❚ The products mentioned in this article are selected or reviewed independently by our journalists. When you buy through links on our site we may earn an affiliate commission, but this never influences our opinion.
The best aluminium road bikes can rival bikes with carbon frames; aluminium remains a great material for making bicycle frames.
At the entry-level end of the road bike market, aluminium frames are almost ubiquitous. That’s because, generally speaking, aluminium frames combine a desirable stiffness level with low overall weight and relatively cheap production costs.
Bikes such as the Triban RC120 and Vitus Razor Claris prove that a quality road bike can still be had for less than £500 . Bikes such as the Triban RC520 show that road bikes under £1,000 can compete with pricier machines, too, with great specs and features such as disc brakes , which are available on more and more budget bikes.
Spend a little more and the prevalence of aluminium thins out in favour of cheaper carbon fibre bikes.
However, aluminium bikes at this price point – roughly between £1,000 and £2,500 – still regularly offer considerably better value , and sometimes a better ride, than similarly priced carbon models.
Fans of the pro peloton may have seen alloy come and go as the material of choice for the world’s fastest racers, but that doesn’t mean alloy frames have plateaued in terms of development.Spend well into four figures and you’ll get access to the likes of Cannondale’s CAAD13 – a showcase for the latest […]
Continue reading the original article at: www.bikeradar.com