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dcrowell
05-09-11, 09:45 AM
I'm in the planning stages of building a road bike. I'm still trying to figure out what frame to use. I like lugged steel, so the Soma Stanyan (http://www.somafab.com/stanyan.html) comes to mind.
My concern is frame flex. Some is good. Too much is bad. Will this frame be appropriate for a 220lb guy standing on the pedals?
My 1980s Raleigh Record has some flex, but it's not bad. Would this frame be similar?
sillygolem
05-11-11, 11:49 PM
Tange Chromoly is a lot better than the hi-ten used in your Raleigh. You shouldn't have near the flex on this frame.
dcrowell
05-12-11, 01:13 PM
Tange Chromoly is a lot better than the hi-ten used in your Raleigh. You shouldn't have near the flex on this frame.
Great! I'm good to go.... except for money. Time to start saving.
I like the black frame with muted graphics. I want to build it up with shiny bits. Possibly Campy Athena.
Great! I'm good to go.... except for money. Time to start saving.
I like the black frame with muted graphics. I want to build it up with shiny bits. Possibly Campy Athena.
It is unlikely that there will be too much flex... I weigh between 240 and 260, seasonaly dependant, and my very lightweight steel road bike rides fine for me.
However, sillygolem has it wrong, I think. The Soma will likely have slightly more flex than the Raleigh. See, all steels have very similar stiffness - it is called the 'modulus of elasticity' - which is the flex that a particular sized peice of the material will flex under a particular load. Hi-tensile, low grade, high grade, cromoly, manganese alloys, etc, all steels have very similar modulus of elasticity. The way to make a stiffer frame is to use more of the material, or use lager tubes with thinner walls.
With a higher strength alloy of steel, like the Tange Prestige tubes used in the Stanyan, less material can be used to make the bike lighter while still maintaining adequite strength. Since the Stanyan has thinner tube walls, but not oversized tubes, it likely has slightly more flex than the Raleigh.
Very unlikely that you will notice much of a difference, though.