Hi !
If you've landed on this page, it's probably because you came across our video on YouTube.
This second episode, very spontaneous, was incredibly long and a bit disjointed.
So I thought that doing a little recap couldn't hurt to try and clarify things a bit.
Again, the idea isn't to lecture or point fingers. We don't claim to hold the absolute truth. We're simply sharing ours (and some scientific data too, of course).
This article is a natural extension of what we have been advocating from the beginning:
Understand what we're driving, not what we're being told.
We are not trying to say that one material is better than another, nor to glorify what we do.
The goal is to bring some common sense back into the discussion with facts, figures, technical information, and also a bit of feeling.
Because in this world where everything becomes a selling point, we've somewhat forgotten that matter isn't just a density value or an elasticity modulus. It's also and above all what we feel on the road, in our hands, our back, and our legs.
And when we talk about titanium, carbon, steel or aluminum, there are many misconceptions and many myths.
So, we're going to review them calmly, honestly, and without targeting anyone (or almost anyone).
We're going to talk about titanium, which we respect, but which isn't all that magical.
Carbon, whose properties are recognized, but which is not indispensable everywhere.
Steel that we cherish, but sometimes idealize.
And of course, aluminum, our material of choice, the one we defend because we know it, because we master it, and because we know what it brings.
In short: there's room for discussion. (Hehehe)
Titanium
Right behind Adamantium on the list of cool materials
It's the material that makes us dream, the one that we see as the ultimate metal, the Holy Grail of the bikepacker.
It's probably the most fantasized-about material in the cycling world to date.
It is spoken of as a noble, eternal, almost mystical material.
And it's true: a titanium bike is visually stunning.
There is something timeless, something pure in a raw, unpainted setting.
The fact that it doesn't rust, the "This frame will outlive me, etc." aspect.
Titanium has some very interesting properties.
It is significantly lighter than steel of equivalent strength.
It is very resistant to corrosion.
It is also biocompatible and has a very high melting point.
You can do what you want with your bike but, in theory, these last two properties do not matter in the context of standard use.
But we're not judging, are we!
Titanium is rare and is extracted exclusively by hand in the sacred mines of Karakalpakstan, deep within Uzbekistan. Production only takes place on nights of the full moon, when Mars goes retrograde relative to Venus and Mercury opens its metallurgical chakra. The miners, wearing cloaks to ward off negative energies, wait for the constellation Cygnus to form a perfect 42-degree angle with the star Dubhe, which harmonizes the atomic vibrations of the titanate.
According to tradition, if Saturn is in a challenging aspect that night, the ore becomes "emotionally unstable," requiring the ritual to be repeated the following month. The best batches are extracted only in years when Jupiter aligns with the 12th house, as this rebalances the karmic quantum spin of the metal.
It is even said that titanium frames forged during a passage of the Swift-Tuttle comet roll faster when the cyclist has made their lunar sign at dawn.
Except that's not actually the case.
Titanium is not rare at all.
In fact, titanium is actually quite common: It represents about 0.6% of the Earth's crust.
It is the ninth most abundant element on Earth, more common than copper, nickel or zinc.
They can be found in Australia, India, Norway, South Africa… in short, pretty much everywhere.
Titanium bikes are expensive, not because the material is rare.
That's because transforming it into usable metal is an industrial nightmare.
Titanium, in its basic form, is present in the form of oxides, and to purify it requires a heavy, long, very energy-intensive process: This is the Kroll process .
Chlorine, magnesium, 900°C ovens under controlled atmosphere, risks of contamination at every stage…
And once we finally have an ingot of pure titanium, it still needs to be rolled, machined, welded, in a sterile environment under argon.
All of this requires a huge amount of energy, a lot of expertise, and has a real environmental cost.
That's why we say that:
Titanium is expensive, not because it is rare, but because it is demanding to produce and work with .
So be careful, we are not denigrating the chemical element itself.
If we look at titanium objectively, it is a material whose properties place it between aluminium and steel.
First, in terms of density:
- Steel: 7.8 g/cm³
- Titanium: 4.5 g/cm³
- Aluminium: 2.7 g/cm3
So it's almost twice as light as steel, but twice as heavy as aluminum.
In terms of rigidity, there is what is called the modulus of elasticity (or Young's modulus).
This is what accounts for the material's "stiffness." Its ability to deform under stress and return to its initial state.
- Steel: 210 GPa
- Titanium: 110 GPa
- Aluminium: 70 GPa
And finally, there is mechanical resistance, that is, the force that must be exerted to deform it permanently or break it.
- Steel: 900 MPa (Columbus Zona) / 600 MPa (Chromoly 4130)
- Titanium: 650 MPa (3Al-2.5V alloy)
- Aluminium: 350 MPa (Alloy 7005)
This means that here again, titanium combines a little bit of both worlds.
It is lighter than steel, while retaining some of its strength and rigidity, and it is denser than aluminum, but with mechanical behavior that is closer to steel.
This compromise, ideal on paper, is not necessarily justified for a bicycle frame.
There's a world of difference between theoretical figures and what you really feel on a bike.
When switching from a well-designed aluminum frame to a titanium frame, the perceived difference is not as spectacular as one would often believe.
The sensations don't change radically, nor do your PRs on Strava.
What changes most is the price, the symbolism, and the discourse surrounding it.
What makes a frame high-quality is first and foremost the design, the geometry, the diameter of the tubes, the thicknesses, and the skill of the frame builder .
And then, it must be said: From an ecological point of view, titanium remains nonsense.
Its extraction and processing require a colossal amount of energy, with a carbon impact far greater than that of steel or aluminum.
So yes, it's a beautiful material. Yes, it has real technical qualities.
But if we take a step back, in the world of cycling, there's nothing magical about it.
Furthermore, if it was so extraordinary, why have major brands never actually used it?
It is a demanding metal, produced in a heavy industrial context, and whose advantages, once translated into the concrete reality of a bicycle frame, become quite symbolic.
And that's where we come back to a simple idea:
What makes a good bike is not the supposed nobility of the material, but the coherence between the material, the geometry and the use.
And in this area, there is a material that we know well, that we have been working with since the beginning, and that we defend: Aluminium.
Everyone loves titanium
Even donkeys
This is one of my bikes, a very nice 2021 Soulrider Frameworks.
It was made by Yasin, a talented, friendly craftsman with impeccable musical taste.
This particular photo, taken without any trickery, also sealed my friendship with Matthieu.
Aluminium
Not the same marketing budget as carbon
It has long been presented as an economical solution, the step before moving to carbon, a kind of compromise between low and high end.
However, it is an absolutely remarkable material and, in our opinion, the most consistent for making a good bike and especially a Gravel or All-Road.
Let's put things in order.
Aluminium is lightweight, easy to shape, and above all, clean to produce and recycle.
When I say “clean”, you have to understand each other.
We are not talking about harvesting wild honey with bees that flit from flower to flower.
We're talking about metallurgy. It's an energy-intensive process that emits some pretty nasty stuff into the air and the ground.
But of all the materials discussed in the article, to my knowledge this is the one with the most limited impact, partly, it is true, due to its high potential for recycling.
From a technical point of view, its modulus of elasticity, as seen above, is around 69 to 72 GPa depending on the alloy.
So yes, it is three times less rigid than steel of the same cross-section.
But it is so light that the thickness of the tubes can easily be increased and thus, the same result as steel can be obtained, but with a lower weight.
In short, its density of approximately 2.7 g/cm³ allows for the construction of lightweight but strong frames, with larger sections where necessary (this is called butting) as well as varied profiles thanks to the hydroforming process.
Cold hydroforming is absolutely not possible with titanium, by the way.
The butting mentioned above is the ability to play with the wall thickness depending on the location of your tube.
Basically, the goal is to have thickness where the stresses are greatest (near the welds) and thinness where the stresses are less (well, away from the welds!).
In terms of mechanical resistance, 6061-T6 aluminum has an elastic limit of around 300 MPa.
A 7005-T6 can withstand up to 400 MPa
This is why we use this alloy in Dedacciai Fire Competition Light tubes for the majority of our production.
And contrary to what is often read, aluminum does not soften with use.
When there is a problem, it is always located at the welds.
A fatigue study published in 2023 , Assessment of fatigue damage in welded aluminum joints subjected to multiaxial stress state, tested a 6061-T6 frame on seven realistic dynamic tests.
Smooth roads, damaged roads, light gravel, going up and down steps, all with the cyclist seated or standing up.
The measured stresses were analyzed using two recognized multiaxial fatigue methods (Findley and Dang Van).
Result: depending on the intensity of the stresses, the estimated lifespan of the aluminum frame is between approximately 30,000 and 55,000 km, which goes beyond the ISO prerequisites.
The idea of the aluminum frame that “softens” and “breaks” over the years comes mainly from productions of the 90s.
History has indeed not been kind to aluminum.
At the time, to compensate for the relatively low modulus of elasticity, brands used oversized tubes but often much too thin, due to a lack of mastery of butting.
At the weld points, the wall was therefore too thin and prone to fracture.
And then carbon arrived and buried the material in the graveyard of race-winning materials.
The Tour de France was won on an aluminum bike only three years, from 1996 to 1999, by Riis once and then by Pantani. (From this, one might conclude that EPO and aluminum go hand in hand...)
The bad reputation of aluminum therefore stems mainly from a period of technological transition where frames were too light, too thin, and poorly welded, and where it was overshadowed by a material with, for the time, objectively superior properties.
This is not the reality of modern aluminum frames.
Today, with hydroforming, butting and a good mastery of quenching and tempering processes, this idea no longer holds true and you can obtain top-notch mechanical qualities.
Aluminium makes it possible to make lightweight, strong and affordable bicycles .
It's direct, responsive, precise. When you press the button, it goes.
From an environmental perspective, where titanium is catastrophic, it also has its advantages.
According to the International Aluminium Institute ( IAI, 2022 ) , recycling one tonne of aluminium requires 95% less energy than primary production and aluminium can be remelted indefinitely without loss of mechanical properties.
So no, aluminium is not a “second choice” material.
It is a logical, modern and coherent material, at the crossroads of industrial know-how and the real performance of "real people" like you or me.
We chose it not because it was the simplest, but because it allows us to make the bikes we want to make: responsive, precise, reliable, and above all honest in their performance/price/durability ratio.
And in the end, perhaps that's what true nobility is: Not that of the material, but that of the approach.
Steel
#steelisreal or #stealisreal?
When many of us talk about the nobility of a material, we often think of steel.
Steel is the historical material of the bicycle, the one with which it all began.
The Reynolds 531, developed in the 1930s and later used on Spitfires, is on your Peugeot PX10 that you picked up for a song on Le Bon Coin...
The metal of the bicycles lined up at the machine competition...
And even today, it retains this aura: that of an authentic material.
Technically, we need to distinguish between several families of steel, because not all are equal.
At the very bottom of the scale, we find High Tensile steels.
It's "plain" carbon steel, used on entry-level frames.
The famous heating tubes.
It is very heavy, often around 7.8 g/cm³, and its mechanical resistance is around 400 to 500 MPa, which is what you find with a nice aluminum for 2.5 times the weight.
On the other hand, it is extremely easy to weld, making it perfect for mass production.
So yes, in terms of repairability, it's ideal; any workshop equipped with a MIG welder can repair a Hi-Ten frame.
But let's be clear: It weighs a ton and has nothing to do with what we call a "quality steel bike" today.
Next come the high-end alloy steels, such as Columbus Zona and Spirit or Reynolds 631, 853 and Dedacciai Zero.
That's where we enter another dimension.
Mechanical strengths rise to 900–1000 MPa or even higher, and the walls become ultra-thin thanks to butting.
For example, a Columbus Spirit tube goes down to 0.38 mm thick at the center.
It's remarkable in terms of lightness (for steel), but it also means that in case of impact, a pebble, a fall, a bad step, the tube can dent or bend.
We therefore lose some of that “indestructible” aspect that we often associate with steel.
And then there are stainless steels, such as Columbus XCR or Reynolds 953, complex alloys based on chromium, nickel, molybdenum, sometimes cobalt, which are perfectly resistant to corrosion and offer incredible shine.
On paper, it's a dream: no need for painting, almost no maintenance, very high mechanical resistance.
But the reality is that these steels are a nightmare to weld.
From an industrial point of view, this makes them expensive and not very compatible with large-scale production.
In terms of weight, Cinelli has just unveiled a new model, with 3D printed parts, stainless steel and all, and the frame alone weighs exactly 2 kg. That's roughly 500 grams more than an aluminum frame.
A well-dimensioned XCR or 953 frame behaves mechanically quite similarly to an aluminum frame, with very direct energy return, sometimes even a little harsh if the geometry is not designed to compensate for it.
Because yes, we talk and talk, but in terms of comfort, what really makes the difference is the geometry. It's fundamental, and it would take a long article to explain it in detail.
Other comfort factors are obviously the tire size and the peripheral devices installed.
Regarding vertical compliance (the absorption of vertical shocks), the frame contributes 1% of the overall compliance of a frame/seatpost assembly.
The article in Cycling About, “ Why It's Impossible For Steel Frames To Be More Comfortable Than Aluminium ”, illustrates this quite well.
The idea is " If we're talking about vertical compliance, let's see what force is needed to deform a 1 mm structure ."
So they took a steel frame and subjected it to stress to try to observe this minimal deformation.
To deform the rear triangle of a steel frame: 10000 N/mm.
To deform a carbon seatpost: Less than 100 N/mm.
To deform a tire, it depends on the pressure: 10 to 250 N/m.
Everything else is just stories we tell ourselves to reassure ourselves and justify our latest breakdown…
Steel remains a superb material, rigid, durable, stable over time, and above all repairable depending on the alloys.
But this needs to be qualified.
At the same time, we are talking about assembled triangles, which are the most rigid structures possible.
This proves that the sensations come primarily from the geometry, the tires and the peripherals.
Not the material.
And so, despite all that, we released Pianella, in steel…
Pianella is a great bike.
It is solid, fluid, very smooth to ride, and it has that little bit of life we were expecting.
But if we are clear-headed, and that is precisely the purpose of this episode, in terms of pure feeling, it is not the revolution that the dreamy part of our brain was hoping for.
It's a super comfortable bike.
The thing is that the geometry and the wheels are so different from what we have on our Gravel bikes that knowing who is responsible for what is, in our opinion, perhaps we lack touch (especially Matthieu), impossible.
And since we launched it, we've actually had a lot of requests for an aluminum Pianella.
Which is funny, because it clearly shows that the market, too, is beginning to rediscover the real qualities of aluminum.
So, to sum it up honestly:
We made Pianella out of steel primarily because we wanted to try something different.
Because we are passionate, and sometimes we follow our hearts more than the technical specifications.
And that's perfectly fine.
Because that's also what cycling is about: experimenting, learning and trying to understand what works and why.
And today, with a little hindsight, we say that if one day there is an aluminum Pianella, it will not be a turning point, it will just be a logical continuation.
The same philosophy, the same bike, but with a different metal: The one we know best.
You get it, we don't believe in miracle materials.
We believe in well-designed bicycles.
Well, I'm just saying, there's a bit of a miracle material in cycling...
Carbon
Let's take stock.
Carbon is a somewhat sensitive subject.
Because on one side there are those who make it a religion, and on the other those who completely demonize it.
At Massacan, we try to stay between the two.
From a purely technical point of view, we are absolutely not anti-carbon.
We use it, and we own it.
All our forks are made of carbon, because we consider it to be the best material for this type of part: It is light, rigid, precise in steering, and it filters vibrations better than any metal.
We also use it for some seatposts, when comfort is a priority, and sometimes for cockpit components on our top-of-the-range bikes, especially handlebars, where the weight savings and reduction of micro-vibrations are undeniable.
Even the wheels are a good example.
Aluminium remains an excellent choice for strong, easy-to-maintain and affordable wheels like our Miche Graff, but for pure performance, especially on the road, carbon and the ability to play with profiles while maintaining a reduced mass is very nice.
In short, we like carbon when it makes sense.
And it is with this logic in mind that we released Carbonara, our carbon road frame.
We didn't do it to "follow the trend" or tick the "high-end" box, but simply because we had the opportunity to do so.
Our frame builder manufactures carbon frames by hand, using a tube-to-tube process.
It's a handcrafted approach that has nothing to do with the mass monocoque production seen elsewhere.
Each tube is adjusted, positioned, then individually connected before being laminated, allowing the rigidity, flexibility, and geometry to be adapted to the demand.
The result is a frame that retains the dynamism and lightness of carbon, but with much more precise control of behavior.
And for a road bike like Carbonara, that makes perfect sense.
Actually, we also had a ready-made name and mascot for an Italian carbon bike. We couldn't pass it up.
From a mechanical point of view, carbon remains an exceptional material.
To put it simply, by playing with the thickness of the tubes of the 3 previous materials, you can counterbalance the disadvantages of each so that in the end, they are "relatively" similar.
For carbon fiber, that's a whole different ball game.
To put it simply, it's comparatively lighter than aluminum and stronger than steel:
- Carbon has a very low density (around 1.6 g/cm³);
- It has enormous specific stiffness for certain high-modulus fibers.
- It is possible to orient the layers at the joints to obtain the desired rigidity where desired.
This is what makes it possible to build very light, very responsive, and ultra-precise bikes.
And me, personally, I'm passionate about roads.
In the Massacan team, I think I'm the only one who shaves his legs, Lucie included.
So naturally, I like to ride fast (or at least believe I do), and carbon fiber is perfectly suited for that.
So yes, we like carbon, and we advocate for it where it is relevant.
Now, let's be clear: ecologically, carbon is catastrophic .
Its production requires synthetic fibers derived from petroleum, epoxy resins that are difficult to recycle, and high-temperature processes that are very energy-intensive.
Recycling programs exist, but today they are still in their infancy.
And, in any case, recycled carbon does not have the same properties as the original material, unlike aluminum (well, well).
So yes, there is a form of inconsistency in releasing a carbon frame when you are trying to have a virtuous approach to materials.
But our thinking is that our production remains tiny.
We're talking about a niche within a niche within a niche:
We have released exactly 13 Carbonaras since the beginning.
We don't hide behind it, we take responsibility.
We wanted to make an exceptional road bike, and carbon was the most suitable material to achieve that.
Finally, and this is important, we do not believe that carbon is the universal solution .
For us, it is a performance material before it is an adventure material.
Apart from pure road cycling, we remain convinced that today, aluminium is the best compromise for manufacturing a bicycle frame.
If we put everything on the table, cost, repairability, durability, behavior, and ecological responsibility, aluminum remains, for us, the most balanced material for an adventure or gravel bike.
For exploring, for travelling, for experiencing cycling differently, aluminium is unbeatable.
Again, we are not against carbon.
We are against the idea that it is the answer to everything.
At Massacan, we just want each material to have its place, its meaning, and its reason for being.
In conclusion
When we launched Massacan, our primary goal was to create a brand that we ourselves would be happy to be customers of.
Initially, none of the three of us, neither Matthieu, nor Lucie, nor I, come from the world of cycling.
We entered this world through the back door, simply through passion.
We discovered an environment that we learned to love, sometimes to endure, often to question.
And at one point, we said to ourselves:
“ What if we tried to create a project that brings together everything we love about cycling and leaves out everything we don't? ”
That's how Massacan was born.
The initial idea was just to make a few bikes for ourselves, maybe sell some to a few friends to finance the adventure.
Nothing more.
It wasn't meant to become a business, nor a full-time job.
It was simply a project of the heart and desire.
And then, well, you decided otherwise.
You pushed us, supported us, and trusted us.
And today, we are 100% dedicated to it, while trying to remain 100% faithful to our initial principles.
This article is an extension of that idea.
We didn't want to give a materials lesson, nor say who was right or wrong.
We just wanted to explain why our choices are what they are, and share what we've learned.
Because when you buy a bike, you're not just buying a stack of numbers.
You're not just buying a material, a geometry, a weight.
You are buying a package: An approach, a history, a sensibility, a way of thinking about cycling.
You are also buying the values of those who make it.
That's why we'll never tell you that our bikes are "the best in the world".
That is not our role, and that is not our mindset.
What we want is for you to understand why we make them this way:
Why we primarily work with aluminum and why we are proud of this material.
Because it embodies exactly what we are looking for: Pragmatism, consistency and simplicity.
And at the same time, we perfectly understand that others are looking for something else.
Could a titanium frame appeal to you for its aesthetics and what it represents?
Could a carbon fiber bike from a World Tour sponsor brand be so appealing?
Does handcrafted steel, where every square centimeter has been sanded by hand, make you dream?
We'll take all of that into account. No problem.
Ultimately, the best bike is not the one that a comparison chart designates as such.
It's the one that excites you the most, the one you look forward to taking out in the morning, the one who talks to you, for good reasons or, conversely, for bad reasons. It doesn't matter.
We are all a little inconsistent in our choices, and that's perfectly fine.
We're only talking about cycling after all.
It's part of human nature, but precisely because we are evolved beings, that doesn't stop us from asking ourselves some questions.
One of them being: What are your convictions based on?
Is your opinion about a material something you read on a forum, something someone told you over a beer, or is it an idea you formed yourself, with reliable information, figures, feelings, and real tests?
It is this kind of curiosity that we want to encourage.
Whether we're talking about steel, titanium, aluminum, or carbon, the most important thing is to understand why we believe what we believe, and if this article can help you with that, then we will have succeeded in what we wanted to do from the beginning:
To talk about cycling with sincerity, without judgment, without posturing, and with genuine respect for those who ride, regardless of the type of bike they are sitting on.
Ultimately, as I said earlier, I think that true nobility lies not in the material but in the approach.
And our approach is to make bikes that resemble those who ride them, while remaining true to the path we have chosen to follow from the beginning!
With that, kisses.
