It seems that cycling becomes more popular as a sport every day and new makes of bikes pop up all the time. Most frequently bikes are made from some form of steel but as technology advances, so more materials have become viable options. A very popular alternative at the moment is aluminium, which is even now being used in snowboards and surfboards. Lets take a better look at the qualities of aluminium and see how it compares to steel?
Strength. Steel frames tend to boast approx twice the strength of an aluminum frame, which could suggest that aluminum would not be suitable for high impact bike riding. However, because of the fact aluminium is such much lighter than steel (40% lighter) the frames can afford to be thicker and thus match the strength of steel. However, there are some occasions where the forces put on a bike frame require quite strong steel and aluminium just would not be suitable.
Performance. aluminium has about 33% of the stiffness that steel has. Whilst you would automatically think a more forgiving ride would result, bike riders tend to say the opposite is true. Many say that they find steel-framed bikes have greater comfort. Aluminium bikes do outperform steel bikes in some sectors such as road racing and hill climbing events due to their better weight but again, most choose steel for bike riding that requires great strength of frame
Cost. The cost of a frame is dependent on various things, most commonly the steel or aluminum quality. There are now steel products on the market that are light enough to almost rival aluminum, however the cost for these is often quite large. Also, as aluminum use becomes more widespread, is costs in lower end products is coming down. However, due to the fact steel is more readily available and is the standard for most new and second hand bikes, it is usually cheaper than aluminium.
