frame materials part 3: Aluminum is it all its cracked up to be

Aluminum is a fickle material, in its basic form it has about half the tensil strength of 4130 steel and about half the weight. As already mentioned in the steel discussion this means that the strength to weight ratio of aluminum and steel is about the same, so aluminum is not always going to be lighter. But as mentioned in its "basic" form, we can use different materials mixed into the tubing to give different properties, now we can get the frame fairly lighter then steel, at least the basic steel frames. So what does this mean, well to me it means that when looking at a complete bike often in the sub 2000.00 price range aluminum can give us a fairly nice riding bike that is often lighter then the other materials. Things like hydroforming has opened the doors to shaping the materials, and some tuning of the frame for ride quality. Although not to the extent of the other materials when we start spending more money.
Aluminum back in the 80's looked like a steel frame, thinner tubes and they rode like noodles. Then in the 90's we went to beer can tubing, extra big and extra thin. Now we are in the middle, with some shaping thrown into the mix. So when someone tells you that aluminum rides stiff and harsh, remember it is not the material but what you do with it.
In my opinion aluminum is hard to beat for a road bike under 2000.00 and still dominates mtb frames across the board from the big companies. But if your throwing down some serious money steel, carbon and ti often are the materials of choice...
So is it all cracked up. Well the cracking problems that seemed to pop up in the 90's are gone like the 90's. We have refined the material and refined the production process, you still have to get the right frame for the right purpose but assuming you do it will last.
Next time lets talk about the space age material from" planet marketing department" titanium