(MTBScottie) wrote:

I have read alot of your comments about how great steel hardtails are. Does a
steel frame offer better shock absorbtion? I was looking at either a Marin
Pine Mountain or a Kona Explosif if a steel frame may remedy some of the
harshness I feel on the aluminum framed bike.

Don't count on a frame - any frame - to "absorb" road shock. The rear
end of a bike frame is basically a bridge truss, and the vertical flex
(the only kind that contributes to a "good ride") is limited to the
sub-mm range. Consider your rear tire has many, many times as much
and it should become pretty clear that you aren't going to feel a
difference in ride quality switching from one frame material to
another.

That's not to say that you won't get a lot of contrary opinions - but
most of those will be from those who EXPECTED to feel a difference
(and therefore did), or from those who don't understand the physics
involved.

There ARE other differences between frames in terms of lateral
stiffness, but that doesn't contribute to absorbing trail bumps.

Differences in geometry affect balance and ride quality (to a point),
but that has nothing to do with frame material.

Don't buy a steel (or ti) bike because you expect it to deliver a more
compliant ride - but there are lots of other reasons to buy a
particular bike / frame (that I won't go into here lest it sounds like
an infomercial).

Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.habcycles.com
Home of the $695 ti frame