Originally Posted by FidelCastrovich
Right now i have a Pinarello Sestriere road bike (steel+carbon fork) and a Marin Kentfield city bike, which has been somewhat modified to make my daily commute the joy that it is - 5mi each direction, hilly like hell, crazy Israeli drivers - nothing like it!
I know what you're talking about, that aluminum feels like it passes every bump on to your butt, even though i ride with 35mm tires inflated to 50 PSI max. Maybe it's because the frame is cheap, i don't know.
On the other hand, i seem to have been convinced that it's not the material itself, but the geometry and the chemical manipulation that the material undergoes, that determine how a bike will ride. And with a 43.1'' wheelbase the Trenga TDH 9 that i'm interested in will probably ride better than a steel bike with a shorter WB.
To complicate things even more (or to make them more simple, for some of you) - has anyone noticed and was bothered by the fact that the bike has 32 spoke wheels? The rims are the very strong Mavic A319, but for some reason they decided to go with 32 spokes, albeit the DT Alpine III, which are bombproof.
Any thoughts on that?
Thanks again,EVERYBODY!
I've found that the quality of the build of the wheel is just as, if not more important than, the difference between 32 and 36 spokes. For example, I have a fixed gear bike with 28H Campy Pista hubs laced to Mavic CXP 30 rims with Sapim spokes. These wheels were built by a master wheel builder and have survived the cobblestoned and potholed streets of Riga with no problems. They are still true today.
That being said I also have 36 spoke wheels on my tourer....