As the heart and soul of the bike, it’s important to take the time to consider your material options before deciding which best caters for your needs. To some extent this may be influenced by your budget, with steel and aluminium alloy frames typically more affordable than carbon and titanium. Nowadays, even an entry level road bike is likely to come with a carbon-bladed fork – not only will it be lighter, but it’ll be more comfortable too. If you’re spending more than around £600, make sure your new machine is equipped with one.

A well-made steel frame should last a lifetime with a little TLC. Although there may be a trade off in weight compared to the other materials what you should get is a comfortable ride that’s more forgiving on bumpier roads.

There’s no shortage of choice when it comes to aluminium alloy frame options with manufacturers offering lighter weight at an affordable price. Typically the ride is slightly harsher compared to say steel or titanium, but if you’re on a budget and looking for a high level of performance then aluminium alloy frames are worthy of consideration.

Titanium always garners a lot of attention with its beautifully clean and desirable, yet understated, look. It won’t corrode like conventional steels (stainless steel, however, is as resilient as the name suggests, but very expensive), fatigue over time like alloy, or potentially crack on impact like carbon. The only downside here is it’s an expensive job to hand cut and weld a frame from titanium so expect frame prices to be higher.

Carbon fibre is a composite made using epoxy resin and carbon fibres. Look in any bike shop and you’ll soon realise that it’s very popular as a material for its incredible strength to weight ratio. The fact that it’s easy to manipulate means a frame can be designed to be stiff exactly where it needs to be for maximum efficiency, and compliant in other areas for comfort. Just note that not all carbon fibre is equal. Much as with aluminium, steel, and titanium, carbon fibre comes in different grades. and different manufacturing processes will yield different results.