Originally Posted by
icemilkcoffee
I avoid TIG welded aluminum frame. When I started cycling during Covid, I had a hand-me-down TIG'ed aluminum bike and the ride was horrendously bad. Which I realized when I switched to a steel Lemond bike. Later on I bought another TIG welded aluminum bike to harvest the groupset and wheels, and likewise the ride was horribly stiff on this bike. I couldn't wait to strip the parts off and throw the frame in the recycling bin. So no more pre-hydroformed TIG welded aluminum frames for me.
The other thing I dislike, is threadless stems. I insist on quill stems. I actually have two carbon bikes with quill stems. Carbon OK. Threadless not OK.
Same, except the other way around. I rode steel bikes for 35 years and then bought my first welded aluminum frame. That was that. Comparing bikes with the same wheelbase, my aluminum bikes are indistinguishable from my steel bikes in vertical rigidity and superior in torsional and lateral rigidity. (Here's a
great article on the topic.)
Still have my last steel bike, a Reynolds 853 Schwinn Peloton, in the basement, but I haven't ridden it in at least 10 years. So I guess that's where I draw my line, come to think of it.