I want a light frame that flexes a lot. Suggestions?
 

I weigh 120 pounds. I have never flexed a frame in my life. I want a comfortable frame with lots of flex. I have tried some entry level carbon, but it also came with a significant weight penalty. Is there such a thing as a light frame with some flex? I guess most people wouldn’t want to buy a bike like that….

Ibis Mojo :)

I'm an almost-clyde (190ish), and my 1999 Ionic-made Columbus Nemo road bike is a noodle. I'm actually thinking of selling it for that reason, it's a 57, you want to buy it?

why do you want flex

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say.... troll?

But if you're not, go see a custom steel frame maker. I'm sure they can give you all the noodly feeling you could possibly want.

Sorry, I ride a 50cm

What weight is custom steel these days? Can it be made under 1300 grams?

I am thinking Ti...

If you are equating flex with comfort you may be a bit misguided. That being said many Ti bikes are very light and have flex. It is actually one of their selling features.

Todays marketing can lean towards the 'stiffer is better' camp but I can assure you that I was just as fast sprinting on my Ghisallo as I am on my Archon and the Ghisallo has been accused of being a wet noodle. I prefer to think of it as a wound spring, but whichever it was certainly more compliant than my Archon. At 185 lbs though I was looking for something with a firmer BB hence the Archon.

My CX bike is Ti too and it seems to really ride well especially when the ground freezes here in Mi

Oh you can got a size sm Ghisallo for 765g

Any frame w/ a Bontrager crankset.

Was not the Ghisallo reputed to be an overcooked pasta frame?

I have an old steel Bianchi CX bike - not flexy, but pretty comfortable.

Here's your bike.
Mid-80's Vitus, 51cm, with 80's Dura-Ace.
Just don't torque it too hard when mashing or it'll stretch the shift cables enough to cause inadvertent shifts. It's not even al-dente.

You ever think that a flexible frame might waste your energy as it flexes at every pedal stroke causing you to use more energy over a long ride... in the end making you feel like you did more work than you should have.

I could be wrong, I've had stiff bikes since I started, but it might be something to think about...

No manufacturer will advertise that their bike flexes- everyone thinks that's bad.

With carbon fiber you can have a frame that is stiff in the BB but still rides well. That's one of the advantges of CF over round metal tubes.

Try looking into the PedalForce frames. I have a QS2, which they don't make any more. It's very comfortable and the BB is reasonably stiff. The QS3 would be the current version of that frame.

I CAN see why you would want a flexy sort of bike; too stiff o' frame lacks the right kind of handling (on decents in particular) to give a light rider. That said, Ti may work, I've an old one and have many steel bikes to compare it to, it's an entirely different ride. On line stores may be sittin' on a bunch so I would call 'em, I know of at least one that does. Many LBSs don't stock Ti, while other places get top dollar. Carbon used to be the answer but those and AL. have tended to be stiffer since they've become popular over the past nineteen years.

+eleventeen....That Vitus should be plenty flexy as well as pretty light...God bless Sean Kelly for sprinting on those things....

I bet you can still find a NOS Vitus aluminum frame.

[edit] calamarchris beat me to it.

Good one, I've seen shops sittin' on them too.

centurion ironman

Pinarello Montello from the eighties. Beautiful, rides great and is quite flexy.

"I weigh 120 pounds. I have never flexed a frame in my life."


Just because you don't see or feel it flex like a limp noodle doesn't mean that it doesn't flex. Every bike flexes some if you have any power output at all.

My Cervelo R3 is an extremely comfortable bike (on bumpy roads) but still has very little flex in the bottom bracket (ie. very efficient power transfer).

I don't think you are understanding bike design properly.

I haven't seen any NOS Vituses since Nashbar was blowing out a bunch about five years ago. I'd love to have another one in case my old one breaks.

The 979 was light weight for its day but its a heavy frame now.

you don't want a frame that flexs a lot, you want a frame with a nice compliant ride quality. That said, most current frames (particularly top end carbon) are way stiffer that needed for most of the people that buy them. I read posts by people who ride 100 miles a week or less (and don't race) and complain about too much flex and have to laugh.
anyway, any decent steel, ti, or carbon custom builder can give you what you want (or a gifted alu builder). As for stock models- I'd try to test ride some lugged or tube to tube built carbon frames with round tubes. Look and Time for instance. Javelin and Guru also make frames with amazing ride quality. Serotta as well (although we're getting into semi custom territory)
Don't even think about one of those old Vitus'. It's funny that that's the only old flex machine that people know, but that is some serious outdated stuff- and not in any good way.

wont older kestrel or softride be pretty good options if you want a soft saddle feel?

Cervelo RS?