Frame Fabric - What's What Exactly?

[Mice]

Wow! What fab peeps you all are. Thank you v much for great responses. And I do have a really, really good bike - and a really good Brommie.

Am still thinking.

M

 

[ianrauk]

well you do have the most comfy of bikes don't you? Your Trike.
Or has it been consigned to the back of the garage/shed/spare bedroom?

 

[HovR]

I wouldn't immediately count steel as being very heavy - My 531 framed road bike, with double butted tubing (not triple), weighs in at about 10KG. Obviously more than your 7KG carbon lightweights, but by no means sluggish! Easily light enough to carry up stairs, and competitive with many modern alu frames.

Possibly the most robust of all frame materials, and very forgiving, making it a great for commuting.

That said, I may be biased.

 

[rb58]

Miranda - I may well be on my Enigma on Friday night if it's not too wet, so come and have a look. If it's comfort you're after, you'll have to try a few bikes until you find one you're happy with. My Enigma (titanium) is as comfortable as my steel Audax bike - which is built for comfort, and is very comfortable!
Cheers
Ross

 

[Mice]

well you do have the most comfy of bikes don't you? Your Trike.
Or has it been consigned to the back of the garage/shed/spare bedroom?

Sadly out of commission until I work out how to ride it around London in a more visible fashion. I love it but I dont like being that low down amongst traffic. On an upright I can see and be seen. This is only my opinion obviously and I am not in any way passing judgement!

M

 

[Mice]

Miranda - I may well be on my Enigma on Friday night if it's not too wet, so come and have a look. If it's comfort you're after, you'll have to try a few bikes until you find one you're happy with. My Enigma (titanium) is as comfortable as my steel Audax bike - which is built for comfort, and is very comfortable!
Cheers
Ross

Oooo interesting! Will definitely have a look at that thank you. In fact I may be following it back to the Dartford Bridge (or whatever its called) on Saturday morning!

M

 

[ianrauk]

Sadly out of commission until I work out how to ride it around London in a more visible fashion. I love it but I dont like being that low down amongst traffic. On an upright I can see and be seen. This is only my opinion obviously and I am not in any way passing judgement!

M

That's a shame. Bar having a flag on the back, there's not much you can do to make it more visible is there.
So what's stopping you don't riding it on the FNRttC's when there is very little/no traffic?

 

[simon.r]

Not many positive comments for steel frames here so far, so I'll try and redress the balance:

Steel frames can be fairly light and anyway, as said above, only a small proportion of a bike's weight is in the frame.
There's a huge range of frames made from different types of steel. Reynolds 953 stainless looks interesting and is being used by some very traditional frame builders.
They will rust if not looked after, but there are still plenty of decades old steel frames about.
Repairs are relativey cheap and easy.
Even a very good steel frame can be relatively inexpensive.
A good steel frame rides very well.

I'm not dismissing frames made of other materials, but I do think we collectively often forget how good steel frames can be in our rush to embrace the latest developments in aluminium and carbon.

 

[ianrauk]

I'm not dismissing frames made of other materials, but I do think we collectively often forget how good steel frames can be in our rush to embrace the latest developments in aluminium and carbon.

Indeed. Have just gone back to riding steel with my commuter. It's not that heavy and boy it's a lovely smooth ride.

 

[Mice]

That's a shame. Bar having a flag on the back, there's not much you can do to make it more visible is there.
So what's stopping you don't riding it on the FNRttC's when there is very little/no traffic?

Good Question!!! Actually - my fitness. It's a different set of muscles and they have left me (been out too much on two wheels!). And without becoming a moaning minnie the arm I fractured outside Blackburn last year meant I couldnt carry the trike down the stairs for quite some time. But the trike is an awesome set of wheels. You are right - all I need to do is put it on the turbo and build up my muscles again to head out to an FNRttC. That's a plan coming together!

M

 

[ianrauk]

That's a plan coming together!

M

Well a FNRttC would be good to re-start your 'bent' legs as they are slower rides.

 

[Mice]

Well a FNRttC would be good to re-start your 'bent' legs as they are slower rides.

Indeed it will. But I do need to do some time on the turbo first. <goes off to see fnrttc blogspot calendar>

M

 

[Aushiker]

Sheldon Brown on touring frame choices ... interesting discussion of materials anyway.

Andrew

 

[Mice]

This has been a very enlightening experience! Whilst thinking about possibly riding to the French/Swiss Alps at some stage, I was under the incorrect illusion that a carbon frame would be the least forgiving/hardest frame fabric, so possibly a titanium touring frame would be better as it would have move give in it.

However, apparently the different types of bicycle designs - Racing, Sportif, Touring etc all have different categories of strength/stiffness in the fabric used and therefore my carbon sportif bicycle is not nearly as hard as a racing bicycle and in fact pretty close to a titanium touring bicycle (not quite as giving but not far off it). So asGregColllins said and others have reiterated it really is all about what kind of cycling I want to do on it.

Hmmmm ..... I have reread the above paragraph and I think it says what I want it to say - but mainly thank you for all your comments and responses! - And (unless I am going to the Alps often) I have the right bike providing I have minimum luggage! Hoorayy!

M

 

[VamP]

Everyone raves about the Cannondale CAAD aluminium frames as being the best there are in that material -

That was last year, this year everyone is raving about the Canyon Ultimate AL as being the best in that material.