I Like Peeing

So this morning I was talking to a co-worker about how much I loved my current steel frame and how it rides. He began to tell me that it didn't matter if my frame was aluminum, steel or carbon fiber, and that the only perceptions I have of how a bike rides is based on the "axle and the bearings" and has nothing to do with the frame. Any thoughts on this? I've ridden aluminum, steel and carbon fiber frames before, and they all had their own feel, but they were all different frames with different geometries. I can't decide what I think of his rant. He also said there's no such thing as frame flex, and I think that's kinda crap.

dutret

it's crap and the axle/bearing comment is absurd.

However tire choice, tube shape and geometry will have a much larger effect on ride then purely the material. Also alot of peoples perception of frame flex/stiffness is purely mental.

bonechilling

This guy's just plain wrong. There are obvious, observable
differences between the ways the different materials feel
and perform. Any frame maker, scientist, metallurgist
or serious rider will tell you that.

TRaffic Jammer

The material and the geometry of the frame and fork says so much in how it transfers vibrations and it's "feel", your co-worker is speaking nonesense.

matthavener

if he thinks there's no such thing as frame flex: hold the seat in your right hand, bars in your left, and then step on the pedal at the bottom of the stroke

i can flex my iro angus a few inches with this technique

Shiznaz

Thats what happens when you talk to your co workers about bikes "You ride in the winter? You must be crazy!" "You don't ride in the curb? You must be crazy!" "You biked 100kms? You must be crazy!"

Well, I'm not!

chip thunder

Yes you are. But so are we all. That's why we come here and commiserate, right?

sfcrossrider

Your co-worker is a ******. Tell him he needs "The Home Proctologist" to get his head out of his @ss.

jyossarian

Your co-worker should be fired. Or promoted. He's shown enough ignorance for both.

queerpunk

sha-ZAM!

ranger5oh

The only thing that matters is what shoes you have on and if you are wearing a scarf. If you wear striped socks, you can COMPLETELY change the feel of your bike. Ive heard that by wearing sunglasses you can change a road bike into a full suspension mountain bike too.

Shiznaz

They have to be these sunglasses though

queerpunk

SUNGLASSES FOR BOOBS!

I Like Peeing

Well, he's a 300 pound dude, I thought it was funny he talked about frames not flexing at all. He called me a moron for disagreeing with his statements about a bike's ride being based solely on the bottom bracket. His answer: "a bottom what?"

caloso

Simple test. Ride a steel frame, note the ride. Swap the wheels onto a CF (or Al or Ti or bamboo or Neutronium) frame and compare. There are huge differences in feel between my CF and Al bikes even with the exact same wheel and tire.

But you knew that.

I Like Peeing

I did know that... I was just hoping the response would be something weird/surprising with everyone united saying, "frame flex doesn't exist! it's all about the axle and bearings!!" Originally, I felt myself get dumber when I heard his spiel.

Aeroplane

I do recall seeing an article about a bunch of bikes made of various materials that were covered with cardboard so you couldn't tell what material they were made out of, or what brand they were. Supposedly test riders rode them and found no difference was felt between them. Anybody care to verify this?

Also, some people say that aliens shot JFK.

lemurhouse

choice of wheels does make a pretty big difference tho.

Shiznaz

I can confirm both of these. Consider them verified.

vinnydelnegro

Again...a topic where there is absolutely no consensus opinion....at least the part about the ride quality of different frame materials. The thing that your coworker said about frame flex seems silly. If he meant that most people can't perceive frame flex...well that's a different discussion. Here's an article from Sheldon Brown's website that I thought was interesting.

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/frame-materials.html

LóFarkas

Yes, I saw that article. It was a big multi-day blind test. Each rider rode various different disguised frames with the same wheels and they reported zero or conflicting differences they "felt". IIRC the frames had the same geometry as well. I'll dig it up sometime.

I can't confirm the second, though.

eddiebrannan

your colleague is correct. these clowns here don't know ****. oh, the only other thing that affects a bike's ride other than axle/bearings is spoke fluid level. if that's not topped off correctly any bike will feel savage

sashae

Bicycle Guide did a test in that regard using a variety of levels of Columbus steel -- from Cromor to Brain. Mondonico built a series of identical (down to the paint color) lugged bikes using 6 different tubesets. Riders had significantly different opinions as to which steel was the stiffest/felt the best.

If you can't tell the difference in feel between an Alan bonded-lugs aluminum frame and a board-stiff carbon Look, you're nuts.

ka12na

Your co-worker is 100% ********. You can tell him I even said so.

SpiderMike

Don't fill the spoke fluid up too much, it can mess up the wheel. The fluid expands while the wheel is going back to true in the freezer.