Sceadu498

I was wondering what the difference in ride quality is between a Carbon bike versus an Aluminum Frame with Carbon Fork.

What sort of difference in ride can one expect?

Elvo

You need to specify which frames you are comparing

Sceadu498

My current road bike is a 1999 LeMond Alpe Duez aluminum frame with a Time Stiletto carbon fork. Been wondering about how a carbon frame bike rides in comparison. If a carbon bike has a better ride I wonder if I should look into selling it or getting a carbon frame set and switching out the components.


i know I am not as comfortable on my current bike the older I have gotten.

Elvo

It's likely that you'll find a carbon endurance bike with wide tires like a Defy Advanced, Cannondale Synapse Carbon, or Trek Domane to be a lot more comfortable. But there are also stiff carbon bikes like a Fuji SST, Scott Foil, or S5 that you may not find to be any different than what you have.

Lazyass

Very true. But..................

dtrain

CAAD10 or death

Stucky

It depends on the particular bikes in question. It's not so much what they're made of, but HOW they were made; the quality/attention to detail of the frame; what kind of use the bike is intended for; geometry; etc.

I have an old Klein which is aluminum with a carbon fork; and a late-model carbon Venge, with carbon seat post; handlebars and cranks. They're both high-quality, stiff, race-oriented bikes. You'd be surprised how similarly they ride. Hard to even tell a difference- but if push comes to shove, I think I'd haver to say that the AL Klein rides a little better than the CF Venge.

The only way you'll likely know, is to test ride the bikes in question. If they're in similar price ranges, and similar types of bikes, you likely won't even notice a difference. On the other hand, compare a $1000 bike and a $5000 bike....regardless of which is CF and which is AL....you'll notice a difference.

Generally speaking:
Decent quality AL trumps cheap CF
Decent CF trumps cheap AL.

seymour1910

say it again my CAAD brother

Domane

Aluminum/carbon fork vs Carbon, I had a Trek 2.1 aluminum road bike with 105 5700 group generic Shimano crank and tektro brake calipers. I now have a Trek Domane 4.5 with full Ultegra 6700 group with the exception of the brakes which are current Dura Ace and the crank which is the current Ultegra 6800.

The ride quality of both bikes is good. On a smooth road surface the aluminum 2.1 rode smooth but any change in the pavement you could fell it and bumps while very manageable where sent through the frame to the rider. On the same smooth road surface the Domane 4.5 400 series carbon ride is very smooth like you are gliding over the roadway. Small change in the pavement is soaked up by the Domane 4.5 retaining that smooth gliding over the pavement feeling. Bumps are more muted and not as harsh when compared to the aluminum Trek 2.1 and the aluminum Trek was not a harsh riding bike.

The aluminum Trek 2.1 rode very nice and was a great bike but the 400 series carbon Domane 4.5 takes it to the next level in smoothness.

You really have to ride the bikes on the same roads you travel on to make a valid comparison between the two. When I first bought my Domane I thought I had made a mistake but after fine tuning the fit and adjusting and changing the component's that I wanted to upgrade this Domane 4.5 is really a much nicer bike than the already very nice Trek aluminum 2.1 and the ride quality is really better on the Domane than the 2.1 remembering the Trek 2.1 was still a very nice riding bike in its own right.

carpediemracing 

Up front the fork makes a huge difference (with a given tire/bar/stem/tape combo).

At the back the frame makes some difference (with a given tire/saddle/post combo).

It's more complex than that but that's a place to start. As stated above you really need to ride the bikes/frames in question. A modern bike typically is much more supple than an older one. This is especially true with aluminum, where modern frame are much more refined than the older frames. With carbon there's also an element of vibration absorption which is why carbon forks and bars are more comfy.

dtrain

I've actually only done a few rides on my CAAD - it's still 'new-to-me'. Definitely stiffer than the steel bike it replaced.

All things equal, the full carbon bike should be a bit smoother and more forgiving than an alloy frame (especially on longer rides and rougher roads). The problem is that few things are equal. High-end alloy (like a CAAD10 or Smartweld) will likely trump mid- to lower-end carbon (like a generic Nashbar-style frame). I'd probably take decent carbon over decent alloy...but those aren't likely to be priced the same if similarly spec'ed.