Originally Posted by
guy153
So what was the effect of the triple triangle? There was a video about this recently on the "red dread" channel where he said it felt very stiff. But I wondered if that might have more to do with the ridged top-tube than the actual triple triangle part. They pressed a groove in the underside of it to route a cable through. I also don't know if that tube was butted or not.
The problem is that it is hard to put into words any kind of difference one might notice in how a bicycle rides. This is what got Jan Heine in trouble when he chose to use the word "planing" in describing how a thin walled frame rides. This is a word used in the boating industry and doesn't necessarily transfer over well to how a bike rides. In fact it invites skepticism and even derision. And a piling on of negative opinions from people that had no personal experience themselves. And then testing procedures influenced the discussion. Attitudes about Jan himself and his writings and business practices somehow got reflected in their opinions of of frame tubing.
I should mention that the triple triangle frames (called Hellenic in the UK after the inventor whose name was Hellens if I remember right) I've ridden were ones I've made for myself (I've had 3 personal ones) so I'm comparing my own bikes to each other. In these comparisons I've noticed small differences in how a Hellenic frames rides and quite a significant difference in how a frame with .7/.4/.7 tubing rides compared to .9/.6./9. Of course a rider with a different type of body may experience the ride differently.
I think builders should take advantage of making frames with lighter tubing that matches the rider instead of the too heavy tubing used by production companies so a frame won't break when ridden by the heaviest possible person. The best way I can think of describing the difference in tubing choice is that they have a 'lively" feel. If and when I make myself another frame, I doubt I would do it with a triple triangle again but absolutely make it out of .7/.4./.7 unless I gain 50 or more pounds.
In the past the triple triangle frames I've made for customers were for mostly larger frames - particularly if they were very large frames. It triangulates more area. Back in the day when Campy and Shimano seat posts (that came with their road groups) were fairly short expecting to be used on lugged frames with nearly level top tubes. Mountain bikes lengthened seat posts and Campy and Shimano stopped making them when top tubes started to slope.