I’ve just been today to go and talk about my new custom Ti road frame to the designer. It’s fully custom and so there’s the option for an aero seat tube or just the standard round tube. Should I go for the aero tube?
Things to know:
It’s integrated so it runs from the BB to the saddle.
It’s not windtunnel designed so will probably have no aero benefit!
I’ve got long legs and it’s compact geometry so the section above the top tube is fairly long.
Basically, it’s going to come down to which will look better I think, but please tell me your opinions!
No. It will weigh more and compromise ride quality. The only builders that you want to add aero tubes are ones that have experience with how it affects the ride and actually know how to design the shape. ABG is basically the only company that comes to mind. They did up a beautiful TiPhoon in road geometry for Simon Whitfield to race on.
It’ll make the ride stiffer, which is what I was after! The guy who builds these frames is highly regarded in the UK scene and really knows his stuff when it comes to designing bikes. The brand is Enigma btw and the lead designer used to run Omega.
It’ll make the ride stiffer, which is what I was after! The guy who builds these frames is highly regarded in the UK scene and really knows his stuff when it comes to designing bikes. The brand is Enigma btw and the lead designer used to run Omega.
It will make it stiffer vertically, which is what you don’t want. It will not make it stiffer laterally or in torsion, which is what you do want. It will “feel” stiffer, because the ride will be more harsh. Do what you want, it’s your bike. But if you are asking for opinions, my opinion is that you don’t want it.
whatever you do, i’d strongly suggest a seat tube that takes (or can take) a normal seat post. being tied in to one proprietary seat post is a huge drawback.
i don’t know anything about the other issues, although i’d tend to trust rappstar on this.
Come on, Jordan… Why would anyone want your opinion?
He wants yours too! “Basically, it’s going to come down to which will look better I think, but please tell me your opinions!”
Ahh, OK. I guess the his reply to your post threw me off
IMHO, if the aero tubing, “probably wont have any aero advantage” then in terms of performance it will be inferior to its round counterpart since it will have a lower stiffness to weight ratio than the round tube which of course would be highly undesirable. Although if your number one priority is looks rather than performance AND you think the aeroshaped tube looks better, than by all means go with that.
