Steve Sr. wrote:
I have seen carbon fiber seat stays being advertized as improving the
"comfort" and the ride "quality" of a bike. Serotta even goes so far
as putting a bearing at the dropout end on their high end bikes to
allow the seat stays to flex and act as springs to soften the ride. Or
at least this is what is claimed. Other manufacturers make similar
claims.

So given a regular full titanium frame like a Litespeed Tuscany how
much if any difference would be made by having the seat stays made of
carbon fiber? Would the difference be noticeable or not? Has anybody
done any _quantatative_ measurements or studies on this or is it all
subjective?

Thanks for your thoughts.

Steve

It is a mystery to me how any frame maker can say a titanim frame,that
lasts forever and having a wonderful ride, can be improved with carbon
plugs or a supported at both ends, carbon rear end glued in. Stays don't
flex up and down an amount that would make any difference. On an
aluminum frame, the chainstays don't flex at all, and a non compressable
stay is the stuff of marketing.

It is an unneceassary addition that makes things more expensive, less
reliable.