FRAME BUYERS' GUIDE 2008

Welcome to our Frame Buyers' Guide 2008. Here you will find every road bike frame listed in order of UK retail price.

A quick scan of this year?s Frame Buyers? Guide reveals that, from aluminium alloy to carbon monocoque, off-the-peg to custom-made, the range and choice of frames has never been better.

With 537 frames entered in this year?s Cycling Weekly Frame Buyers? Guide, the list has grown by nearly 25 per cent compared to last year ? or to put it another way your choice of frames has never been better.

A quick scan of the listings reveals that carbon frames are still growing in terms of market share, but steel and titanium frames are making a comeback, too, thanks in part to the innovation of Sunday Bicycles and Litespeed, and the wider availability of the new stainless steel Reynolds 953 tubeset.

With the increase in specialised fitting systems that many shops now offer, more customers are realising that they can do better than a standard off-the-peg machine, and small-volume

manufacturers have found a new outlet for their custom-made frames ? all of which is great news, as you don?t have to buy your new bike off-the-peg and make it fit.

Details given are: UK retail price, make, model, frame material, fork material (if applicable) and the sizes in which the frame is available. We've also given you a handy list of contacts at the end.

You can find a comprehensive listing of complete bikes in our Bike Buyers' Guide 2008>>

Aluminium

Aluminium alloy frames all but killed off steel to take over as the frame material of choice, and now carbon is steadily doing the same thing for aluminium.

Thanks to aluminium?s ease of construction, particularly when mass produced, it allowed frames to be made very cheaply, and significantly lighter than comparable steel frames of the time. There is still nothing like the feel of a good quality scandium aluminium frame, though, so in the long term it?ll always have a place in the market.

Aluminium dominates the lower portion of our listing with very few offered above £1,000.

6000 and 7005 series aluminium alloys are the most commonly used versions in bike manufacture, but you?ll also find a number of manufacturers still use aluminium alloys that contain scandium and are commonly referred to simply as scandium. These come at a high price but should offer superior ride qualities.

Carbon-fibre

Carbon bikes started off being the most expensive on the market. But over the years prices have come down substantially, and you can now get a carbon frame for as little as £450 from Surosa. Due to the multilayer nature of carbon tubes, the frames can be engineered to have just about any desired property ? stiff in one plane and flexible in another.

As well as the layers that form the tube, the shape can be designed to offer better flexibility for comfort, aerodynamics or manipulated for specific strength. There still isn?t one classification for carbon-fibre in the cycling trade, but be aware that higher modulus, ?stronger? fibres are also more brittle and therefore not always the best ? it?s all about the engineering design.

Toray is arguably the largest carbon manufacturer for bicycles, offering different versions depending on the specific application. 12k, 3k and 1k refer to the weave of the cosmetic outer layer of carbon ? the smaller the number; the closer and more stylish the weave.

Steel

If there was ever a TV advert for steel-tubed bike frames it?d have to go something along the lines of ?the original and still the best?.

Certainly steel is an excellent material for building bike frames: it?s relatively easy to work with, requires little in the way of specific tools and, if done well, makes for a frame that rides brilliantly. The ?old faithful? chromoly steel, has had to make way for the latest 953 stainless steel tubes which have invigorated the market for steel. Expect to pay

anywhere from £149 for a basic steel frame, up to you-name-it for the option of a custom handmade frame here in the UK.

These days steel is best suited to frames where weight is a lower priority, but longevity and a classic look is just what the doctor ordered.

Reynolds is by far the most popular steel manufacturer, and many will remember the 531 as a classic steel tubeset. However, there are others making some great tubes. Reynolds 953 is the latest steel to gain popularity, as it?s classed as stainless yet is stronger and lighter than any other version, but it comes at a price.

Titanium

Along with steel, titanium is coming off the back of a few hard years, but it is gaining in popularity once again. Definitely a material for the long term, titanium is incredibly tough and resilient and yet improves with age as it ?work hardens?. Much like steel, titanium frames have a classic, narrow-gauge look that matches most people?s belief of what a bike ?should? look like. Litespeed and Sunday Bicycles are the current leaders of the ?Ti? market and are pushing the boundaries of what?s possible.

In general titanium frames have a more supple or springy ? and therefore comfortable ? feel than steel or aluminium. All these benefits don?t come cheap, however, as the cheapest frame will cost you £650 and you could spend over £3,000.

Titanium containing three per cent aluminium and 2.5 per cent vanadium, is referred to as 3AL/2.5V and is certainly the most common version used. Also look out for 6AL/4V, a tougher version that?s more expensive because it?s harder to work with.

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