Carbon Vs Aluminum Bike Frame Weight

Some say it s even better to buy a cheap carbon frame bike than an aluminum frame bike while others insist that cheap carbon frame bikes aren t worth your money and you should stick with metal in a tight budget.

Carbon vs aluminum bike frame weight.

Even if you re not a weight weenie a lighter bike can improve the riding experience. In order to achieve a greater strength to weight ratio quality aluminium bike frames are butted. Carbon however rules supreme in this area. When looking to purchase a new bike the question of choosing between carbon and aluminum alloy frame pops up frequently.

But an aluminum frame wouldn t have come out of that crash in usable condition. When it comes to bike frames aluminium is alloyed with another metal. A carbon fibre frame will almost always be lighter than an aluminium equivalent and you ll only find carbon fibre bikes in the pro peloton in part because of the weight benefits. If the same accident results in a carbon fiber product snapping the product is often blamed.

It s possible to build very light and capable bikes out of either aluminum or carbon. Great road bikes for under 1 000. It is hard to pin down a hard and fast rule about how much lighter a carbon frame is compared to an aluminum one. A well built lightweight aluminum frame could weigh less than an inexpensive carbon frame.

Buy carbon if you want the lightest and stiffest road bike money can buy or because you want to go aero. In general carbon fiber frames are lighter than aluminum frames. The perception is that if an aluminum product is bent in a crash it s the fault of the crash. The more butting the.

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. A carbon frame will almost always be lighter than an aluminum equivalent. Ride quality is more noticeable on road frames than mountain frames with vibrations being damped by carbon more so than aluminum. Carbon fibre can be relatively easily manipulated by designers to create frames with the particular balance of properties they want whether that s low weight comfort stiffness.

In order to create lightweight frames tube thickness is varied throughout the length of the tube. Whilst it s possible to make a light bike out of either material when it comes to weight carbon definitely has the advantage. In comparison an aluminum bike can get very close to that weight limit.