Today's Bike Ride

[Stagger]

18 mile to work. Found a shorted route as legs were heavy from weekend.

18 home again and legs felt ok on bike, but now feel like someone has run over them with a bus.:w00t:

[Hanneke]

I'd love to see a blind test that considered how different frame materials feel, without the riders knowing what they are meant to be expecting.

Yeah, I like that idea... everyone is rather puzzled by my bike, on the racing scene... but when the actually dare to lift it up and have a go are pleasantly surprised that a bike that isn't carbon can be so good and so light... I think the carbon thing is a fad!

[Hanneke]

Sounds like a good ride Donkey

[daz h]

I'd love to see a blind test that considered how different frame materials feel, without the riders knowing what they are meant to be expecting.

id bet diamonds i could tell you the difference between steel and carbon , easy. for one carbon just does not soak up the ride.
I will defy anyone to say tha carbon is a comfier ride than steel.

953 and hanneke's titanium probably not

953 / titanium against 531/631= easy total difference in weight

[daz h]

I remember a previous spoke breaking incident on those wheels, they are a bit crap, aren't they? Get some Mavics!

depends what zondas they are
they aint cheap to repair either

[stevefoster]

18 home again and legs felt ok on bike, but now feel like someone has run over them with a bus.:w00t:

Fare comment mate

[daz h]

Ian yep ive tried 725 and the famous 753 like what Ras rode. Would you believe when I worked in the framebuilding dept at Raleigh they had loads of spares from the old days. Should of had a couple away at the time.

[nikalas]

Yeah, I like that idea... everyone is rather puzzled by my bike, on the racing scene... but when the actually dare to lift it up and have a go are pleasantly surprised that a bike that isn't carbon can be so good and so light... I think the carbon thing is a fad!

I wrote an article on different frame materials a while ago for 220 Triathlon and interviewed Rohan Dubash.


Rohan Dubash has nearly 30 years of experience in specialist bike retail. In that time he’s seen trends come and go and has probably built more bespoke bikes than is healthy for one individual. Formerly of Cycles Dauphin he’s recently joined the team at Sigma Sport. He writes for a number of publications including Roleur, gives talks on bike building and is a self-confessed “bike geek”.

“I don’t have a problem with carbon as a material but just feel it might not be quite a utilitarian as it’s become. You have to treat it with respect and be aware, that after a crash, it might appear to be fine but in reality be fatally structurally flawed. Steel, alloy and titanium all show damage in a pretty obvious way but with carbon it can easily be hidden. It’s also hard to differentiate between good and poor quality carbon as, unlike the standard tubing ratings of the other materials, carbon is a complete unknown. I worry that people will buy a cheap £1000 carbon bike and treat it like any day-to-day ride. You can’t just chuck a carbon bike in the shed covered in s**t on a daily basis and expect it to last. I think in a few years time the ease of availability of carbon frames will come back and bite us with a spate of frame failures and associate legal fall-out. It’s so easy to crush a set of carbon bars with the bike in a work stand, with light-weight high-end gear comes more responsibility.”

So, the killer question. One bike, and one bike only, for the rest of your life?

“Well, let’s rule out carbon for the reasons above, alloy won’t last a lifetime and steel will eventually rust. I guess it’d have to be titanium, but I’d insist it was the highest quality and that every tube was bespoke to my specifications. Like everything you get what you pay for and you’d have to pay a lot but it would last a lifetime.”

[The devil's own]

So, the killer question. One bike, and one bike only, for the rest of your life?

“Well, let’s rule out carbon for the reasons above, alloy won’t last a lifetime and steel will eventually rust. I guess it’d have to be titanium, but I’d insist it was the highest quality and that every tube was bespoke to my specifications. Like everything you get what you pay for and you’d have to pay a lot but it would last a lifetime.”

That would be a trip to Independent fabrications for me then. I'll take a Ti deluxe, with headtube to suit a lefty fork thanks for the off road, and a Ti crown Jewel for the road. Now if only I had the £6000 I'd need to buy those 2 frames!

[Hanneke]

So, the killer question. One bike, and one bike only, for the rest of your life?

“Well, let’s rule out carbon for the reasons above, alloy won’t last a lifetime and steel will eventually rust. I guess it’d have to be titanium, but I’d insist it was the highest quality and that every tube was bespoke to my specifications. Like everything you get what you pay for and you’d have to pay a lot but it would last a lifetime.”

Exactly what I have I just have to hope I don't shrink too much in old age