Aluminium or carbon? When it comes to top-class racing bikes, the question seems to be clearly answered: The records for the lightest, stiffest and most comfortable frames are all held by carbon models. In this high-end segment, the black fibre is currently unbeatable, but requires enormous design and manufacturing effort - which is reflected in the sometimes exorbitant prices.
However, carbon frames have long since been pushing their way into the shops across a broad front and in almost all price categories. Can they do everything better than racers with aluminium frames at comparable prices? We want to answer this question by comparing an aluminium and a carbon bike from three manufacturers: The "Road Project Carbon" for 1,300 euros is contrasted with the equally expensive "Road Project SL" from the direct sales company Cycles4U from Mönchengladbach. Mail order company Rose is sending the "Pro Carbon 3000" and "Pro SL 3000" models into the race for €1,650 each and the Hamburg-based specialist retail brand Stevens is putting the carbon model "SCF 2" up against the aluminium racer "Vuelta" for €2,000.
SHORT & SHORT
Complete bikes with competitive carbon framesets are available for as little as €1,300, which are hardly technically inferior to the aluminium frames of equally expensive bikes. However, the potential of carbon as a material is not nearly fully utilised in this price range. Aluminium frames can be equipped with higher-quality components for the same complete bike price and therefore offer a better price-performance ratio.
and therefore offer better value for money.
You can find these models in the PDF download:
Fat Road Project SL aluminium versus
Fat Road Project
CarbonRed Bull Pro SL 3000 Alu versus
Red Bull Pro Carbon 3000
Stevens Vuelta aluminium versus
Stevens SCF 2 Carbon
Downloads:
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