Aluminium vs Carbon

t0mm

So apart from the weight saving, what are the advantages of carbon over aluminium? I know that aluminium is suppossed to have a "harsher" ride, but is the difference significant? Is it really just a slight comfort difference or is carbon far superior to alu? The reason I am asking is this:

Focus Cayo 105

vs

Focus Variado Expert Triple

I know the Cayo has a slightly better spec but at a £230 higher cost and only 700 grammes lighter. Is a carbon frame worth £230/25% extra?

Thanks

DirkVoodoo

In simple terms, yes, it is worth it. It;s just not about weight. Carbon is much stiffer and there is less lateral flex in the frame so more of your leg power goes directly into spinning the rear wheel.

Lumen

It's always tricky comparing products at different price points.

Perhaps better to consider your budget, then look at what you can get for the money. This may involve (say) used carbon vs new aluminium, or alu/Ultegra vs carbon/105.

If your budget is flexible, buy the most expensive one.

niceonetom

Having made the move from a half-decent alu frame to a half-decent carbon frame (cube to planet-x) I certainly think it's worth the money.

If they were exactly the same weight I'd still say it's worth the money. Comfort. Ireland's crappy road surfaces create a lot of high frequency vibration, and it's just that little bit more tolerable on a carbon bike.

edit:
caveat - there are comfy alu bikes (right?) and bone-shaker carbon bikes, and having not ridden either of the bikes you've linked to, OP, I can't really vouch for either. There are a lot of Focuses (Foci?) on boards though...

blorg

Yes, there is a phenomenal difference and it is worth the money. I would say the main benefit of carbon is the comfort, not the lightness. You can actually make an aluminium bike pretty light ("scandium").

I have ridden the same brand, same size, same geometry bike in both materials (Trek.) The carbon bike is unbelievably more comfortable. The weight difference you would not actually notice as much.

tunney

I have a carbon bike (top end) and a alu bike (again top end). Only difference between them is price. Alu is cheaper.

Both are great rides.

Moral of the story is a top end frame from a top end manufacturer will be a good ride. Cheap bikes, too good to be true deals, will ride badly regardless of the material.

Deisetrek

I have an Aluminium frame Trek , I love it , was given a loan over a weekend of a carbon framed Trek by a friend ( bike was worth approx 4 times as much as my own, 2500 euro ) . Honestly , have to say , whether it was just the roads around my area but I found the carbon frame a bit of a boneshaker . Wouldn't swop my Alu framed Trek for the carbon one in a million years .
Sometimes I wonder is there a little bit of gimmickery attached to the whole cycling scene , I know a few people who have what I term " trophy bikes" , carbon frames , carbon bottle cages etc , but the bike never sees the outside of the garage from one end of the week to the other ...nice to LOOK at though .............agree with tunney, if you have a good manufacturer the likelihood is that their aluminium frame will be top end and far cheaper :P

ednwireland

theres an aluminum version of the cayo the curado ? its lighter than the carbon version (sorry on pda can't look it up easily) its got ultegra and cheaper than the 105 carbon. I want the carbon yes I have been suckered by the marketing