Front hub is a SA XL-FDD dyno drum brake.
Steel and SA 3 speed for commuter bike. Also comes with drum brakes, chaincase, fenders, lights and racks.
Aluminum OK for just riding around. Could have either IGH or defaileurs.
Walmart for the totally cheap and uninformed, who can't or won't go far.
Steel and IGH Rohloff14 for round the world touring. Front hub is a SA XL-FDD dyno drum brake.
Steel and SA 3 speed for commuter bike. Also comes with drum brakes, chaincase, fenders, lights and racks.
Aluminum OK for just riding around. Could have either IGH or defaileurs.
Walmart for the totally cheap and uninformed, who can't or won't go far.
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#11
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Seems like there should be a choice for "any" or "all of the above". I really don't look at the material a bike is made of. I'm looking at price, components and geometry. Plus aesthetics for my eye and things like weight and how the bike handles the terrain and surfaces I ride on.
#12
Senior Member
Well, I did say I wasn't sure of my reasoning. I also didn't mention above that the crash that broke my carbon frame would almost certainly have damaged an aluminium or steel frame as well, almost certainly beyond repair for the alumium one. I have no experience with titanium so I don't know how that would have fared. In fact, in retrospect, I'm impressed at how well the carbon frame stood up; having hit an earth bank at about 30 miles an hour it only had a break on the inside of one chain stay. It did better then me, in fact. I smashed my clavicle and now have a titanium Stryker plate screwed to it.
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#13
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Carbon and derailleurs for really fast and really useless toys for rich folks.
Steel and IGH Rohloff14 for round the world touring. Front hub is a SA XL-FDD dyno drum brake.
Steel and SA 3 speed for commuter bike. Also comes with drum brakes, chaincase, fenders, lights and racks.
Aluminum OK for just riding around. Could have either IGH or defaileurs.
Walmart for the totally cheap and uninformed, who can't or won't go far.
Steel and IGH Rohloff14 for round the world touring. Front hub is a SA XL-FDD dyno drum brake.
Steel and SA 3 speed for commuter bike. Also comes with drum brakes, chaincase, fenders, lights and racks.
Aluminum OK for just riding around. Could have either IGH or defaileurs.
Walmart for the totally cheap and uninformed, who can't or won't go far.
#14
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OMG according to the Gambler I am officially a “rich folk”, but the bad news is that my bike is “really useless”. But do rich folks really get rich by throwing their money away on useless stuff? Now I don’t know how good I feel about being so rich. Maybe I should go ride my non-useless steel bike or my aluminum bike and feel like I spend my wisely but then I won’t feel rich. I just don’t know how to feel. What a conundrum.
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I personally think the frame material "debate" is much ado about nothing. The "best" frame material is whatever your favorite bike is made of.
#18
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Seems like there should be a choice for "any" or "all of the above". I really don't look at the material a bike is made of. I'm looking at price, components and geometry. Plus aesthetics for my eye and things like weight and how the bike handles the terrain and surfaces I ride on.
#20
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Those were my first considerations too until I got really serious and started seeing all the frame material options out there. Then I got confused. I've been researching them for a while now and only getting more confused. My steel bikes are heavy but durable. I want something lighter. My aluminum bikes are lighter and still durable and a good option. Then I find guys that really swear by titanium for very legit reasons. Confused.
All the frame materials you've mentioned have been used with great success since before the turn of the century. There have been some few spectacular failures for all of those materials. Whether one material has more tensile strength or is more ductile or has another differing quality is of not really a factor for these materials as the designers, engineers and builders have shown that they can build some excellent bikes with those materials.
All you have to do is find the bike that matches what you want and need in a bike.
If you get to worrying too much about material then you might never find the bike that's right for you. You might be setting your self up for a endless quest for your imagined holy grail. I'd actually done that for many years when I was blinded by my "steel is real" mentality. It kept me from buying a new bike for quite a few years.
Last edited by Iride01; 11-10-22 at 11:41 AM.
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#22
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See what I was getting at now? I never had kids because, among other things, I didn't (and still don't) want to spoon feed.
#23
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But, as a few people have mentioned, it really depends on a person's goals.
I really like my CF ROAD bike. It just feels so natural. Just thing I was missing with riding a steel bike all those years. I've commuted on it, but I do somewhat of a hybrid commuting that takes me somewhat longer distances than some people. I.E. Double Century commutes?
But, I'd really look at a person's goals.
- Road cycling: whether it is casual or racing, then CF may be a reasonable choice.
- Many types of touring: one might consider a type of steel bike, with the best tubing one can afford.
- Grocery Getter: Steel or aluminum. Whatever is cheap and rugged. Cargo bike?
- All weather bike: Perhaps Titanium.
- MTB: I suppose it depends on how deep your pockets are.
#24
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