Manonabike
Über Member
Plenty has been said about materials but nobody is saying the difference a modern design bike makes to the comfort of a rider. Most old steel bike have a flat top tube while most modern bikes have a top tube angled.
Plenty have been said about materials but nobody is saying the difference a modern design bike makes to the comfort of a rider. Most old steel bike have a flat top tube while most modern bikes have a top tube angled.
I did say "as a general rule". Price isn't an absolute indicator, but suffice to say the World isn't bristling with top quality carbon frames at cheapo prices.Beyond certain material, production and transportation costs, the actual selling price of a frame is largely irrelevant. Retail pricing is not (in this context) a good predictor of frame quality.
Yep, you could make a frame out of Uranium, or Royal Jelly, or anything sexy, but if it's design is somewhere south of a garden gate then it'll still be crap.Plenty have been said about materials but nobody is saying the difference a modern design bike makes to the comfort of a rider. Most old steel bike have a flat top tube while most modern bikes have a top tube angled.
I think the clue is in the word "Tourer".I prefer a good modern steel frame, bluff old traditionalist that I am. It's simply that of all the bikes that come through the workshop I've never ridden anything in ally or carbon that's as comfortable as my trusty steel tourer.
I did say "as a general rule". Price isn't an absolute indicator, but suffice to say the World isn't bristling with top quality carbon frames at cheapo prices.
Plenty have been said about materials but nobody is saying the difference a modern design bike makes to the comfort of a rider. Most old steel bike have a flat top tube while most modern bikes have a top tube angled.
I heard a few times that the difference between a new bike and the old steel bikes are huge? Is it the weight difference? Or is it the frame design? Or perhaps modern parts make the difference?
What would be the main differences between steel, aluminium and Carbon Fibre frames equipped with identical wheels and group set? Other that weight which would offer the most comfortable ride?
If you're simply comparing new bikes in different materials, the differences in performance and comfort are much smaller.
I have both a Reynolds 725 frame and aluminium frame both on same tyres and there is a world of difference. The steel frame is so much nicer to ride it soaks up bumps like their not there. I still think that the change to aluminium on cheaper bikes was just for marketing purposes. A cheap suspension aluminium bike or a cheap steel bike there is just no contest. For 70% of bikes sold aluminium is a step back in my opinion.