Originally Posted by sashae
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Sheldon. Tubing of the same size and diameter from both aluminum and steel... yes, the steel is stiffer. HOWEVER, aluminum is manufactured with both wider diameter tubing and thicker walls while still remaining light. It's not a 1-to-1 materials comparison.
Carbon in particular can be 'tuned' directionally through the fibre layout for torsional stiffness and vertical compliance, providing an extremely comfortable while stiff ride.
I figured that was the case with steel/aluminum.
As for the carbon, that makes sense with multi-directional carbon (like cranks, and the higher end frames), but that doesn't explain much for carbon tubing. Or is there something I'm misunderstanding here?
Also, what this means is, carbon might be good for the road, where long saddle times and non-ideal road conditions might make riding uncomfortable, but on the track it's really just for bling factor?
As a side note, let's keep the scalpels away from Jose R, lest he starts getting ideas.