bought this at a steal acc to the msrp although still ALOT of money for me. im wondering if i made a mistake going aluminum.
Orbea Terra H30 M
Shimano GRX 2X11
by bayawak11
bought this at a steal acc to the msrp although still ALOT of money for me. im wondering if i made a mistake going aluminum.
Orbea Terra H30 M
Shimano GRX 2X11
by bayawak11
6 Comments
there is no one universal opinion on aluminum as a frame material for bicycles.
Same goes for steel, carbon, and titanium.
Aluminum can make for a fantastic riding gravel bike, if the tubing spec is correctly selected for the bikes use case and rider, and if geometry is good for the use case and rider.
Basically, it’s a big dash “who knows? “ because it is specific to each bike and each rider.
I thought sad, it looks really cool. And if it fits, I bet it will be a blast to ride.
Alu is undervalued, due to it being the default material for cheap bikes and people perpetuating the “harsh ride feel”, despite not being relevant for modern frame design and engineering.
Aluminum is perfectly fine. Sure it may be a tiny bit heavier, but go easy on your pre-ride breakfast and take a #2 beforehand and you’ve probably made up the weight difference 😂
One nice thing about alu over carbon IMO is you don’t have to baby it as much. Rock kicks up and smacks the frame really hard? I wouldn’t even stop to check on alu. Tightening your seatpost clamp? Still smart to use a torque wrench but if you’re a little off it’s fine, whereas on carbon you better get it right. Bike falls over onto a rock after leaning it on a tree while you rest? Could be game over on carbon if it hits just right, but alu may get a tiny dent at worst.
A few years ago I had a nice carbon gravel bike, carbon bars, seatpost, wheels, tubeless 44s, loved it.
Then I went to visit my parents and took my dad’s base spec aluminum Norco with tubed 38s out for a spin…damn it if that thing wasn’t just as/more comfortable than mine!
That was definitely an eye opening experience for me. These days I don’t get much time for gravel riding but my road bike and my mountain bike are aluminum and I have no complaints compared to the carbon bikes I’ve owned in the past!
My road bike is a 20 year old Cannondale and it rides really well – bettrr than the steel bike it replaced.
Aluminium is a great material for bike frames, don’t second-guess your decision.
Wide tires and proper tire pressure are doing most of the heavy lifting of compliance for gravel bikes. Great material choice that you don’t have to worry about.