... is a myth.
I credit all of the following knowledge to the late Sheldon Brown. I read everything he wrote on-line. I am probably plagiarizing because I literally read and re-read everything he wrote. So I give him ALL the credit for my statements (which are really his ideas and thoughts):
I think you can make a great bike out of any material, aluminum, steel, titanium, carbon. And apparently bamboo or wire. I think a lot of people confuse stiffness with strength. Stiffness has to do with flex, and materials will have different flex depending on how much force is used. If the material flexes but doesn't return to its original shape, it "yields". How little it yields is also known as "strength". Steel has the greatest stiffness of the three metals (aluminum, titanium, steel). Titanium is only half as stiff. Aluminum is about 1/3 as stiff. Steel is the strongest of the three metals, with aluminum about half as strong, and titanium about equal strength. We're talking materials here. If you now take those materials and make tubes out of them, things change. Aluminum's strength is improved by making the tubes bigger in diameter, while steels' tubes can't be made as big, or they would dent too easily. Newer cold-forging methods for steel and titanium are going to change the way we think, however, and my personal belief is that steel will make a comeback once the carbon fad is over.
Ride comfort probably has very little to do with frame material. Ride comfort has much more to do with the tyres, saddle, frame geometry and bike fit. If you're sitting over the rear tyre and wheel, you're in for a bumpier ride. If you inflate the tyres to max pressure, you're in for a very uncomfortable, back-wrenching ride. If your fit sucks, you'll be uncomfortable. And if your saddle isn't right for you, you'll think cycling is all about your ass. The frame geometry makes a huge difference in whether your bike feels "soft" or "hard", which is why touring bikes are spec'ed so differently than racing bikes (longer chain stays and lower seat and head tube angles).
I don't think carbon is any "softer" a ride than steel or aluminum. I think larger frames are less stiff than smaller frames, and I don't know a frame builder who'd disagree. But any of the four materials (steel, titanium, aluminum, carbon) can be made as stiff or flexible as you want. Which is not to say that they're not making aluminum frames really stiff at places like Cannondale and Klein. They are. But they don't have to. I think welded aluminum frames are the only ones to compensate for the flexibility of larger frames. But if we're talking ride comfort or "shock absorption" qualities, then we're really talking about vertical stiffness. And that's in the tyres and saddle. As stiff as aluminum can be made, and as flexible as carbon can be made, I do not believe there is any appreciable difference between the vertical stiffness of steel, carbon, titanium or aluminum. And so I think that any perception of a softer ride with carbon or steel versus aluminum, is imaginary.
__________________________________________________
I love France. I just hate Toulouse. I'd really hate to lose le Trek.
I credit all of the following knowledge to the late Sheldon Brown. I read everything he wrote on-line. I am probably plagiarizing because I literally read and re-read everything he wrote. So I give him ALL the credit for my statements (which are really his ideas and thoughts):
I think you can make a great bike out of any material, aluminum, steel, titanium, carbon. And apparently bamboo or wire. I think a lot of people confuse stiffness with strength. Stiffness has to do with flex, and materials will have different flex depending on how much force is used. If the material flexes but doesn't return to its original shape, it "yields". How little it yields is also known as "strength". Steel has the greatest stiffness of the three metals (aluminum, titanium, steel). Titanium is only half as stiff. Aluminum is about 1/3 as stiff. Steel is the strongest of the three metals, with aluminum about half as strong, and titanium about equal strength. We're talking materials here. If you now take those materials and make tubes out of them, things change. Aluminum's strength is improved by making the tubes bigger in diameter, while steels' tubes can't be made as big, or they would dent too easily. Newer cold-forging methods for steel and titanium are going to change the way we think, however, and my personal belief is that steel will make a comeback once the carbon fad is over.
Ride comfort probably has very little to do with frame material. Ride comfort has much more to do with the tyres, saddle, frame geometry and bike fit. If you're sitting over the rear tyre and wheel, you're in for a bumpier ride. If you inflate the tyres to max pressure, you're in for a very uncomfortable, back-wrenching ride. If your fit sucks, you'll be uncomfortable. And if your saddle isn't right for you, you'll think cycling is all about your ass. The frame geometry makes a huge difference in whether your bike feels "soft" or "hard", which is why touring bikes are spec'ed so differently than racing bikes (longer chain stays and lower seat and head tube angles).
I don't think carbon is any "softer" a ride than steel or aluminum. I think larger frames are less stiff than smaller frames, and I don't know a frame builder who'd disagree. But any of the four materials (steel, titanium, aluminum, carbon) can be made as stiff or flexible as you want. Which is not to say that they're not making aluminum frames really stiff at places like Cannondale and Klein. They are. But they don't have to. I think welded aluminum frames are the only ones to compensate for the flexibility of larger frames. But if we're talking ride comfort or "shock absorption" qualities, then we're really talking about vertical stiffness. And that's in the tyres and saddle. As stiff as aluminum can be made, and as flexible as carbon can be made, I do not believe there is any appreciable difference between the vertical stiffness of steel, carbon, titanium or aluminum. And so I think that any perception of a softer ride with carbon or steel versus aluminum, is imaginary.
__________________________________________________
I love France. I just hate Toulouse. I'd really hate to lose le Trek.
Last edited by:
CapeRoadie: Jan 3, 09 17:28