What frame material suits your riding?

With more and more people getting into cycling or discovering the freedom and benefits cycling gives you we have been asked the question a lot of “what frame material would suit me?” or “what’s the difference between each frame material?”

Well in this guide we are going to explain the difference between each frame material, which one suits different riding styles and the pro/cons of each frame material.

Aluminium

First of all we are going to look at Aluminium. Aluminium has been used to build bike frames for decades now with some of the most successful and iconic bikes being made out of aluminium. With frames evolving throughout the years aluminium hasn’t stood still with the progressively lighter and more adaptable frames. This includes invisible welds, hydroformed tube shapes and lighter aluminium used in construction.

Aluminium often has been associated to entry level bikes but in recent years people have seen the huge benefits that aluminium has to offer especially with bike packing, rougher gravel routes and bikes becoming more versatile. So now aluminium has become more about what riding you are taking part in rather than just an entry level bike that you start with. We would recommend an aluminium bike on the below riding styles

Pros and Cons

Aluminium Bikes We Would Recommend

Trek Domane AL 3 Disc – Click Here To See The Bike

Cannondale Topstone 2 – Click Here To See The Bike

Trek Emonda ALR 4 Disc – Click Here To See The Bike

Carbon Fibre

Next up is Carbon Fibre. Carbon Fibre has seen an astronomical surge in popularity over the last 20 years. With frames evolving and companies using lighter and more advanced carbon fibre lay ups, this has been, and still is one of the most advanced side on recent bike development. Carbon Fibre has been used from the lightest weight climbing bikes around to the most aerodynamic bikes the world has seen. With the hugely adaptable properties of Carbon Fibre it gives the design teams at places like Trek and Cervelo free reign to design what is ultimately the most beautiful and fast road bikes available to buy.

Carbon Fibre bikes have often been associated with high end and costing many thousands of pounds, which is in part, true, but you can now get Carbon Fibre bikes for a reasonable price point. Carbon Fibre has always been more about the ride feel and lighter weight, rather than anything else. The huge reason why carbon fibre has been such a huge game changer in cycling is that you can build a stiffer more compliant frame which in turn is more comfortable and you can go faster through the stiffer frames, whilst being lighter to go up hills and mountains. We would recommend an Carbon Fibre bike on the below riding styles.

Pros and Cons

Carbon Fibre Bikes We Would Recommend

Trek Madone SLR 7 – Click Here To See The Bike

Trek Checkpoint SL 5 – Click Here To See The Bike

Cervelo Caledonia – Click Here To See The Bike

Titanium

Titanium well what more can you say. Titanium bikes have been around for 40 plus years, slowly evolving and developing into a stunning machine to ride but also to look at. With different frame types for different disciplines such as Gravel, road and MTB you can truly get whatever you want from a Titanium bike. Yeah the phrase N+1 within the cycling world (which means you can never have too many bikes) can be scraped with a Titanium bike. Titanium is such a robust and durable material that all J.Guillem frames come with a 100 year warranty, so that’s more than a lifetime?!.

Titanium has often been branded as heavy and slow but with new modern technology it is nothing of the sort with lightweight frames and sleek designs. Thanks to Hyroformed technology frames don’t have to be tubular in shape anymore. Titanium is such a versatile material you can go bike packing not have to worry about how much you are taking all the way to the other end of the spectrum where it gives you unparalleled comfort across rough roads and tracks. We would recommend an titanium bike on the below riding styles.

Pros and Cons

Super Comfortable
Versatile
Strong
Stylish
Bike for Life
Polish out marks/scratches
Great power transfer

Titanium Bikes We Would Recommend

J.Guillem Major – Click Here To See The Bike

J.Guillem Orient – Click Here To See The Bike

J.Guillem Formentor – Click Here To See The Bike

Steel

Steel is real. Steel bikes have been around longer than anyone could have imagined but even with recent innovation and constant improvements steel bikes still have there place within the cycling world. With so many frame variations throughout the years there isn’t much steel hasn’t done but with different frame materials like the ones above. Steel has settled into a market of gravel bikes and touring bikes for those people who aren’t fussed on weight and just want a reliable all purpose bike.

With steel settling into the gravel/bike packing/commuting market it has given the bike manufactures who produce steel bikes more focus in making those frames as versatile and the best they can possibly be. This includes having multiple mounting points for racks, mudguards and frame bags as well as huge tyre clearance and wide ratio gearing for any terrain you face. We would recommend a steel bike on the below riding styles.

Pros and Cons

Steel Bikes We Would Recommend

Genesis Croix De Fer – Click Here To See The Bike

Trek 520 Disc – Click Here To See The Bike

Genesis Croix De Fer 10 – Click Here To See The Bike