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Frame Materials
The frame is the core of your new road bike & it's where the majority of the cost goes. Frames are made from a range of materials, the most common being aluminium, carbon fibre, steel, & titanium. Broadly, frames made from a particular material will have many common characteristics, though what the designer does w/ the material is as important as the material itself.
Aluminium is the most common material for less costly road bikes. It's inexpensive, & a very good material to make bikes from because it builds light, stiff frames. The most recent aluminium frames boast some advanced features & design touches.
Aluminium frames should use butted tubes. These have a varying wall thickness, w/ the ends thicker than the middle to deal w/ the greater stress @ the joints. Butted tubes are lighter too, & can offer more comfort. Frames w/ stickers indicating the use of tubing from top-tier manufacturers Columbus, Dedaccicai, or Easton command a premium.
Steel was the dominant road bike frame till the 1980s & is still a lovely material manipulated by the hands of a good designer. It's heavier than aluminium but can be wonderfully comfortable.
The most recent ultra-high-strength stainless steel tubes from Columbus & Reynolds demonstrate the material's suitability for lightweight bikes but they don't come cheap.
Titanium was once the most exotic of them all. A titanium frame can be as durable as steel & as light as aluminium, making it a wonderful material for bikes. It's corrosion-resistance adds to its goodness.
However, titanium is difficult to work w/ & this means that it has always been a more costly option. It's slightly less costly now than when it was the sexy new material back in the 1990s, but it's still not exactly uncostly.
Carbon fibre is the now the most coveted road bike frame material. Once an ultra-costly choice, bikes w/ carbon fibre frames are less so.
