Carbon vs. Aluminum - The Great Myth's Exposed

Everyone loves to talk - Carbon is better, no Aluminum is better, Carbon Breaks, no Aluminum Cracks.... you have all heard it at the track. The people with Aluminum bikes saying the kids with the carbon bikes are going to die, and the people with carbon bikes, saying the aluminum bike kids just can't afford carbon so they are jealous.

Some of the stuff i have heard is crazy. Fact of the matter is BOTH materials are great.  Add in some 4130 Cro-mo and you have the trifecta of BMX wonder materials.

If you know your history, we were one of the late comers to the Aluminum Frame game, and when we did finally jump into the Aluminum Frame market, it was not with a straight gauge 6061 T-6 Aluminum that so many had, we were using 6013 and 6063 Hi Ceramic Alloys and custom blends to add in extra strength as we want to only build the best.

Same with Carbon, we were very hesitant to enter the Carbon market due to the shearing issues we had seen in the past, we had a bit of experience with Carbon BMX and we wanted to make sure that we were building the best. And the best doesn't just mean the lightest and fastest, it also has to be the safest.

With this, we still build a very high end Aluminum frame. Our ENVY RS7, and we also build High End Carbon Frames with our ENVY BLK and ENVY BLK 2. All of them are amazing Race Frame Chassis, and will allow you to be your best. And we are always getting asked a ton of questions in the great Carbon vs. Aluminum debate. With that in mind, we came across this article on Pinkbike.com where MTB Designer and Magazine Editor Richard Cunningham explains the Carbon vs. Aluminum Myth in the best detail I have ever heard, and takes it past our usual questions of which is stronger, or which is faster, or which will last longer and goes to the core of mining, recycling, etc...  if you want to learn a bit about the differences, please give this article a read. And if you don't and just want to know which one to buy. Well buy the one you want. And don't worry about what the people at the track will say. Know that either one you buy you are going to enjoy it as it is the one you wanted.

With that said, please read on. It is very Mountain Bike Specific, but the same principals and information apply to BMX as well.