Road Cycling - Steel, Aluminum, Titanium, Carbon - What's the difference in the ride!

O.K. all of you experience riders: What difference does it make in the ride if you have a steel, aluminium, titanium, or carbon frame? Is there much of a difference?

What difference does it make in the ride

None.

A bicycle's ride characteristics come from (1) frame geometry, (2) tube diameter, shape, and thickness, and (3) tire selection. Frame material has almost nothing to do with it.

What Cycletourist said, plus wheels and front fork.

in the spirit of the season i will defer on this question.

I think cycletourist is right that it depends on many factors, but frame material is one of the factors. ti and carbon has many charactistics that steel and alum does not. Many builders have figured the formula to get good rides out of the different materials.

O.K. all of you experience riders: What difference does it make in the ride if you have a steel, aluminium, titanium, or carbon frame? Is there much of a difference?

They ride differently. Carbon and aluminum do not feel the same, for example. Best bet if you are in the market for a new bike is to pick a price point and then go to your bike shop and ride what they have at your price point. Regardless of what it's made out of, the one your butt says feels the best and fits you, that's what you buy.

If you look at, for example, LeMond, they will tell you that they reason they mix materials in the frame (carbon and titanium or steel for example) is to create a lighter bike with more feel. Steel or ti spine and carbon cockpit. If that's true, then there is definitely a difference in how the materials feel when ridden.

You are going to get a loooooooooooong thread on this.I'll make it short.All ride different and depends on the way the frame was built so ride,ride,test,test.Do as many in the same day as you can so its fresh in you head how the ride is.

The fact is, there's lots of folks having fun and going fast on bikes with all manner/mix of frame materials. However, if you want a dream road bike that you can ride a bunch until you die and then will to someone to continue doing the same, start with a quality steel frame (All eleven tubes) from a reputable builder.
gruppo

Ride differences between materials are complicated by how the builder or tube manufacturer manipulated the material. That being said, there are some general comments:

1.) Aluminum, can ride harsher that the other materials. While this can be reduced by the tube shapes and thickness somewhat, aluminum will still be, in general, on the harsh side of the scale. The good news is that power transmission is excellant in most aluminum bikes. Aluminum also has generally a shorter lifespan due to the way it stresses.

2.) Carbon has two advantages if engineered correctly. 1.) it filters out high frequency vibration better than other materials and therefor can be less fatiguing than other materials. The down side of this is it does mute road feel. and 2.) because the carbon engineer can orient the carbon strands directionally where he wants them, he can stiffen up or make more compliant various sections of the frame. Done correctly, you can acheive both horizantal stiffness (and power transfer) and vertical compliance (comfort). Carbon, while strong and light, does not do well with impact damage. Failures, if they occur can be unnoticable beforehand (no warning) and catastophic.

3.) Titanium is generally on the flexier side of the scale, although tube manipulation can stiffen it up beyond steel towards aluminum and carbon.

4.) Steel is real. (couldn't resist). Done correctly, steel is lively responsive yet has good power transfer. Done poorly, steel is noodly and boring.

As someone else said, it is really all about how the material is manipulated. Ride 109 different Ti (or aluminum, carbon or steel) bikes and you will get 10 different rides. Each manufacturer has their own philosophy. In addition, different price points have different ride characteristics. If you want to test this, ride the various lightspeed ti models, the classic is a smooth, all day ride, the ultimate will rattle your teeth.

One other point that no one has mentioned......rider weight. The heavier you are compared to me, the less relevant my ride observations are to you. A 130 lb rider may believe bike A rides great, while a 230 lb rider will find it noodly, Conversly a bike that is stiff enough for a 230 lb rider, will be way too stiff for the 130 lb rider.

YMMV

Len

1.) Aluminum, can ride harsher that the other materials.

Len, the harshness in aluminum frames is due to tube design, not the metal itself. Aluminum frames USED to be whippy, wimpy, and flexy. Then someone figured out that increasing tube diameter would make it stronger.

Ride differences between materials are complicated by how the builder or tube manufacturer manipulated the material. That being said, there are some general comments:

1.) Aluminum, can ride harsher that the other materials. While this can be reduced by the tube shapes and thickness somewhat, aluminum will still be, in general, on the harsh side of the scale. The good news is that power transmission is excellant in most aluminum bikes. Aluminum also has generally a shorter lifespan due to the way it stresses.

2.) Carbon has two advantages if engineered correctly. 1.) it filters out high frequency vibration better than other materials and therefor can be less fatiguing than other materials. The down side of this is it does mute road feel. and 2.) because the carbon engineer can orient the carbon strands directionally where he wants them, he can stiffen up or make more compliant various sections of the frame. Done correctly, you can acheive both horizantal stiffness (and power transfer) and vertical compliance (comfort). Carbon, while strong and light, does not do well with impact damage. Failures, if they occur can be unnoticable beforehand (no warning) and catastophic.

3.) Titanium is generally on the flexier side of the scale, although tube manipulation can stiffen it up beyond steel towards aluminum and carbon.

4.) Steel is real. (couldn't resist). Done correctly, steel is lively responsive yet has good power transfer. Done poorly, steel is noodly and boring.

As someone else said, it is really all about how the material is manipulated. Ride 109 different Ti (or aluminum, carbon or steel) bikes and you will get 10 different rides. Each manufacturer has their own philosophy. In addition, different price points have different ride characteristics. If you want to test this, ride the various lightspeed ti models, the classic is a smooth, all day ride, the ultimate will rattle your teeth.

One other point that no one has mentioned......rider weight. The heavier you are compared to me, the less relevant my ride observations are to you. A 130 lb rider may believe bike A rides great, while a 230 lb rider will find it noodly, Conversly a bike that is stiff enough for a 230 lb rider, will be way too stiff for the 130 lb rider.

YMMV

Len
Where did some of this info come from?Its a bit,um .High frequency,isnt that home theater stuff?Anything below 50hz you feel?

Wheels and saddle selection have lots to do with the way a particular bike rides. I have an all Al frame bike that does ride somewhat rougher than the steel framed commuter bike I also have. When you ride 700x23 pumped to 130+ psi, you will feel every twig on the asphault with most bikes.
I recently put a Brooks team pro saddle on the Al bike. I ride the same roads as before, with the same wheels and tires, but don't seem to get the same sharp bumps that I was getting before. I am happy with what I am riding.

I understand that some of the newer steel frames ride almost just like an Al bike. Is this true?

Len, the harshness in aluminum frames is due to tube design, not the metal itself. Aluminum frames USED to be whippy, wimpy, and flexy. Then someone figured out that increasing tube diameter would make it stronger.


Agree completely, however, the point I was trying to make was that "the way aluminum bikes are made now" they tend to be on the harsh side of the scale.

Len

[QUOTE=Len J]Agree completely, however, the point I was trying to make was that "the way aluminum bikes are made now" they tend to be on the harsh side of the scale.
Yep to that.