Alloy Vs Aluminum Bike Frames

Most city bikes are built on either steel frames or aluminum frames and which one you pick will impact the quality of your ride and the life of your bike.

Alloy vs aluminum bike frames.

Alloy is generally used to denote an aluminium alloy. Mid to high end steel frame bikes can weigh less than 25 lbs while a low end alloy frame bike might weigh 35 lbs. Read on for the how and why and we ll help you navigate the materials market. Aluminum is cheaper to produce than carbon and is usually alloyed with other metals.

Good quality road bikes use butted aluminum frames single double and triple butted to achieve a better strength to weight ratio. Ride quality is more noticeable on road frames than mountain frames with vibrations being damped by carbon more so than aluminum. Very few entry level mtbs are made of steel alloy and if they are the. It s still lightweight compared to other metals and stiff.

An alloy is a metal that is mixed with other elements to improve the metal s characteristics. However in bike marketing terms a steel alloy frame would be billed as steel or chromoly. In its raw state aluminum weighs one third as much as steel of the same volume. Carbon frames are usually a bit lighter than aluminum up to a pound for mountain frames and up to a half pound on road frames.

Aluminum frames are generally stiffer than steel resulting in a harsher ride. Most bike frame manufacturers use an alloy of either steel or aluminum to craft the frame.