StanSeven

We all know the direction this thread is going…and it’s not to a good place. Thread closed

StanSeven

After more thought among the moderator staff, the thread is reopened. Have fun but keep BillyD’s message in mind.

datlas 

Kudos. Let's see where it goes.

indyfabz

It's about titanium being No. 1 and all other materials also-rans. As the old saying goes: If you're not first, you're last.

bampilot06

personally I prefer paper over plastic. Takes me back to my youth.

DaveSSS 

If you're using modern wheels that are hookless and wider, so you can use 50-70 psi tire pressure, the frame material makes little difference.

seypat

tFUnK

I feel like people bash aluminum bikes because there's a lot of entry level aluminum bikes out there, but a good aluminum bike rides just as well as a carbon bike. I've ridden mid-level steel and titanium bikes and they were fine but not "magical". Most fancy bespoke bikes are steel but that's only because steel is the easiest to work with. Carbon is nice but they all kind of look the same and make me feel like a wannabe racer (not that it's a bad thing). At the end of the day, geometry, weight, and tire clearance are the important things to figure out, and frame material just happens to be a constraint due to what's readily available in the market.

PeteHski

Doesn't that also apply to steel/aluminium/ti bikes too?

znomit

Sometimes the Ti conglomerate gets left over tubing from the circus and makes their bikes from that with those crazy twirls.

Otherwise, yeah, but blame the UCI.

PeteHski

Given your above rankings (particularly comfort), how would you rank those same materials for making forks, seatposts and bars? I ask because most modern high-end steel and titanium bikes are paired with carbon forks, seatposts and bars.

GhostRider62

For me, it is a toss up between magnesium and carbon. Magnesium takes abuse better and damps very well but so can carbon. I have to say my two magnesium bikes are my favorite material but carbon is nice, too. I would not use carbon touring in remote areas, any of the metals would be better from an abuse perspective.

indyfabz

No.

MattTheHat 

I came here looking for bamboo frame love. It tops the missing sustainability category and is oh so chic. It’s also the obvious favorite for pandas.

Trakhak

Stunning, but definitely an outlier among titanium bikes. The majority of them are at least as identical-looking as modern carbon bikes.

PeteHski

Apart from the distinctive paint job and slightly funky rear dropouts, it looks like any other generic diamond shaped tubular frame to me.

indyfabz

Apart from her smile, the Mona Lisa looks like every other painting of a woman out there.

P.S. That's a ceramic finish, not paint, and you cannot see the LOVE statue decal nor get a sense of varying tubing sizes and the seductive curves of the stays from the photo.

PeteHski

You could say the same kind of thing for any high end carbon frame too. It wasn't a criticism btw. It was merely an observation that any perception that carbon bikes might all look the same is true of any other frame material too. I actually see more subtle variation in carbon frame tube profiles than in any other material.

A quick glance down this compilation of top 10 Ti bikes of 2022 shows very little variation. If you removed the names it would be very hard to identify them. I'm not saying it would be much easier with carbon bikes, but I could easily spot say a Trek Madone from a Specialized Tarmac or a Bianchi without relying on the paint job.

https://www.bikeradar.com/advice/buy...um-road-bikes/

seypat

I'd put Carbon in last place simply because I'm having trouble coming up with a cool sounding rhyme that it goes with:

Steel is real
Ti is fly
Any of the "nums" go with yum or ho hum
Bamboo is new
Carbon is.................assplosive?
Carbon fiber is..........assplosive?

Definitely carbon is the worst.

GhostRider62

Give me time, I'll eventually acquire one.

seypat

Since we're talking about Titanium, if you can't afford a ceramic finish I guess you could put a Kaitoke wrap on to give it some color. Hot!

https://www.vinylfrog.com/products/m...een-vinyl-wrap

Bob Ross

Also way more fun when it burns! How would OP rank the other frame materials in terms of incendiary entertainment value?


"Carbon gives me a hardon"

You're welcome.

seypat

Similar to what people experience with Bamboo.

GhostRider62

I think the magnesium is mixed with some other crap. The mg welding takes expensive craftsmen vs carbon frames. So, not really a commercially viable material for a bike frame. Pinarello AK61 is a grail bike.

tFUnK

I see your point and agree that each material (including carbon) tend to conform to certain tube profiles. I guess I would argue that there's more room for creativity (and what the market find acceptable) for the metal bikes. What comes to mind are the custom/weird bespoke steel frames out there to keep things interesting, or the helix tube titanium frame, or even how different a Caad looks from an Allez Sprint. I get there are carbon aero bikes vs. lightweight climbers but to me the fat tubes kind of look similar, especially now that there's a trend towards carbon bikes designed to be both light and aero - Tarmac SL7 comes to mind.