You will find the cost of a mountain bike frame to be in direct proportion to the a) material used in the construction and the b) treatment that material has received. As you begin your research for a mountain bike frame you will soon learn there are five types of materials used in the construction – a) high tensile steel, b) chromoly steel, c) aluminum, d) titanium, and e) carbon fiber. In addition, tubing material treatments adding to the increased cost of a frame are a) oversized diameters, b) heat treating, and c) butting.

Lower priced mountain bikes frames are usually constructed with a very durable alloy known as high tensile steel. High tensile steel has a large carbon content so it is less stiff than chromoly steel. Because of this, additional material is necessary to ensure that this frame is stiff enough to be used in bicycle frames. As you can guess, this process makes the bicycle relatively heavy.

Relatively inexpensive to produce, you’ll find high tensile steel in trail bikes, city bikes, and even entry level mountain bikes. There are some bikes that come with a chromoly seat tube, while the rest is high tensile steel.

Short for steel alloy, chromoly (chromoly steel) is best described by its major additives – chromium and molybdenum. This is probably the most refined framing material, giving over 100 years of dependable service.

Dependent upon the kind of heat treating and butting, you may see this material contained in bikes from as little as $400 dollars on up through and beyond $1500. The chromoly steel used in the manufacture provides excellent durability and a compliant ride characteristic.

For the past 15 years, aluminum has been refined in pretty much the same way as chromoly. There have been various alloys developed, as well as heat treatment, oversizing, and butting. With dual suspension bikes, aluminum is the preferred material as it’s the stiffest and most cost effective.

Aluminum is stiffer than chromoly, and therefore it will crack before chromoly. Of course, this depends on how you ride and how much abuse you give the frame. The advantages of aluminum is that the frame is very light and very stiff through oversizing or butting.

Even though titanium is somewhat exotic, the prices for this material have come down over the last few years. Frames made of titanium remain expensive because it takes longer to weld the tubes to the frame.

Small amounts of aluminum and vandium are normally mixed with titanium making it an alloy and improving its weldability and ride characteristics. Providing enhanced fatigue and corrosion properties, titanium is more compliant than is chromoly.

Regardless of the frame material you choose for your new mountain bike, a big factor determining its life and longevity is where you ride and your riding style. If you take care of your mountain bike and treat the frame with respect, most frame materials will last for years.

Mountain biking is a wonderful sport and will take you places you’ve never been to before. Now make sure you return to where you started with a GPS Garmin Watch. The Garmin GPS Watch such as the Garmin Forerunner Watch is going to make sure you don’t get swallowed up by the wilderness you set out to conquer.