I sold my last bike at the weekend and have been looking wistfully at online bikes shops, eBay, Pinkbike and the classifieds on here. It dawned on me whilst doing so that about 80% of the bikes I’ve owned have been steel with the remainder being aluminium.

I guess I’ve always liked the simple look of a good steel frame. Would love to give carbon or Ti a go at some point. Does anybody else have a preference, be it consciously or subconsciously, for a particular frame material and if so why?

TBH, I don’t see what unique advantages steel has and I’m not overly drawn to thin tubes. Maybe it’s because I’ve not been riding long enough to see a “heritage” value in them.

My current fleet includes aluminium, carbon and Ti (2 of each actually). Each has certain advantages for certain jobs but I do like the look of naked Ti so I’m probably biased towards that for no other reason 🙂

Steel!
I have owned some Ti and Alu framed bikes (still have a nice retro Klein road bike), but the majority of my bikes have been steel.

Currently I own all these steel bikes:
Surly Krampus
Surly Instigator
Dialled Love Hate
DMR Bolt
Genesis Vagabond
Transition Klunker
Indy Fab SS Deluxe (Frame only ATM)

As to why……partly aesthetics, I like the look of the thinner tubes. Partly from an engineering angle, steel is strong, but has an inherent springiness, and it’s easily fixed/welded.
I really don’t like the look of swoopy Carbon frames or hydroformed Alu frames, so mark me down as a Luddite!

Steel. Ti is a bit expensive for me & I’ve never had one anyway.

In my extremely limited experience I’ve had 2 aluminium mountain bikes, 1 hardtail and 1 full suss. I’ve also had 1 steel jump bike and have ridden my brothers steel hardtail trail bike a lot. In terms of my next bike if I could I’d have steel as I really like the aesthetics of the frames like you and I’m curious what they’re like to ride longer term than just a ride or 2, however I like what I’ve tried (friend’s custom steel full suss).

One of the biggest things for me is the noise of the bike when riding and it’s mostly in my head I imagine however steel dulls trail buzz and the noise related to it very nicely, gives me far more confidence and just let’s me enjoy the sounds of the tyres through dirt.

In reality I imagine my next one will be alu as that’s all that will fit into my budget even second hand and they’re very common so great deals to be had. Saying this, a go on a proper production steel full suss is something I’m keen to look into to get some real experience.

I think my next bike will be Titanium. The last bike I built was carbon, the one before that was steel and the one before that was aluminium.

I think if you want a lightweight road bike then carbon is really the only way to go.

Likewise, if you want a hardtail to ride “hard” then there really is no other alternative to steel.

People will tell you differently, but they’re wrong.

Not fussed, really.

Tantalum FTW.

Carbon then Alu.
Carbon can just be made in ways metal can’t. It can give you function and a lot of great properties. Just works for me.

A good bike is a good bike, regardless of material. Currently have 4x Carbon, 2x Alu and 1x Steel, which I guess shows my preference…

Would like to try a Ti one at some point though, just not sure what type of bike would be best for it.

Titanium. Partly because it lends itself to a hardtail feel I like (fairly soft, but damped not springy) and partly because it looks so damn lovely. When i got my Ragley I scotchbrited it to perfection and was pretty delighted with that, then I wiped the frame down with oil and instantly fell in love, I’ve never seen that look on anything else. And yeah, I know it’s bullshit but metal has a je ne sais quoi (*) that araldite can’t match- I have a carbon bike, I will again but I don’t love it. (I love carbon parts though, don’t ask me.)

If I had the money I’d have a custom ti 29er, slack and long and 120mm, and I’d ride the bejeezus out of it.

(* which is french for “I have no giant redwoods”)

Depends on the type of bike.

For a full susser you want the compliance to come from the suspension design and shock. Frame needs to be rigid so ally or carbon

Hardtails, for me, work best in steel and no doubt Ti – but I’ve never owned a Ti bike.

If I had the money I’d have a custom ti 29er, slack and long and 120mm, and I’d ride the bejeezus out of it.

This is what I’d do too.

I prefer steel over alu. Never had ti but not against the idea. Never had carbon either and never will (unless i win the lottery) – too breaky.

Unobtanium.

For me it’s steel.

Currently my offroad ‘fleet’ is made up of a steel fatbike and 2 steel 29er HTs.

Carbonainium

Steel, ti – pretty
Alu – value
Carbon – performance/weight

I’ve got
a steel singlespeed (well 2 if we’re being pedantic)
a new long travel carbon full sus
an older Al full sus
a Ti hardtail

I love them all but each frame material is suited to the bike type.
If I had to choose one material it would be the type of riding first then the material.

Steel, just because I like the look of skinny tubes but transparent alooooominum would be awesome!

Steel for me it gives a bit more than alu and I like thinner tubes

Alu is cheap but pretty harsh tho my plus bike is alu

I’ve had ti but tbh I found it too flexy, this could be my weight or the individual bike but I wasn’t taken by it, looks good and easy to keep looking good tho

Carbon feels great, rides great can look good but I can’t get past that although strong as **** in the right direction that if you hit it in the wrong place it isn’t, yes I’ve seen the hammer video but I still don’t trust it, that and any noise vibrates throughout the frame and is hard to locate

So steel for me, tho clearly if I could get my head around carbon my inner me says carbon lol

My first ‘proper’ MTB was a steel framed Trek 990. I’d had Muddy Fox Courier for years before that but the Trek blew it away. I loved that bike back in the early/mid 90s.

I’ve also owned several Aluminium framed bikes a PACE RC200 and a few Cannondales. When I could afford it I bought a Merlin XLM which I again loved until I traded it in for an Ibis Tranny I bought second hand off here. That blew them all away, I don’t think I’d ever ride anything else than Carbon Fibre now. I just prefer it – the one thing I do miss is the ‘ting’ of stones hitting a metal downtube as you’re riding along.

I like straight tubes, I like aluminium and I like something to have that ‘engineered’ feel. That’s why I chose a Liteville 601
I would like a titanium hardtail at some point too though.

Not fussed what it’s made of and not particulalry bothered about how it looks as long as it’s not gopping

If it does what I want and keeps doing it, that’s fine by me

I seem to favour steel, but more for aesthetics I suppose, and the geometry and features I want/like has been available in steel frames.

On my third Cotic Soul now, had a mk2, then got a mk3 as I thought I’d keep it forever and it was dropper and tapered steerer compatible. Then got a cheap 26″ full sus frame so the Soul went. A Solaris arrived to replace my Scandal, and now the Solaris has gone along with the 29er bits to make way for a 650b Soul. Built up as a trail/xc machine it’s 26.5lb with pedals and bottle cage, 2.3″ front tyre, 1800g wheelset. So not heavy.

I just buy frames I like the look of that meet my intended use. Not fussed by the looks of most aluminium frames, besides the bird zero tr in grey.

Steel as Ali is to harsh, no feed back from trail etc…

Carbon or aluminium for me.

Carbon is in terms of use better – lighter, can be made to ride how the designer wants, looks better for longer, repairable in case of damage. Given a like for like choice I’d always go carbon.

But it costs a lot more and isn’t 100% recyclable. And it’s grim to work with on an industrial scale.

Carbon for road bikes.
Aluminium or steel for FS MTBs.
Steel or carbon for HTs.

different frame materials for different needs

I own all 4 of the common ones – they all do completely different jobs

ALUMINIUM
Advantages….
Lightweight, stiff, cheap-ish, corrosion resistant-ish

Disadvantages….
Impact resistance and fatigue life good but not the best – especially if made super lightweight with thin walled tubes
Not so easy to repair
Not as shiny as Titanium

Good for….
Full suspension mountain bikes where stiffness is important and weight should be low but not silly low
I have a Liteville 301 and a Geometron

CARBON
Advantages….
Very Lightweight, stiff, corrosion resistant

Disadvantages….
Expensive, Impact resistance not great, Longevity not great, Not so easy to repair, Not as shiny as Titanium

Good for….
Road bikes, Lightweight Race MTBs
I have a carbon road bike

STEEL
Advantages….
Cheap, excellent fatigue life, Excellent impact resistance, forgiving ride, can be repaired easily, can be left outside the pub or a tent without getting stolen

Disadvantages…
Heavy (unless using exotic alloys in which case you might as well buy Carbon, aluminum or titanium for similar money)
rusts if not painted
Not as Shiny as titanium

Good for…
Agro hardtails
Bikepacking bikes
pub bikes
I have an Inbred

TITANIUM
Advantages….
Lightweight, completely corrosion resistant, excellent fatigue life, good impact resistance, forgiving ride, looks amazing, excellent longevity, don’t need to paint (I hate paint – it makes bikes look old very quickly), SHINY!!!!

Disadvantages….
Super expensive, too flexy for multi-pivot bikes, not as light as Carbon, Not quite as light as a thin tubed aluminum frame (but much stronger)

Good for…
Posh hardtails
I have a Cotic Soda

I’ve never had carbon or Ti and only ever had Alu full suss bikes.

But i’ve had Steel and Alu HT’s and of the ones I’ve had, I prefer steel. Might be in my head but they just felt nicer to ride.

I’m thinking of replacing my London Road with a similar carbon bike though.

Thing is, none of the materials really colour within the lines- titanium can be stiff depending on the tubes, alu can be pretty soft and steel isn’t always springy (try a mk1 Scandal and an old Inbred, if you didn’t know which was which you’d think the Bred was the “dead alu” and the Scandal was the “lovely flexy steel”). Or a BFe and a Soul. My Ragley Ti and Soda rode totally differently. And for that matter, alu isn’t necessarily light- IIRC a Chameleon weighs about the same as a Soul.

They do tend to lean a bit towards the stereotypes, if only for marketing reasons- people expect alu to be stiff frinstance. Carbon’s the real mocker because it can be basicaly anything it wants to be- which isn’t totally helpful as a punter.

But in the end it seems like most folks, if you tell them a frame rides a certain way, will believe it anyway- hence everyone on a lumpen old 6lb 456 or P7 or BFe or Sov who thinks it’s Lively Real Steel

Interesting mix of preferred material. I must admit to being (possibly too) easily swayed by looks, hence my love of steel hardtails. I’m currently looking for a reasonably priced bike to use for everything. My eyes keep getting drawn towards Croix de fer, Vagabond, Karate Monkey and the Stooge. Even though not all of them would really suit what I need.

Must. Try. Look. At. Other. Materials 😀

Obviously depends on the design but on a hardtail once you go Ti it’s hard to go back to anything else. Current Stanton Ti has taken a lot of abuse, XC, DH runs, a couple of very heavy 50/50 landings and one drop that went waaay past the landing and gave me whiplash (oops) but it’s still fine. A steel frame would be fine too, but it would weigh nearly twice as much.