Bicycle Frames, The Heart Of The Bike
The design of the bicycle frame has not changed much over the years, but the materials have. The original bike was a hobbyhorse that you pushed along with your feet on the ground; this original was made from wood.
The bicycle frame was for many years manufactured in steel, the first frames were very heavy and the angles were very laid back and with a long wheel base, which made for a comfortable ride on the rough roads of the time, but would not be responsive for today’s fast roads and race conditions.
Steel bicycle frames over the years got lighter and lighter by making the tubes thinner and joining them without the use of lugs.
A big change came in the manufacture of frames when alloy tubes could be joined to each other strongly and safely to make responsive and very light frames, the tubes had to be bigger, but they could be made in aero-dynamic shapes.
Titanium Bike Frames
If you have the money titanium or an all carbon frame would be your choice, much more expensive. But in the case of titanium if it made correctly it will last a lifetime.
Titanium is very light but will give you a hard ride, mixing titanium main tubes with carbon forks and back end would be the best for handling and for comfort.
Carbon Fiber Bike Frames
An all carbon frame at the moment seems to be what every one wants.
Although titanium is very nice, carbon fiber frames are more affordable and probably more popular. Some of the nicest bike frames on the market are carbon, most of the big and famous frame builders now make at least one carbon fibre bike frame.
The most famous of these are Giant, Colnago, De Rosa, Look, Trek and Pinarello and there are many, many more, all very beautiful.
Trek carbon frame
Look carbon frame
Pinarello Magnesium frame
(Oscar Pereiro Bike – Tour de France winner)
Colnago carbon frame (Denis Menchov)
Orbea carbon frame
Scott carbon frame (David Millar)
BH All Carbon frame (Alexander Vinokourov)
Ridley carbon frame
(Fred Rodriguez – 3 times U.S. Pro Cycling Champion)
Carbon fiber bike frames can be constructed in three different ways, they can be made in one piece, with the carbon material wrapped in different directions for strength and lightness or tubes can be made more like ordinary alloy or steel frames and then joined directly or with lugs.
All are good and strong and give a comfortable ride and all the strength that you put into pressing on the pedals will go into pushing you forward on the road.
Bike manufacturers, Giant are one of the leaders in carbon fiber frame making, they were the first to build a frame that came in at under 1 kilogram and at an affordable price.
There are many frame builders using carbon fiber and all have different designs as carbon can be moulded or wrapped in many different shapes, not just round profiles.
These can be flat for aerodynamics or square for strength or as with most carbon fiber bike frames a mixture of many shapes for a mixture of strength, comfort, aerodynamics and style and they come in any colour, usually black to show off that beautiful carbon fiber weave.
All the main frame manufacturers make one, some with lugs (Trek, Colnago, Cervelo), some without (Scott, De Rosa, Battaglin) and some monocoque (Giant, Trek).
The monocoque designs can have tubes in any shape, but are a little heavier. Basically buy the best bicycle frame you can afford.
Alloy Bike Frames
Alloy bicycle frames are now most people’s choice combined with carbon forks and in some cases carbon chain and seat stays at the back.
10 Responses to “Bicycle Frames, The Heart Of The Bike”
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I don’t think there’s any danger of the extinction of steel bikes any time soon. Their durability, welding ease (fix your bike if you crash!), ride and price/weight (many chromoly or newer steel composites are as light as aluminum), all contribute to their popularity. This review reads like it was written towards the end of the 1990s when steel was losing ground over fancy new technologies, but in the last 5 years steel continues to be the real thing.Maybe I’m biased b/c I was searching for steel tubing reviews (for my custom bike) when I came across this article.
dont forget the magnesium frames that (if memory serves me correctly) were available for a short period of time in the early 90’s.no end of problems with them from what i can remember.
@Jim Wedeking -as you probably already know, steel is a generic name for all alloys of iron. Chromoly is name for a family of steel alloys that have relatively more molybdenum added. Chromoly steels tend to be strong, so the tubing of the bike can be ma
Carbon Fiber frames are very commonplace nowadays and full bikes with proven racing credentials can be had for under $2K. I’ve tried looking for steel bikes and it would seem the only option is to custom build a bike around an Italian frame. Usually the steel frame itself sells for more than $2k. The cost of the entire bike would end up costing twice that. Steel has become the new exotic and expensive material. Am I missing something?Can you tell me of a manufacturer as reputable as Trek, that produces steel bikes with proven racing geometry for a reasonable price. It doesn’t even have to be lightweight. Thanks
As “Mike said, owning a carbon fiber frame does come down to having the cash to buy it and also the need for it. Your run of the mill cyclist will not need a CF frame at all and I expect the majority of people who do have one don’t really need one either.Light, durable and excellent they may be, but not always the right thing to buy – unless you have more money than sense!
this is so typical…. The tunnel vision of focus on racing. This article started off talking about frames in general, and frame materials. Then they started focussing on a carbon fiber Ferrari of the biking world. Unfortunately this is what gets the free press every year with the Tour de France. Yes if your racing the tour de france then 2-3 minutes difference in performance over the alps is crucial. But if your looking to commute to work, it’s inconsequential. If your trying to accomplish your first century, or taking a bike tour vacation… then comfortable positioning, gearing for your fitness level, and other factors are far more important than a few minutes. If your built like me (or too many of my fellow Americans), the 50 extra pounds i am still carrying (but still losing as I progress) have far more importance than a few ounces that might be shaved on a bike frame. Spend your Ferrari money, I’m doing fine getting around on my ford Taurus of a cycle.If you focus on yourself and not on others than you can always compete against the clock on whatever bike you ride.john
I’m amazed at the dearth of conversation and information on the web about steel frames. While aluminum is cheap and light, it is a ROUGH ride, especially for those of us heavy enough to require very stiff/tough wheels. I think the laid-back geometry of older steel designs is wonderful for folks who like to ride distances but don’t necessarily race, as well as those new to longer-distance road riding. Do you know of any websites/rags that are devoted to steel bikes?
I have 4 bikes, One is Chromoly, one is steel, one is Aluminumn, and one is a mixture of Carbon and Aluminumn. Of all my bikes, the oldest and my favorite is the one made of Chromoly, yet I now ride it least of all because I got used to the index shifting of the newest bike.My friends tell me to go all carbon or titanuum. What happened to Chromoly? It was lighter than steel, and just as light as Aluminum and just as stiff as Titanium. I’m confused about what direction to turn. Bike shops only care about making a sale or is it because I don’t know what to tell them what’s best for me?
Bamboo is the up and coming material of choice. 10 year warranty? No problem. Crash resistance? Better than Carbon. Ride? Smooth and quiet beyond belief. Responsiveness? When selecting the right species and processing the raw material correctly, very responsive. Green? Green.
My current bike is aluminium (a 2001 Klein Quantum) and I’m looking to replace it.
I’m prepared to spend a couple of grand to find a bike as good as my Klein was when I bought it 8yrs ago. If that brings me a lighter, faster more comfortable bike I’ll smile even broader when crunching the miles.
The local bike shop says go carbon, a couple of cyclist I know say go carbon. They say aluminium is harsh/stiff, yet I have never thought my Klein as harsh, before people mentioned it the thought never crossed my mind. And some say wait until you’ve tried carbon and you’ll see the difference.
Not sure it makes much difference but I’m short and lean so while I’m happy to sacrifice frame weight if I can save weight elsewhere. And my bike will be used for the occasional triathlon (1-2 per year).