Need to know

We take you through the pros and cons of metal, and carbon, race-bike frames

Ever since Lance Armstrong won the 1999 Tour de France on a Trek 5500 OCLV, carbon fibre has been the go-to material for performance frames. It can be shaped to precise requirements, balancing stiffness, comfort and aerodynamic performance. Carbon frames are expensive, though, and can be more susceptible to crash damage than other materials. In fact, each has its pros and cons… 01 Aluminium frames Pure aluminium would be too soft to use as a frame, so it’s mixed with other elements. In fact, all metal bike frames are made of alloys for similar reasons. Steel is an alloy of iron, and titanium is alloyed with aluminium and vanadium. Numbers such as 6061 and 7005 are a code for the additives mixed with the aluminium to form each alloy. Tubes…

You're reading a preview of

Cycling Plus (Digital) - 1 Issue, December 2024

DiscountMags is a licensed distributor (not a publisher) of the above content and Publication through Zinio LLC. Accordingly, we have no editorial control over the Publications. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including those made in Publications offered on our website, are those of the respective author(s) or publisher(s) and not of DiscountMags. DiscountMags does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness, or usefulness of all or any portion of any publication or any services or offers made by third parties, nor will we be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in any Publication, or your use of services offered, or your acceptance of any offers made through the Service or the Publications. For content removal requests, please contact Zinio.