Choosing The Right Bike For You

As summer finally lurches into action, it’s time for fairweather cyclists to peel back off the protective sheets and get their bikes on the roads alongside the hardy commuter on their commuter bike, the off-road adventurer with the mountain bike and every rider in between.

However, if you’re standing on the sidelines watching everyone pedal away, it can be daunting to work out how to join this fun world. There’s no question of the many health benefits of cycling and, when you consider the many practical uses for a bike, it’s easy to see why cycling is a great fitness tip for busy people who may not have time for the gym.

But, how do you choose the right bike for you? Beyond the first consideration – where you will be using the bike – which dictates whether you need a chunkier mountain bike or a lighter, faster road bike, the next big question is what your bike should be made of.

Though modern bikes can be (and often are) made of anything, including wood, the main choices at serious entry level are carbon, aluminium and steel. Each has its strengths and weaknesses and a wide range of price points.

It’s All About Ratios

Decisions in cycle construction are about balancing strength, weight and speed. Simply, the lighter a bike, the easier it is to drive, the faster it is. As bikes get heavier, they’re hardier when you have an accident or push it to the limit, but they’re slower on the road and will cost you more puff to get up to speed.

In this regard, carbon fibre bikes have been the favourite in recent years and the choice for racing bikes as the unbeatable strength-to-weight ratio means carbon bikes are sturdy and light.

And yet that doesn’t mean that carbon is the default go-to. Because of the nature of carbon and how it carries the stresses placed on it, carbon bikes are also the most fragile. Crash on a carbon frame and it’s likely to crack. As such, if you’re likely to be veering off-road, putting your bike through tougher trails than intended or are just a bit of klutzy speedfreak, carbon may be too delicate for you.

From the cost perspective, high quality carbon frames can also get very expensive, leaving you less budget to invest in quality parts, so if it’s important to you to save regularly, especially online, it’s worth checking out a voucher code website, this will certainly be of benefit.

The mighty metals

The next contender, and the leader of the pack before carbon’s recent dominance, is aluminium. Of the metals, aluminium has an excellent strength-to-weight ratio. Though not as good from that perspective as carbon, you can still rely on aluminium road bikes to provide a light but stable build.

So, while carbon maintains the lead for pure speed, aluminium draws even for being easier to repair than carbon; after a prang it will bend or dent, rather than shatter. It also costs lot less to produce, meaning that for the same price as an entry- to mid-level carbon bike, you can pick a top class aluminium frame and still have funds to invest in the rest of the bike. Aluminium is a versatile material used by a wide range of industries. If you’re in need of it for projects or applications by your company, take a look at this site – www.aluminiumwarehouse.co.uk/aluminium.

At this point, it’s worth mentioning that if your pockets are bottomless, titanium bikes provide the strength of metals with the lightweight of carbon. They’re also incredibly durable with the metal being resistant to rust and corrosion that can blight other frames. But a good titanium bike is a very expensive proposition. Due to the price of titanium, many bike manufacturers seem to continue using aluminium. Due to advancements in manufacturing, the option to anodize the aluminium is often used by bike creators trying to keep costs down. By acquiring some commercial anodizing equipment, bike manufacturers can ensure that bikes have improved corrosion resistance and increased wear resistance. This is why many bike companies continue to use aluminium as an alternative to titanium.

The purists

Just as some boat lovers will only accept wooden crafts as the genuine article, for a school of cyclists, the mantra is “steel is real”, referring to steel’s legacy as the classic bike material.

But steel isn’t just a material of the past. While racing bikers will obsess over getting the lightest build, the average commuter is likely to be more concerned about comfort and durability – and this is where steel rules the roost. More resistant than aluminium, steel frame bikes can easily take the knocks and dings of day-to-day riding as well the thumps of more punishing circuits.

Aluminium frames also tend to be stiffer than steel frames, giving a harsher ride on bumpy surfaces – though this can easily be mitigated in aluminium frames with the right tyres.

Where to now?

Though there is no clear winner for material, your requirements for a bike will make the choice much easier.

For an everyday bike you can thrash about it, start with steel. But if you’re at a point where speed matters or you’re interested in racing, invest in aluminium. If you’ve got the budget and want a bike that will last forever, titanium is your expensive tank and, for the ultimate in lightweight speed, carbon is king (just don’t crash).

Will Chivers