Been there, done it. Only ride steel now as I find it perfect for nearly all things I do on a bike. Tires are your best option for plushness. Use Conti 700x37 City Ride tires, known to be a bit harsh. When run at 80psi, they are harsh, at 50psi they are a dream. Put your money in the tires and save on the bucks.

First reply nailed it. Bigger tires make all the difference in a rigid frame bicycle (or any other vehicle, for that matter).

Try rolling on 35 or 40mm wide tires, air em down to 35-50 psi depending on rider weight. Tire width and pressure will make a way bigger difference than frame material.

Big, comfortable tubless tires. Don't forget titanium if it is in budget.
no doubt a proper sized bike is the real key.

This bike is a freight train. Takes a few seconds to get up to speed, but just keeps going once you get it moving.

The Above is your it is a very classic roadster, that is still in Production , as a reliable tool for transportation..

I've tried it all, but like the steel best, and the right tires make the ride after that. Fat tires will slow you down a bit I guess, but the ride on bad roads becomes better.

Nice post. Thanks.

Thanks for this post.

There are several shops in the area. I'm on 700x42c right now. On the asphalt I average about 11/12mph on a ride. And it's a sweet ride but the bike weighs 40lbs. and I want a road bike, mostly road. I'd like to run 32c if I can get a comfortable ride. I want to up the speed average, put more miles on a bike.

I'm just getting back to this thread since a few days ago. Great posts. Thanks SEAN and mstateglfr. agmetal... THAT is a sweet bike. Really cool.

I've learned a lot in this thread. Lots to consider but nearly every post points to the tires. I'll always remember that.!!

Someone here mentioned a Bianchi that he loved. A buddy of mine rode a Bianchi for about a year back in the day...90's or so. Said it was the best bike he'd ever road. Even the discounted Bianchi's are expensive today. Nice bike. Better name. I hate buying the name.

I just built a frame for my daughter. Being a small 53ish cm frame to be used for touring and commuting, I designed it with 46cm chain stays and an old Reynolds 531 top tube to help the ride quality. Designed for 700x32 tires. Took it out on a trial ride yesterday and between raindrops today. Purposely rode some rough pave' and it rides like a dream with my 230 pounds on it, and imagine when loaded with gear and my daughter it will have just a slightly harder ride, but not too much harder. Frame flex is good, wider tires are great, and the two together are ideal for tuning ride quality.

You're faster than I am. I'm honestly pretty slow. Going to a narrower tire might be right if speed is the goal.

Thanks! It's a 1937 Raleigh Tourist (Model 21). Later models are better-known by their model number, DL-1

This.

I am 55. I have ridden steel, aluminum and carbon farily extensively. I bought a titanium touring bike in August. I liked it so much I sold my carbon road bike and bought a titanium road bike. You are looking for the ride of a good titanium frame.

If you want a drop bar bike, I would get an all-road bike that takes 40mm tires. Unless you are going high-end steel, I would probably get aluminum or carbon.

Interesting. I would think there'd be an point where the impact from the rotational weight of the extra rubber/wheel assembly would hinder performance? It seems finding the diminishing returns for what is ideal to the cyclists needs/preferences might be researched?

Better yet go with the forever metal titanium.

That's a 1937 Dawn Safety Tourist, no? The frame angles on that thing are really low! How much does it weigh?
https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/File:Im1937Ral-p011.jpg

Nope. 1937 Tourist. A Dawn anything would have 26" wheels, my bike has 28" wheels. The angles have been measured at 66º parallel. I've never weighed it, but it's up there! You don't really feel the weight too much when you're riding though, because it just rolls once it's up to speed.

Ah, I learned something, thanks.

It's quite nice, in any case. Looks to be in fine shape. Good to know it still rides well.

Getting serious about a comfort ride seems like a contradiction- like saying I want a good sleep, so I'll get the softest possible mattress.

If riding slow on a heavy bike, the frame material matters not at all. Supple tires is the only real variable.

I'm imagining that your riding area is flat- that 40 lb 'just rolls once it's up to speed' thing peters out quickly when you get to a hill, & the discomfort sets in.

If cost is no object I think it's definitely Carbon Fiber. It's a very malleable material, they can make the most comfortable bike you've ridden with it, or the stiffest bike you've ever ridden with it. It's possible to make terrible frames with carbon fiber as well (I rode a full carbon Scott frame a long time ago that was super stiff and bounced around the road) or they can make the best frames.

Experience test riding in the last few years has left me feeling that they've also greatly improved frame design with aluminum frames as well. Newer and better designed aluminum frames are better than older or poorly designed aluminum frames. I still think carbon fiber is the best but there's a debate over whether say a 10% improvement in ride quality is worth paying twice as much for a full carbon frame.

I've tried steel but I wasn't impressed despite the claims of it being comfortable. It seems like all the bike manufactures who have made improvements in bike design use either aluminum or carbon fiber, while manufacturers using steel are stuck on older designs that aren't as good as the new designs for ride comfort.

Other factors for a comfortable ride:
- Bike size
- Bike fit, is the bike adjusted for you
- Tire size, wider is more comfortable but wider is also slower (you can get to skinny that's slower to but that's skinnier than comes with most bikes).
- Tire manufacture/design. Some tires are designed for comfort. Tires I know of:

Specialized Roubaix Pro (what I use)
https://www.specialized.com/us/en/ro...=228240-132291

Schwalbe Marathon Supreme
https://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_t...rathon_supreme

I think Schwalbe might make even more comfortable "just comfort don't even care about speed" tires but I'm less familiar with those

- Your own flexibility / core strength / etc

I hurt my leg doing non-biking stuff and in the process of trying to fix it I started doing a workout warmup routine called Limber 11:

This significantly improved my comfort on my bike, I was able to stay more upright more easily and riding just became easier. I don't know if it would work for everyone but it worked for me. You bodies ability to keep itself upright and hold itself in comfortable positions, and to absorb bumps etc in the road, also improves comfort while riding.

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Part of this comes down to how much speed you're willing to sacrifice for comfort. I'm not willing to be uncomfortable but a well designed aluminum road bike with specialized roubaix pro tires has been the balance I've gone with between comfort/speed/cost. If I wanted something really plush I could go with 40c schwalbe marathon supreme's on a bike designed to use them, but that trades off to much speed for my tastes right now.