Originally Posted by irablumberg
"Much of the commonplace B.S. that is talked about different frame materials relates to imagined differences in vertical stiffness. It will be said that one frame has a comfy ride and absorbs road shocks, while another is alleged to be harsh and make you feel every crack in the pavement. Virtually all of these "differences" are either the imaginary result of the placebo effect, or are caused by something other than the frame material choice."
While this may often be true, I can say that I have had at least one person experience to the contrary. In 2000, I was shopping for a decent bike and test rode several. The two that contrasted most strongly were a Waterford 631 and a Cannondale. I rode the exact same route and I think they used similar or identical wheels. Both were from the same shop and the same tech set up both bikes, so I suspect that the tires were similarly inflated.
The Waterford was smooth, but I could easily get the chain to rub the front der. in the highest gears by standing and mashing on the pedals. On the Cannondale, I felt every surface ripple on the road. However, I could not get the chain to rub at all. I strongly believe that these two bike frames really did have easily detected differences in ride.
P.S., the end of the story was like the 3 bears, steel was too flexy, alu. was too harsh, and CF was just right, so I got a Trek 5200 ;-)
Back to the OP, I now have a Ritchey Breakaway Ti/Carbon bike. The frame has carbon stays and a carbon fork. The rest is Ti. It does not feel like my Trek 5200 at all. It feels much more "lively" and does not have that numb feeling that many CF frames have. On the other hand, when riding over roads with lots of "texture" I get far more road buzz on the Ti/carbon bike than with the CF bike. Overall, I much prefer the Ti/carbon, but it is not really a fair comparison as the Ritchey came with much more advanced and higher grade components. The Ritchey wheels alone are probably at least a pound lighter than the old Rolf wheels on the Trek. Also, the Trek had an Ultegra 9 group while the Ritchey has the latest DA 10 group. I'm sure if I put all the same components on the Trek, it would be a much more even contest. However, I won't be updating the Trek as I sold it once I started riding the Ritchey. The Ritchey just feels so good, I decided I didn't need any other road bikes
Ira
I travel with my bike from time to time, and have been interested in the Ritchie Breakaway for that reason. One major hesitation with the Ritchey Ti Cf bike though is the CF stays. One thing I like about packing my Merlin is no worries about scratching paint or clear coat. I don't understand why Ritchie didn't make a full Ti breakaway, so you don't have to worrry about scratching the CF stays in transit.