Bob Jogging Strollers

You will find the cost of a mountain bike frame to be in direct proportion to the a) material used in the construction and the b) treatment that material has received. As you begin your research for a mountain bike frame you will soon learn there are five types of materials used in the construction – a) high tensile steel, b) chromoly steel, c) aluminum, d) titanium, and e) carbon fiber. In addition, tubing material treatments adding to the increased cost of a frame are a) oversized diameters, b) heat treating, and c) butting.

Lower priced mountain bikes frames are usually constructed with a very durable alloy known as high tensile steel. High tensile steel has a large carbon content so it is less stiff than chromoly steel. Because of this, additional material is necessary to ensure that this frame is stiff enough to be used in bicycle frames. As you can guess, this process makes the bicycle relatively heavy.

High tensile steel is relatively inexpensive to produce. This material can be found in city bikes, trail bikes, and in the less expensive beginner mountain bikes. Some bikes are manufactured with a chromoly seat tube with the rest of the bike being made with high tensile steel.

Next on the list of mountain bike framing materials is chromoly (short for steel alloy ). Chromoly is better defined by the major additives it contains – chromium and molybdenum. This framing material is probably one of the most refined and can more than 100 years of reliable service.

Depending on the type of heat treating and butting, you can find this material in bikes as low as 400 dollars all the way up to 1,500 and beyond. The chromoly steel material offers very good durability and a compliant ride characteristic.

Over the last fifteen years, aluminum continues to be refined essentially in a similar way as has been chromoly. There have been numerous alloys produced along with oversizing, heat treatment, and butting. Used on dual suspension bikes, aluminum is the desired material being the stiffest and most cost effective.

Because of aluminum being stiffer than chromoly, it will tend to crack before chromoly will. This depends of course on your riding style and how much abuse you subject your frame to. One of the major advantages to the use of aluminum in mountain bike frames is that the frame is very light and stiff with oversizing and butting.

Even though titanium is somewhat exotic, the prices for this material have come down over the last few years. Frames made of titanium remain expensive because it takes longer to weld the tubes to the frame.

Being an alloy, small amounts of aluminum and vandium are most commonly mixed with titanium giving it improved weldability along with enhanced ride characteristics. Titanium is more compliant than chromoly and offers improved fatigue and corrosion resistant attributes.

The material you select for use on your bike, all is determined by where you ride and what style you employ in your riding. Just about all materials will last you for years, provided you care for your bike and treat the frame with a bit of respect.

Mountain biking is a great sport and will take you places you’ve never been to before. Now make sure you return to where you started with a GPS Garmin Watch. The Garmin GPS Watch such as the Garmin Forerunner Watch is going to make sure you don’t get swallowed up by the wilderness you set out to conquer.

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