Mountain Bike Frames

Dec 28th, 2009 | By coolbiking | Category: Bike Parts Accessories

By Darren W Chow

A mountain bike’s frame is the core component of the mountain bicycle. It is is attached to all the bike’s parts, such as the seating, suspension system, forks, handlebars, brakes, and tires. The frame comes in various sizes and types, which usually influence its complete performance, as well as the type of riding it best supports.

Mountain biking, as a sport, has increased in appreciation over the past few years, particularly with the upsurge of action sports or ‘extreme sports.’ It in addition has enjoyed the sponsorship of environmentally-concerned people, who use such bikes not only for the sport, but also as a method to travel in the outdoors and in the town.

As more makers compete for shares in the trail cycling market, they are occupied with the constant development of bike technology, including the materials used in building the bikes. Mountain biking technology has increased by jumps and bounds since the pioneers first assembled mountain bicycles, and has resulted in bikes that are very light-weight yet highly durable. Again, striking a balance between these 2 aspects depends heavily on the sort of mountain bicycle riding you would like to do, and on what terrain.

The 1st mountain bikes were made of steel alloys. Carbon steel metal compounds are still utilized in making beginner-level mountain bikes, and some fans still prefer these kinds. The heaviness of these steel alloys is not always a drawback to the rider, as they provide natural shock assimilation ( thanks to the material itself ), and a superb proportion of strength vs weight, only overreached by expensive titanium metal. Also, bike frames made of steel alloy can be simply repaired, even by the rider himself.

Alpha, Columbus, Easton Aluminum, and Reynolds are just some of the bike firms that manufacture aluminum alloy frames. These reasonably-priced frames are designed for light weight and corrosion resistance, making these convenient to maintain. Aluminum is also used as it is highly malleable, and can be turned into frames of different shapes. These are also sturdy, and their raised levels of rigidity highly impact the success of integrated full suspension systems. Aluminum alloy frames are available at low cost since the material is naturally abundant.

Composite materials like Kevlar (the same material used for bulletproof vests) and carbon fiber are the hottest composites used to make trail bicycle frames. These materials are also made use of for other parts of the bike, as they are intensely light-weight and very robust. However bike frames made with Kevlar and carbon fiber are exceedingly difficult to fix when damaged.

Titanium, the best and most costly material for bike frames, offers the light weight of carbon fiber with strength that may surpass that of the toughest steel alloy frames. It’s also the most corrosion-resistant material for bike frames. Expectedly, all these benefits come with an astronomical price ticket.

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By Darren W Chow – For more information please visit Mountain Bike Frame.

Source: Cool Biking Zone – Your source for great cycling, sports and fitness articles!

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