A question that keeps on bugging me: which frames, materials and tubing lead to more souplesse / planing, and which ones don't? Over the years I started to enjoy the feeling of souplesse. Which direction should I go on next purchases?
This morning I read a comment by beabear444 about Vitus 979 that they are springy and also have souplesse / planing. I had no idea.
https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...-aluminum.html
I have ridden a classic Look with carbon tubing and lugs, and found that smooth but dead, not springy or with souplesse / planing. I was expecting the same from Vitus 979 frames, but apparently I was wrong.
For reference, souplesse / planing is about the pedal stroke, where the frame, really the top tube, stores energy and releases energy again.
Jan Heine even claims that frames with the right kind of flex will help you ride longer and faster. Myself I am not convinced of faster, but I do very much enjoy the feel. It might be, faster is about uphill
https://www.renehersecycles.com/the-...cs-of-planing/
Currently I only have classic steel frames in my stable. A metric 531 Liberia has a nice feel of souplesse. My Mercier straight-gauge doesn't feel lively or springy and has no souplesse. My camping bikes, most probably straight-gauge (Peugeot 1978, Motobecane 1956), do have a lot of souplesse.
I am a bit confused to simply conclude that straight-gauge in general has no souplesse. Can someone set me straight
And does oversized double-butted steel, like Reynolds 753, have souplesse? And is it true that Vitus and Alan aluminium lugged frames have souplesse?
And modern aluminium and carbon bikes, they don't? Do they feel like pushing against a brick wall?
And if I enjoy a supple frame so much, should I try a classic titanium Merlin then?
Can I simply state that a Vitus 971 probably has more souplesse then a Vitus 172? Or is that a wrong way to thing about it?
And then years ago I read about the Dutch bikes from Zieleman, the seat tube is a bit more backwards with a lower angle. This makes them feel like "they want to eat asphalt", which seems an apt way to describe souplesse.
For the record, it seems many people call frames light (or heavy), or smooth (filtering road noise), or flexy or whippy (in the back) or springy or whatever, but in this topic I am mostly interested in opinions on souplesse.
When people describe a bike as springy, does that also mean it has souplesse?
Anyway, many questions, much confusion here
about a topic that isn't talked about much directly, is sometimes hard to describe, and might feel very subjective.