Flex - frame and wheels
08-18-05, 08:50 AM
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Flex - frame and wheels
I've read a few posts regarding wheelsets stiffness and frame flex....
Just curious how one would rate frame flex in steel vs. carbon vs. aluminum? I also read recently in a triathelete magazine that carbon looses it's "snap" after a couple years where as aluminum and steel can take 4-5 years. So if one buys a carbon frame does that mean its only superior in performance for 2 years and then you might as well be riding aluminum or steel?
Also, what about rims? What would flex be for an aero type wheel (Ksyruim) vs. a flat profile Mavice Cosmo vs. a carbon rim?
Just curious how one would rate frame flex in steel vs. carbon vs. aluminum? I also read recently in a triathelete magazine that carbon looses it's "snap" after a couple years where as aluminum and steel can take 4-5 years. So if one buys a carbon frame does that mean its only superior in performance for 2 years and then you might as well be riding aluminum or steel?
Also, what about rims? What would flex be for an aero type wheel (Ksyruim) vs. a flat profile Mavice Cosmo vs. a carbon rim?
08-18-05, 09:04 AM
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Frame flex has way more to do with the geometry and build than the material it's made out of. And unless your at the elite level of competition, the "snap" won't be gone. Just buy the bike you like the look of and rides the way you want and you fit to, and get on the road. Don't over think the problem
08-18-05, 09:04 AM
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there is no magic number. If you log 1000 miles a year, it might last 10 years. If your a racer logging 15,000 miles a year, and HARD miles, maybe a few months.
I have a set of Ritchie Deep Sections that I can't climb with anymore as I can rub them off the brake pads without gassing it. My Aluminum frame has some tough miles in it, and its fine. I don't ride carbon so I can't help there.
I have a set of Ritchie Deep Sections that I can't climb with anymore as I can rub them off the brake pads without gassing it. My Aluminum frame has some tough miles in it, and its fine. I don't ride carbon so I can't help there.
08-18-05, 09:06 AM
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I'm not looking for "what to buy".....just looking for a little knowledge/opinions from all the "experts" out there and those that might experience in riding one vs. the other. All I've ever ridden is aluminum.
08-18-05, 09:11 AM
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The only people who can answer your question are the ones who don't understand what they are talking about.
You don't ride steel or carbon or aluminum. You ride on a bike frame that was made using those materials. The details of how it was made have more to do with the stiffness characteristics than the material that it was made out of.
For example. Vitus and Alan were among the first manufacturers to mass produce aluminum frames. They used essentially the same porportions as the steel frames of the time. The result is that they were very light and very "whippy". When Gary Klein produced the first fat tube aluminum bike, he succeeded in producing a bike that weighed less than a steel frame bike but was still stiffer.
Pidgeon holeing the ride characteristics of a carbon fiber frame looks to me to be an even more impossible task. The ride characteristics of carbon fiber bike frames can be tuned by using more carbon fiber or even by orienting the fibers in a different direction.
It looks to me like the higher tech bike designers today start out with a list of characteristics they want the final product to have and chose materials and manufacturing methods to achieve those goals. Assuming that's the case, a smart bike buyer would ride some bikes, figure out which ones he thinks feels best for his style of riding and buy it regardless of the material used to make it.
You don't ride steel or carbon or aluminum. You ride on a bike frame that was made using those materials. The details of how it was made have more to do with the stiffness characteristics than the material that it was made out of.
For example. Vitus and Alan were among the first manufacturers to mass produce aluminum frames. They used essentially the same porportions as the steel frames of the time. The result is that they were very light and very "whippy". When Gary Klein produced the first fat tube aluminum bike, he succeeded in producing a bike that weighed less than a steel frame bike but was still stiffer.
Pidgeon holeing the ride characteristics of a carbon fiber frame looks to me to be an even more impossible task. The ride characteristics of carbon fiber bike frames can be tuned by using more carbon fiber or even by orienting the fibers in a different direction.
It looks to me like the higher tech bike designers today start out with a list of characteristics they want the final product to have and chose materials and manufacturing methods to achieve those goals. Assuming that's the case, a smart bike buyer would ride some bikes, figure out which ones he thinks feels best for his style of riding and buy it regardless of the material used to make it.
08-18-05, 09:20 AM
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Originally Posted by Retro Grouch
The only people who can answer your question are the ones who don't understand what they are talking about.
You don't ride steel or carbon or aluminum. You ride on a bike frame that was made using those materials. The details of how it was made have more to do with the stiffness characteristics than the material that it was made out of.
For example. Vitus and Alan were among the first manufacturers to mass produce aluminum frames. They used essentially the same porportions as the steel frames of the time. The result is that they were very light and very "whippy". When Gary Klein produced the first fat tube aluminum bike, he succeeded in producing a bike that weighed less than a steel frame bike but was still stiffer.
Pidgeon holeing the ride characteristics of a carbon fiber frame looks to me to be an even more impossible task. The ride characteristics of carbon fiber bike frames can be tuned by using more carbon fiber or even by orienting the fibers in a different direction.
It looks to me like the higher tech bike designers today start out with a list of characteristics they want the final product to have and chose materials and manufacturing methods to achieve those goals. Assuming that's the case, a smart bike buyer would ride some bikes, figure out which ones he thinks feels best for his style of riding and buy it regardless of the material used to make it.
You don't ride steel or carbon or aluminum. You ride on a bike frame that was made using those materials. The details of how it was made have more to do with the stiffness characteristics than the material that it was made out of.
For example. Vitus and Alan were among the first manufacturers to mass produce aluminum frames. They used essentially the same porportions as the steel frames of the time. The result is that they were very light and very "whippy". When Gary Klein produced the first fat tube aluminum bike, he succeeded in producing a bike that weighed less than a steel frame bike but was still stiffer.
Pidgeon holeing the ride characteristics of a carbon fiber frame looks to me to be an even more impossible task. The ride characteristics of carbon fiber bike frames can be tuned by using more carbon fiber or even by orienting the fibers in a different direction.
It looks to me like the higher tech bike designers today start out with a list of characteristics they want the final product to have and chose materials and manufacturing methods to achieve those goals. Assuming that's the case, a smart bike buyer would ride some bikes, figure out which ones he thinks feels best for his style of riding and buy it regardless of the material used to make it.
