Dylansbob 

Is it "suppleness" or is it "flexy"?

I've been switching between my bikes the past couple of weeks as well as building up some frames I had laying around. The more I compare my 531 fleet with some of my other bikes, the more I feel like all of my 531 frames are flexy. When turning in, I feel unsettled with the amount of flex through the frame.

The rides I have been on were:

22in '71 Raleigh Gran Sports (full db531 and matching fork)
23in '85 Falcon (full 531, maybe straight gauge with matching fork)
23in '73 Raleigh Super Course (531 main triangle)

Compared to:

22in aluminum frame/fork Nashbar touring bike
22in custom lugged steel track bike (oversize db Deda cromo)

I have had wider bars (moustache and NR-style), so that could be a contributing factor. Tires and wheels have been the same across a couple of the frames. I'm not very big (5'10", 175lbs)

Do I just have an under-developed sense of bike handling?

nlerner

What's happening that you're calling "flex"? Is the frame moving underneath you under hard effort or feeling too light on the front end (which could be due to how your weight is distributed w/ upright bars)? Fwiw, I've had lots of various 531 frames move through the fleet in the last few years; some were keepers, some were not. The tubing is just one factor in overall ride quality.

Neal

due ruote 

Are you sure about the Gran Sport? I thought they were 531 main tubes + fork only until 1974. Not that I think that's an explanation for your lack of enthusiasm. Touring bikes are made to hold up to greater weight, and track bikes are obviously made to be stiff at the expense of comfort, so it's no surprise that your 531 bikes feel more supple than those examples. I say ride what you like.

big chainring 

Well I can tell you a gran sport and a super course are long wheelbased, long chainstay, big fork rake bikes. They wont compare to a track bike thats for sure. But for ride comfort they are hard to beat.

I had an old Raleigh Competition, 1969 I think, that bike was real whippy. But I really liked it. It had round oval round chainstays and a front fork that really swooped out.

brockd15 

Ditto. I would think those two might feel quite a bit different than your 531 bikes because of what they're built to do.

divineAndbright

I had a 531 frame before, not sure whom built it, but it seemed english. In the end I came up with the same complaints; the bike was too flexy. When I rode hard outta the saddle; sprinting or just accelerating I felt it in the BB, and the fork was annoyingly flexy, just kinda rocking the bike back and fourth outta the saddle the rim would rub up against the pads on either side. Sure, it was nice looking and light, but had to get rid of it cause it was no pleasure to ride.

Ragooch

I think you are expecting too much from three mediocre frames. I do not think it's the tubeset that is the problem. At least do not pass on trying a higher end frame built from 531 based on what you have.

nikkorod

Do yourself a favor. Go buy a more modern steel frame such as Reynolds 853, True Temper Platnium or matbe even Tange Prestige. Fot that matter try Tru Temper OX or Tange 2 for the vintage. As light and not as flexy. I would guess that Columbus SP/SL is less flexy as well, but don't habe much exp. with it.

rekmeyata

Long wheelbased bikes will flex, though I once rode a long wheelbased bike that used Ishwata 022 and that was stiffer then Reynolds touring tube set. But I have an 84 racing bike with Reynolds 531cs tube with very tight geometry, you have to deflate the rear tire then smash it against the seat tube to get it out. But that frame is very stiff, but so is my Miyata 712 with the splined tubing. There both similar in feel, but the Miyata is about 1/2 pound heavier.

mickey85

I honestly don't understand this post...I'm a bigger dude (220 lbs), and neither of my 531 frames feel whippy or flexy. Matter of fact, if my entire fleet was 531, I'd be happier than a pig in poop...

divineAndbright

A 531 tubeset is a 531 tubeset, if one builder builds one, and another builder builds one with the same angles and everything else the rides basically gonna wind up the same, didn't bruce gordon once say something like "Whats so special about someone whom brazes tubes together?" I'm put off on 531. the frame I had was a race frame, tight angles, and flexy like spaghetti under my 130lb frame.

miamijim

Old geometry versus new geometry.

miamijim

Knowing what temperature to bring the metal up to? Too hot or too cool will change the way a bike rides and feels. Long point versus short point lugs also change how loads are distributed down a tube.

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

classic debate: Is it the Builder or the Materials?

perhaps those 3 frames the OP didn't care for had crappy or poorly tensioned wheels.

jimmuller 

The '73 catalog says 531 double butted main tubes and 531 forks. The decals on my GS say 531 tubes and 531 fork, no mention of DB. This is only a little off topic.

RobbieTunes

No clue, having never been near one, unless roccobike had one I didn't realize was 531.
I have friends who like theirs, and they aren't the type to tolerate a flexy frame.

Aside from pro cyclists, I'm not sure most of us really know what is actually flexing.
That doesn't mean we don't think we know, or have a pretty good idea...

My guess is that forks are the #1 culprit, combined with headsets not properly adjusted.
Behind that, my pet peeve is a soft wheelset, trued and 20 years old, but not tensioned for the rider's weight.
As far as feeling the actual frame flex, can't tell, and never really thought about it.

Riding the drops makes you more sensitive to the fork flex, I think, along with whatever that front wheel is up to.

auchencrow

It's more in the man than in the material.

bobbycorno

Ah.... no. 531 was available in a range of wall thicknesses that eventually became known as 531 ST (Special Tourist), the heaviest of the bunch, on par with Columbus SP; 531 C (Competition), a bit lighter than SL; and 531 Pro (aka 531 SL), for featherweights only. Never ridden a 531SL bike, but for me (at 6'3" and 185lb), 531ST bikes always felt harsh and "dead", and 531C always seemed "just right" - way better than any Columbus bike I ever rode (except maybe a DeRosa; can anybody explain that one?). Just goes to show ya - YMMV, and it probably will.

SP
Bend, OR

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

those old raleigh catalogs are more "guidelines" than rules. To a degree they sort of did whatever they wanted to it seems..."How do you wanna thread this BB Shell?"; "Whatever, who cares.."

I don't know if you can even trust the person who was putting the decals on the bikes over at Raleigh to have been terribly accurate. I believe the phrase was "That'll do."

bobbycorno

Don't say it..... DON'T SAY IT!!! Gritting teeth.... Biting tongue...

SP
Bend, OR

old's'cool

I'd love to hear a physical explanation for that theory...

That one I can buy.

big chainring 

Wow, bashing 531 on the forums. Whats this world come to.

I'll take all those flexy 531 frames you guys dont want.

Also, this thread is basicly hogwash.

jimmuller 

Hogs have to wash too, you know, and I'll take those 531 frames if you please if I get there first.

dbakl

Yes, I'd guess a 531 frame would feel more flexible than aluminum or a track bike. I've always preferred 531 myself...

norskagent

what is it about chrome confente track bikes that I don't like?