Question about ride quality of aluminium with carbon stays

How do the aluminium frams ride that have carbon stays? Do they help
to cut down on the stiffness of the material? Can you compare the ride
quality to anything else out there? As a reference I ride a LOOK,
Bianchi Boron XL and Bianchi MegaTi. How would the ride quality
compare to those?

AEDv8sc

"Roy" wrote in message
om...
How do the aluminium frams ride that have carbon stays? Do they help
to cut down on the stiffness of the material? Can you compare the ride
quality to anything else out there? As a reference I ride a LOOK,
Bianchi Boron XL and Bianchi MegaTi. How would the ride quality
compare to those?

I doubt that there's a pat answer to your question.

I recently bought a Klein Team Q-carbon (aluminum w/carbon seat stays), and
find the ride quite smooth compared to the other bikes I test-rode (steel,
al and ti). Someone else might totally disagree, however.

Bill "it's about the bike...fit?" S.

In article ,
"Gearóid Ó Laoi/Garry Lee" wrote:

It's all in your imaginations chaps. All materials ride the same. If people
do not know what kind of frame they are riding, they can't tell. It's been
tested.

it's been tested? you know, i've always suspected that "ride qualities"
might be mostly psychological (though i HATED my 1986 vintage c-dale
and LOVE my 1997 vintage kestrel) but didn't know that it's been tested.
can you please give a pointer to or info about the tests? how were
they conducted? how'd they disguise the construction of the frames?
what types were compared (alu, steel, alu/cf, ti, etc)?

tia for your reply!!

hg

(Roy) wrote:

How do the aluminium frams ride that have carbon stays? Do they help
to cut down on the stiffness of the material? Can you compare the ride
quality to anything else out there? As a reference I ride a LOOK,
Bianchi Boron XL and Bianchi MegaTi. How would the ride quality
compare to those?

The stiffness of carbon depends on the amount, density, and direction
of the embedded fibers, as well as the shape of the structure in which
they are laid. The stiffness of aluminum depends upon the diameters,
wall thicknesses, and lengths of the tubes in the structure.

Therefore, the effect that such frame construction will have is
uncertain and dependent upon specific traits of the frame in question.

Mixed frame materials as a rule are intended to enhance marketability
and perceived value but not any tangible element of performance. A
mixed-material frame will almost certainly cost more than a frame made
of its cheaper component, while failing to deliver any detectably
different ride characteristics.

Chalo Colina

"H. Guy" wrote:

In article ,
"Gearóid Ó Laoi/Garry Lee" wrote:

It's all in your imaginations chaps. All materials ride the same. If people
do not know what kind of frame they are riding, they can't tell. It's been
tested.

it's been tested? you know, i've always suspected that "ride qualities"
might be mostly psychological (though i HATED my 1986 vintage c-dale
and LOVE my 1997 vintage kestrel) but didn't know that it's been tested.
can you please give a pointer to or info about the tests? how were
they conducted? how'd they disguise the construction of the frames?
what types were compared (alu, steel, alu/cf, ti, etc)?

The most famous blind test was done by 'Bicycle Guide', when they had
seven (IIRC) bikes built with every tube set available from Columbus
(IIRC). Even though the writers of the day (and even that magazine)
were waxing poetic about the drastic differences between two adjacent
sets of pipes, suddenly they couldn't identify which was which - at
ALL! In fact, the cheapest tubes got the highest overall rating by
the testers. It was really pretty comical - but pretty much what
you'd expect given the physics of a bike frame.

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

Some years ago a magazine ran a test where they papered over all the frames
and got "experts" to describe the ride and guess what they were riding. They
hadn't a clue. I read the magazine but it was more than 10 years ago and I
can't remember what mag it was, but it was British.

In article ,
"Gearóid Ó Laoi/Garry Lee" wrote:

Some years ago a magazine ran a test where they papered over all the frames
and got "experts" to describe the ride and guess what they were riding. They
hadn't a clue. I read the magazine but it was more than 10 years ago and I
can't remember what mag it was, but it was British.

wait, were they all steel, or a mix of different materials?

roy- How do the aluminium frams ride that have carbon stays? BRBR

A carbon stays, particularly one supported at both ends(seat stay only) , does
nothin' to change the ride of this or any other material. It is mostly
marketing and painted as a 'performance' advantage.



Peter Chisholm
Vecchio's Bicicletteria
1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535
http://www.vecchios.com
"Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

Chumpy- Mixed frame materials as a rule are intended to enhance marketability
and perceived value but not any tangible element of performance. A
mixed-material frame will almost certainly cost more than a frame made
of its cheaper component, while failing to deliver any detectably
different ride characteristics. BRBR


Very well said...

Peter Chisholm
Vecchio's Bicicletteria
1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535
http://www.vecchios.com
"Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

On 2 Sep 2003 10:22:03 -0700, (Roy) wrote:

How do the aluminium frams ride that have carbon stays? Do they help
to cut down on the stiffness of the material? Can you compare the ride
quality to anything else out there? As a reference I ride a LOOK,
Bianchi Boron XL and Bianchi MegaTi. How would the ride quality
compare to those?


Comparing the ride quality of one bike to another has more to do with
tires, tire pressures, and saddle than tube materials. Want to change
ride quality? Change one of those.


jeverett3ATearthlinkDOTnet http://home.earthlink.net/~jeverett3