The summer riding season (and a little issue with high gas prices) has more consumers in the market for bicycles – both for fitness and for commuting.

Technological advancements in bike frame metals and man-madematerials once reserved for top cycling teams are now available and relatively affordable to all riders.

Searching for a new bike should begin with an emphasis on function, frame and fit. Mike Weiss, owner of Big Shark Bicycle Co. in St. Louis, says finding the right bike depends on the cyclist’s goals.

“I always preface my talk about frame materials by saying that it really is who’s building it and how it’s used,” Weiss says, “because you can have a very bad or a very good bike out of any material.

“When someone wants to get into the sport of cycling, they should think about what that means. If they think about everything they can possibly want to do on the bike, then they should come in and ask for the bike that will let them do those things.”

Once the style of riding and terrain is chosen, the bike shop salesperson can suggest a mountain, road or comfort bike and pick a frame material. Then, the customer takes a test ride.

“We usually ask them what type of riding they are going to do,” says Hal Leventhal, manager of Bicycle World in Belleville, Ill. “They’ll tell us recreational, mountain-biking, competitive triathlons, competitive riding. That kind of puts them into a certain category of bikes that we allow them to test ride and get a feel for. … Once they come back from the test ride, we dial them in from there based on what they tell us.”

Finding the right bike can be a daunting task, because consumers literally have hundreds of bikes made by various manufacturers from which to choose. Traditional metals such as steel, aluminum or titanium and man-made materials such as carbon fiber have different properties.

Aluminum is lighter than steel, titanium is lighter than aluminum, and carbon fiber is lighter than the other three, but the overall bike weight is dependent on the bike’s frame size and its other parts: components, handlebars, seat post, wheel set and tires.

On average, mountain bikes weigh the most due to heavier, wider rims and wheels and shock-absorbing suspension forks. Most mountain bikes range in weight from 23 to 33 pounds.

Road bikes are the lightest, with entry-level bikes around 20 pounds.

Racing road bikes go as low as the legal limit of 15 pounds to around 17 or 18 pounds.

Comfort bikes weigh from 25 to 32 pounds, mostly due to suspension seat posts, suspension forks and gel seats.

Here’s a look at each type of frame material:

STEEL:THE TRADITIONAL STEED

Since the early 1900s, hefty steel bikes have been the transportation workhorse of people all over the world. They’re a combination of strength and affordability – in fact, steel frames are the least expensive.

The heavier weight of steel-framed bikes make them less prevalent and less popular in the United States than lighter materials. Still, traditionalists like the rounded look of steel bikes.

“It’s a very elegant material,” Weiss said. “You can build it using some very slender tubing. It’s a malleable material, so you can easily make a very affordable, very comfortable riding bike.”

Steel enthusiasts like how the lack of flex in the frame produces a ride in which the feel of the terrain is subtly transferred to the rider. The main drawback of steel is the frame weight. More dent-resistant than other metal frames, steel is subject to rust, so it is vital to maintain the paint job and quickly wipe any post-ride rainwater off the frame.

Leventhal says for long-term usage, steel bikes must always be stored in a dry environment.

Steel-framed road or comfort bikes typically cost about $300 to $600. Because of the heavy bike weight, few mountain bike frames are made of steel.

ALUMINUM: THE NEW WORKHORSE

Since the mid-1980s, the strength, malleability and light weight of aluminum have made the metal the most popular choice for bike frames among commuters, fitness riders, weekend warriors and racers.

Aluminum frames tend to stand up longer, “better than steel does,” Leventhal says. “Aluminum doesn’t require a whole lot of exterior maintenance as far as the finish and such.”

Weiss says aluminum is an affordable, very light frame material. “Especially for somebody who is just getting into cycling, aluminum is going to be a good choice, because it can be almost as light as a titanium bike or almost as light as a carbon bike for one-third or one-fourth of the price.”

Aluminum is a softer metal than steel and can be dented more easily, but the main issue with aluminum frames is that they are notorious for transferring every single teeth-rattling bump and pothole up the frame to the rider’s body.

Carbon technology solves that problem.

“An entry-level road bike typically will have an aluminum frame, but you’ll see the addition of carbon in the fork or the seat post so the piece that touches the road or the piece that touches the rider will have some damping,” Weiss says.

Depending on the components, aluminum road and mountain bikes can cost anywhere from $275 to $6,000.

Aluminum comfort bikes range from $300 to $600.

TITANIUM: SPACE-AGE METAL

Titanium is one of the strongest, lightest metals on Earth; when it’s applied to cycling technology, riders get the road feel of steel with the weight savings of aluminum.

“And it has an incredibly long lifespan,”Weiss says. Because titanium frames are expensive, most titanium bikes are road or mountain bikes. The strength of titanium allows for smaller-circumference tubes and intricate detailing the way steel frames do, but tubes can also be aerodynamically shaped, as with aluminum or carbon frames.

Titanium road bikes range from $2,000 to $10,000. Titanium mountain bikes cost from $1,000 to $4,000.

CARBON FIBER: THE X FACTOR

Aviation and structural breakthroughs in carbon fiber technology have trickled down to affect the fit and comfort of today’s road, mountain and comfort bikes. Cyclists have the choice of a full-carbon bike or an aluminum, steel or titanium bike with carbon seat stays or a carbon fork to dampen the road buzz.

Because carbon fiber is a man-made material, frame makers can control the actual quality of the material itself,Weiss says.

“That’s where the science can push the envelope to make the carbon bike stronger than a metal and lighter than a metal,” he said. “Because it has almost an infinite variety of shape, you can really tune the material for different applications.”

Carbon’s strength-to-weight ratio means featherweight frames as stiff as a steel bike are commonplace. Full-carbon road bikes are the most expensive bikes around, ranging from $2,000 to $12,000 for a pro race bike.

Carbon mountain bikes range from $1,000 to $5,000.

Carbon handlebars, stems, seat posts, wheel sets and component groups are more affordable each year and can be combined with any frame material to make a lighter bike with a more comfortable ride.

THE EDUCATED CYCLIST

Though the price of new bikes can be as intimidating as, say, the price of gasoline, consumers in the market for a bike will get the most out of their investment by being educated about their riding goals.

“Anytime you are going to buy something for yourself, whether it’s clothing or it’s a bike or equipment for sport, you should take into consideration that everyone is unique, just like when you buy clothes,” Weiss says. “Taking time to find the right size bike and then (getting) it adjusted to you will just increase your enjoyment and your performance.”