Carbon Vs Aluminium Bikes - What's The Difference?

Many of us face a decision when buying a new bike – to go for a carbon frame or aluminium? We compare two bikes to find out what the differences really are! We've taken two Trek Emondas, a carbon framed SL6 and an aluminium ALR6. Both have identical specifications, so can we tell the difference?

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[efive]

I've logged in more hours watching cycling videos than riding my bike.

[AdamWarrix]

This test isn't an apples for apples test. Obviously the carbon bike was faster. It is yellow. Science has proven that yellow bikes are always faster, followed by black.

[TimothyFish]

For most of us, carbon is a status symbol rather than a need.

[Biblicalgiants]

My mom won't buy me the carbon graphite Trek road bike that I want. It's only like $7599 and she won't buy it. Damn it.

[petertklee]

A blind test amongst the GCN presenters would have been awesome here. Dan said he didn't feel a difference. Simon said he did feel a minor difference. It would be interesting to see if the presenters could tell the difference if given two bikes and asked to pick out the carbon one (without doing the tap test of course).

[farmboyjad]

A good thing to keep in mind if you're on the fence:

Carbon's biggest advantage is that it's easier from an engineering perspective to manipulate to get the performance characteristics you want, which is why the bike industry has embraced it. But the skill of the engineer and the quality of the manufacturer still make a bigger difference. A well designed alu bike will beat a bad carbon bike every time.

Bottom line: test different brands and styles, find what you like, be open to suggestion from your local bike shop (work with a local bike shop), but ultimately trust your gut. What matters is that the bike does what you want; the rest is only important if you want it to be.

[rileyvonbevern]

When I made the switch over from aluminium to carbon I felt so much smoother on my new bike, not sure how much faster but it has definitely been a lot more comfortable and forgiving on the roads

[vicwiseman]

I think another very important factor is frame size. As someone who generally rides XL or XXL bikes, it’s a much bigger deal. Most manufacturers don’t beef up or thicken the aluminum tubing for larger frames so a smaller frame is actually stronger than its larger brother. This means that the differences are bigger when you compare larger sized frames. I say this as someone who has recently cracked his aluminum XL MTB frame without crashing. Yes, that’s right, the top tube cracked at 1k miles and less than 2 years of use on my 2019 Marin bike.

[creativecharacters]

I forgot which one was carbon half way through and then when they weighed it My memory was refreshed. All along I was looking at the black going " oh yeh that carbon looks so much more composed and smooth" PLACEBO much.

[honestmcgyver]

£700 for 250g, save the dosh and skip a couple of burgers 😀

[kappakumplete]

Budget was a factor for me so I chose aluminum with better components. I have weight to lose anyway so it would have been silly for me to spend extra money for such a small difference.

[Damakke]

For a newbie like me, i buy the aluminium bike and invest the rest of the money in shorts, shoes, a helmet, drinking bottle, socks. I don't think i have an advantage on a carbon bike.

[Drzhounder]

I hav the 2016 Cannondale Synapse 105 Disc in aluminum alloy. I adore it. The frame is responsive, it is lightweight by my standards as I am not about those 25 seconds, I am about how far I can go comfortably. As I like to say, "Miles not Metals". I will never be a racer, I will never be as skilled as Peter Sagan (or even his left pinky), but I know that I enjoy the hell out of riding my bike. I did 60.5 miles (97k) today and I am as fresh as a flower. The price difference allowed me to setup the right pedals, the right saddle, lights and safety equipment (saddle bag) and buy my wife some nice dinners.

If I were to changed anything about my bike it would be to upgrade the groupset, not change the frame.

[vex-nh]

How does aloominiyum compare with the aloominum bikes we have here in the states?

[kfk]

love how you do the dialogues from the back of a moving bike...nice work !

[lukesimonpfiallday]

I had this exact decision to make when I got my bike. In the end I went for an canyon ultimate Al which meant I could get the higher level groupset and upgraded handlebars for the same price as the lower groupset with carbon frame. I've also had a small fall since then and who's to say my carbon frame would of survived?

[Broodjemetbeleg]

I would get the Aluminium bike and spend the 700/800 on a powermeter.

[xGshikamaru]

That’s one of the best videos ever from you ! Some time ago I was considering getting a TT frame from Cyfac. The difference in price between carbon and aluminium is quite significant but I’m now convinced that it’s not worth it. I’m still on the fence about getting that bike because I feel for the most part it’s down to my legs more than the frame itself. For now I’ll probably get satisfied with just clip-on aerobars, but it’s nice to get good information about what you really get out of a frame material. Cheers guys, keep up with the great content !

[sross]

One of the better GCN videos! Great effort in holding the variables constant.

[indonesiaamerica]

A medium to high end aluminum frame-set is better and often cheaper than a low-end CF frameset. It's more a question of best value for how much you spend. There's no universal answer.

Also, the video mentions that tires, saddle and so forth make the most difference and that is dead on. In terms of "feel" between aluminum and CF it's more subjective. It might resonate differently and you might have positive or negative reactions do those differences but that is just navel-gazing.

Get the best frame that you can afford based on stiffness, fit and weight. And then build it up and tune it by changing tires, saddle, and maybe seatpost and handlebars if you still feel you need to tweak it. The "factually faster" frame is probably bullshit because testing methods to answer such questions are not repeatable for human-driven machines.