Originally Posted by
Tourist in MSN
Steel has more flex than aluminum, but I have two other steel touring bikes that do not have that problem with a heavy load.
And my steel rando bike and steel road bike are both much stiffer in the seat tube and bottom bracket area, those frames were not built to be stiff enough for touring yet that part of their frames are stiffer than the LHT that Surly refused to warranty. The frame was defective.
Not doubting you or the frame builder you consulted; as I said, I've just never heard of a frame's stiffness being affected by welding temperature in that way. I've just posted a question about it in the Framebuilders forum here.