Originally Posted by
pdedes
Some would say an overly stiff frame is a dead feeling frame. But if you can put out gobs of power, you likely won't say that.
Originally Posted by
JohnDThompson
Depends on the course. An overly stiff frame can be difficult to control on rough pavement.
Originally Posted by
pdedes
You can control that with tire size and air pressure
To some extent.
Back in the mid-80s, when we were developing the then-new Trek bonded aluminum frame, we sought out examples of non-ferrous frames to evaluate in designing the Trek bonded aluminum frame. One of these was the Klein frame, which used oversized (at that time) aluminum tubing to achieve greater stiffness than was possible using conventional steel tubing.
In the process of this evaluation, we rode examples of each frame (including Gary Klein's personal bike) over the roads around Waterloo. At that time, I was young and svelte (about 125#), and found riding Gary's bike quite uncomfortable. I wasn't alone: the Trek bonded aluminum frame (model "2000") was explicitly designed to reflect the stiffness of a then-standard Columbus or Reynolds steel frame.