Carbon Fiber Mountain Bike Frame Vs Aluminum

Most of the bikes ridden at world cup enduro world series level will be carbon although it isn t ubiquitous but it would be simplistic and maybe even wrong to say that carbon is objectively better.

Carbon fiber mountain bike frame vs aluminum.

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. Conversely carbon possesses the longest fatigue life. These are kind of a novelty at this point. For more info check out my carbon fiber vs aluminum frame guide.

Most bamboo bikes are made by starting with strong bamboo poles then binding the joints together with fiber and resin. Uv damage is essentially non existent to reputable brand s carbon frames. The fatigue life of the aluminum handlebar was reduced due to surface damage but the carbon bar was not affected. One of the most discussed aspects of carbon fiber frames is the weight savings over aluminum 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. Some manufacturers offer a lifetime warranty on. Aluminum is the second most commonly used material for bicycle manufacturing. Aluminum frames possess the shortest fatigue life of any material used to manufacture bicycle frames.

Most manufacturers provide a lifetime warranty on carbon frames. 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. The vast majority of modern bikes however will be made from aluminum or carbon fiber. That said we still recommend replacing any carbon or aluminum product that has been damaged.

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. Carbon fiber doesn t exhibit this type of crack propagation. It s lighter and stiffer than steel but it s also more brittle and easily damaged. 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.

Of the lead materials used for bike frames ranging from aluminum to titanium and even carbon fiber chromoly offers the best cost benefit ratio. These joints are similar to carbon fiber. The typical aluminum frame possesses a life expectancy of five to 10 years. We fatigue tested aluminum and carbon bars with very similar surface damage.

There are two main frame materials you will encounter when deciding to buy a mountain bike carbon and aluminium.