Originally Posted by
TVS_SS
Being on BF i have realized one thing, many like to voice their opinions, yet there is typically a lack of proof or data to back up claims.
The long held debate between the vast selection of frame materials and ride comfort could easily be "tested" yet i have not seen hard facts surrounding this.
To end this debate, all it requires is a simple Design of experiments, a few strategically placed high frequency accelerometers and some analysis. This would quantify your 'ride quality' and go a long way in putting logic behind the debate.
The other debate about component groups is equally lacking true engineering information, but that would require a much larger set of metrics... i'll leave that for another day.
Or - and I know that this is crazy - we could get people to actually listen to materials scientists/engineers (and no, not just any old engineer... too many engineers out there think that their fancy degree means that their intuitions are correct) when they describe the actual effects that material has on structural design. There's no need to do some complicated and probably utterly confounded test when:
a) the properties of the materials in question are
known. That is to say, if an appropriately qualified engineer were to design a frame with X material in Y dimensions and Z geometry, the exact flex, stiffness, etc of any given frame can be determined strictly by application of theory. There are little details that are difficult to account for that contribute to feel, but those are not much easier to measure than they are to design. C'mon. Do you think that the engineers who design those fancy pants carbon bike are able to make them stiffer each year through guesswork? No, it's the specific application of a material with known properties. The same thing can be done with steel, aluminum and titanium, in principle, though frame design need not be done in such detail.
b) No one will care or pay any attention to the results. People's prejudices and preconceived notions are far more powerful than mere data. See a), above: the information needed to demonstrate that frame materials only change the parameters of design rather than having some essentialist effect on the ride of a given frame
is already out there. The problem is that no one pays it any attention, they just cling to their beliefs. Collecting yet data on this would only be a colossal waste of time. There is no shortage of fact out there. There is also no shortage of credulous people.