D
David
Guest
In article <[email protected]>, Steve Sr.
<[email protected]> wrote:
> I have seen carbon fiber seat stays being advertized as improving the
> "comfort" and the ride "quality" of a bike. Serotta even goes so far
> as putting a bearing at the dropout end on their high end bikes to
> allow the seat stays to flex and act as springs to soften the ride. Or
> at least this is what is claimed. Other manufacturers make similar
> claims.
>
> So given a regular full titanium frame like a Litespeed Tuscany how
> much if any difference would be made by having the seat stays made of
> carbon fiber? Would the difference be noticeable or not? Has anybody
> done any _quantatative_ measurements or studies on this or is it all
> subjective?
>
> Thanks for your thoughts.
>
> Steve
Steve,
I had the opportunity to test rode two bikes of the same model but a
different year. The Devinci Silverstone 105 (2004) is all full Optimum
61 aluminium frame, whereas the 2005 model is the hybrid Optimum 61 AL
frame with carbon stays. The verdict? They both ride the same.
I also tested a Trek 2300 with carbon stays and that didn't improve
vibration damping at all, or what the hype led me to believe.
Certainly, not worth the extra cash that Trek wants. In fact, I was
totally surprised at how smooth and dampened the ride quality of the
CAAD 7 Optimo frame that's on the Cannondale R700. A tad bit harsher
than my carbon bike, but for 1/4 the price, it's a steal and it's an
all full aluminium frame! Just unbelievable.
Lots of makers are putting out these bonded frames as a way to get
people to buy new bikes and I think it's working. I see a lot of
people riding with these bonded bikes all around, thinking that they
have a soft tail road bike. That is just incredible.
David.
<[email protected]> wrote:
> I have seen carbon fiber seat stays being advertized as improving the
> "comfort" and the ride "quality" of a bike. Serotta even goes so far
> as putting a bearing at the dropout end on their high end bikes to
> allow the seat stays to flex and act as springs to soften the ride. Or
> at least this is what is claimed. Other manufacturers make similar
> claims.
>
> So given a regular full titanium frame like a Litespeed Tuscany how
> much if any difference would be made by having the seat stays made of
> carbon fiber? Would the difference be noticeable or not? Has anybody
> done any _quantatative_ measurements or studies on this or is it all
> subjective?
>
> Thanks for your thoughts.
>
> Steve
Steve,
I had the opportunity to test rode two bikes of the same model but a
different year. The Devinci Silverstone 105 (2004) is all full Optimum
61 aluminium frame, whereas the 2005 model is the hybrid Optimum 61 AL
frame with carbon stays. The verdict? They both ride the same.
I also tested a Trek 2300 with carbon stays and that didn't improve
vibration damping at all, or what the hype led me to believe.
Certainly, not worth the extra cash that Trek wants. In fact, I was
totally surprised at how smooth and dampened the ride quality of the
CAAD 7 Optimo frame that's on the Cannondale R700. A tad bit harsher
than my carbon bike, but for 1/4 the price, it's a steal and it's an
all full aluminium frame! Just unbelievable.
Lots of makers are putting out these bonded frames as a way to get
people to buy new bikes and I think it's working. I see a lot of
people riding with these bonded bikes all around, thinking that they
have a soft tail road bike. That is just incredible.
David.