*WildHare*

Trying to get a handle on the different characteristics of these frame materials. Where does carbon fiber fit with regard to ride quality. Is it more compliant than steel or somewhere in between steel and aluminum? How does it hold up over the years? how about Titanium?

I've looked in two bike shops. One shop had only 4 road bikes. The next had eye candy galore. Kestrel, Litespeed, Bianchi, and on and on... Drool, drool, drool. Prices started at 800.00 and went to the stars... I was considering a price range from 400.00 to 800.00.... Since my trip to that particular bike shop I think my range has just shot up quite considerably

It's been a while since I REALLY LOOKED at a road bike. My Mountain bike will soon have a stable mate

DRW

I have been on carbon for three years nows. I have ridden steel, aluminum and ti. I feel carbon gives me the best ride. Steel would be my next pick and then ti and final aluminum. On the down side of things steel is heavy, aluminum is harsh, ti and carbon are expensive. On the up side steel have very nice ride and you will have many option, aluminum is light and stiff, carbon will give you a smooth ride, light weigh and very stiff, ti will also have a smooth ride,light weight, but tends to have a lot of flex in the frame. For the money you want to spend you should be able to a mid line steel or aluminum. Hope this helps.

*WildHare*

Very helpful DRW. I'm looking at a Kestrel Talon w/105 components at Supergo...

https://www.supergo.com/itemdisplay.a...d=7559&subid=7

Hopefully get off work early enough to take one for a spin tonight. Gonna try and hit Bicycle John's as well. Didn't have time to ride anything yesterday when I went at lunch time, just got to drool. They have a serious arsenal of high zoot road bikes. Average price had to be 3k+. Lots of Titanium ( Merlin, Kestrel and Litespeed ). Sweet, sweet, sweet. I'm a sucker for beautiful things

ridezeebike

I have always ridden a steel road frame. I enjoy its smooth ride and repairablity (never have needed it though). Good breakdown from DRW. I would add that your wheel set can really affect the frame. Since aluminum is stiffer/harsher, you can mellow it with a softer wheel set--Mavic Ksyriums are softer riding ones if I remember correctly. I have Rolfs on my steel frame and love the set up. For me, steel is cost effective and comfy. My carbon fork helps too. steel is not necessarily heavy, it depends on the tube set. My steel bike is 2 pounds lighter than my wife's alum.

pat5319

Do remember Steel is much easier to fix if crashed!, and really isn't much heavier than the other stuff.
Ride Ferrous
Pat

velocipedio

While I've been impressed by the ride quality of this year's aluminum bikes, I don't find that they come anywhere near steel. Indeed, steel is generally used as the benchmark for the road bike ideal; I can't remember how many times I've heard/seen bike dealers/manufacturers praise their aluminum bikes in terms of "rides as smoothly as steel."

The weight differential is BARELY there. I ride an 18.5 lb steel bike [with pedals], and the steel tubing coming from Columbus [Zona, Foco, UltraFoco], Reynolds and Dedaccia is pretty much on par with aluminum in terms of weight. It's also less brittle, and that means that, as has been pointed out, not only is steel easier to fix, it is far less likely to develop stress cracks than aluminum. That means, among other things, that a steel frame can probably take more abuse and that it will last longer than an Aluminum frame.

If you plan oly to race crits and you have the $$$ to replace your frame in the event of a crash, the rigidity of aluminum could be a good idea. If you plan to ride centuries and race day races, I'd say go with steel. Yes, the pros ride CF and aluminum, but (a) they don't pay for their own bikes and (b) they have half a dozen bikes at their disposal during a stage race, so durability isn't an issue.

A good steel bike is SLIGHTLY more expensive than an aluminum bike, though there are exceptions to the rule. The Univega Modo Volare [Columbus Thron tubing, Campagnolo Daytona group, CF fork, weight @ 21 lbs for 50cm] sells for $1200 US or less, that puts it in the same price range as the Specialized Allez Sport and Giant OCR1 and is, IMO, a superior bike [I've test-ridden them all].

This year's Marinoni Leggero [my bike -- full Daytona, Zona tubing, Ambrosio Excellence wheels] sells/sold for about $1400 US and is far superior, IMO, to any Al bike I've seen in the price range [Trek 2200, Cannondale R600, Giant TCR2, etc.].

If you can find a steel bike -- that usually means thinking outside the box, since all of the big brands are Al these days -- I think you'll get a much better, longer-lasting ride for the price.

I have nothing much to say about CF, except that (a) in the past, CF frames have been notoriously unreliable and, even though all of that is supposed to have been resolved in recent years, I'd like to see this year's CF frames in four years before I reconsider (b) a really GOOD, well-specced CF bike costs about one-and-a-half to twice as much as a compratively-specced steel or Al bike. CF is sexy, but it doesn't look terribly cost-effective to me.

Then there's Ti... but I'll let someone else deal with that.

MichaelW

Good Al bikes (like Principia) ride well and are much more durable than their reputation. They dont snap in half due to fatigue, and Canondales touring bikes go the distance.

The frame repair factor is true for a steel lugged frame, but in practice its quite rare to repair one. Much more important is the fact that custom builders are widespread and can build exactly the bike you want at a reasonable price. I have a steel bike of stock geometry, but my own choice of braze-on fittings. On one bike Ive had fittings attatched at a later data. You can't do that with any other material.

Trekaholic

Don't write off carbon fiber for fear that it's too fragile and won't hold up.

I bought a Trek 5200 with their OCLV frame. 6,500 miles and two crashes later, it's held up great.

Remember that in a crash often what's going to hit the pavement (besides skin) are the things that 'stick out' from the frame: axles, handlebars, pedals, tires. In each of my crashes I got little bits of added personality for my bike. Those neat pointy Shimano Ultegra break hoods are no longer nice and shiny and pointy. They're now bluntly shaved down to the plastic underneath and still work fine.

I considered aluminum bikes from Klein and Cannondale when I was shopping for the Trek. They were all gorgeous bikes, but there was no comparison for the smoother ride of the OCLV. (I don't need to know the year a dime was made by riding over Roosevelt's head!) For some, the sensation of such frames might be preferrable - but not for my ricketty old carcass!

*WildHare*

Anyone try an aluminum frame with carbon stays and fork? I rode a Scattante ($1399.00 w/ full ultegra) last night with this setup. I will be trying a full carbon Kestrel Talon ($1399.00 w/ full 105) on Sunday along with a Specialized Allez Elite ($999.00 w/ mix of 105, ultegra).

It is going to be hard going from a full suspension MTB (which I'm used to) to a rigid RB and picking up on the subtle differences between bikes with just a little time in the saddle around a
parking lot (I think).

Supergo is having a killer in store sale right now that ends tomorrow. Their prices are sooooo much lower than another LBS I went to today for many of the same models. I really want to make a decision tomorrow. They have a very nice Cervelo that I will probably try and a Fuji as well. Wasn't real impressed with the Bianchis' that they have.

Decisions, decisions....

velocipedio

Take a few bikes out for spins and choose the one that feels the best. Don't get hung up on the frame material. If the Al bike with carbon stays feels the best, go for it.

A word of advice, though: take a longer ride than around the parking lot. You can't really FEEL a bike in a short ride like that. See if you can take each one out for at least 15 minutes and prefereably 20 [leave your wallet at the shop, if necessary], and try to bring it up to speed for a few minutes; try some hills and get out of the saddle; ride over some less-than-perfect pavement. A bike that feels great for five minutes on perfectly smooth and flat pavement may not feel great on a century on country roads.

Road bikes do handle differently than MTBs, and you WILL notice the lack of suspension. On the other hand, you'll find that a roadie zips up hills like lightning compared to your FS bike. I doubt you've ever sprinted over the crest of a hill at 50 km/h on your MTB -- it all becomes possible on a roadie.

climin'foo

[QUOTE]Originally posted by *WildHare*
[B]Anyone try an aluminum frame with carbon stays and fork?

I just picked up a Trek 2300 (Al frame and OCLV fork w/ Ultegra) at the year-end stock dump for $1450 and it rides very well. I've had no problems with comfort on the long rides and it's great on the crit courses. I'm glad that I didn't spend the extra $800 just to upgrade to a OCLV frame. Don't get me wrong though, if I had that kind of money laying around I would probobly spend it. In other words, Al is very good and does the job, but the Carbon Fiber frame is the way to go if you have the money.
In regards to steel...there's something about it's weight that just doesn't feel right when I'm off the saddle for a hill or a sprint. But maybe that's just me.

Homebrew01

Troll

and

****

and

:

Or we can delete our posts and put this back where it belongs.

K.Katso

Too bad there isn't an auto-expiration/delete for threads beyond a certain age.

no1mad 

Yer talkin' to a ghost- OP hasn't been around in over 5 years and this thread has been dormant for 14 years...