Steel or aluminium frame?
I have always been an advocate of steel for frames, and have always banged on about steel’s properties being inherent in the material as it is more elastic than Aluminium; hit a steel bar and it rings, hit an aluminium bar and it thuds. Rightly or wrongly I have lived by this maxim for many years.
Recently I had cause to build a bike with an aluminium frame, and have been alternately riding this along with my 25 year old 531 road bike (See links in my sig for details).
The steel frame is coupled with steel forks and was built with 73 degree parallel head and seat tube 60cm C-T. The aluminium frame is built with 7005 Easton tubing and has an aluminium and carbon fork. Not sure what the geometry is but it has a slightly longer wheelbase than the steel bike but it too is 60cm C-T and has some oval tubing.
What galls me is that the aluminium frame rides so much better than the steel one. And I would have thought that the aluminium oval tubing should make the whole damn thing as harsh as anything, but it is light, responsive and far more able to soak up the road than my old steely steed. My 531 frame seems hard and unforgiving, and frankly, in comparison, less a pleasure to ride.
Is it the carbon forks? Could it be just a geometry thing? Or is my assumption about the qualities of steel misplaced? Perhaps my old bones are looking on more favourably at the properties of aluminium.
Just wondered if anyone has a perspective concerning the differences of the two materials, as this is akin to the world collapsing around my ears.
Thanks
Stig
I have always been an advocate of steel for frames, and have always banged on about steel’s properties being inherent in the material as it is more elastic than Aluminium; hit a steel bar and it rings, hit an aluminium bar and it thuds. Rightly or wrongly I have lived by this maxim for many years.
Recently I had cause to build a bike with an aluminium frame, and have been alternately riding this along with my 25 year old 531 road bike (See links in my sig for details).
The steel frame is coupled with steel forks and was built with 73 degree parallel head and seat tube 60cm C-T. The aluminium frame is built with 7005 Easton tubing and has an aluminium and carbon fork. Not sure what the geometry is but it has a slightly longer wheelbase than the steel bike but it too is 60cm C-T and has some oval tubing.
What galls me is that the aluminium frame rides so much better than the steel one. And I would have thought that the aluminium oval tubing should make the whole damn thing as harsh as anything, but it is light, responsive and far more able to soak up the road than my old steely steed. My 531 frame seems hard and unforgiving, and frankly, in comparison, less a pleasure to ride.
Is it the carbon forks? Could it be just a geometry thing? Or is my assumption about the qualities of steel misplaced? Perhaps my old bones are looking on more favourably at the properties of aluminium.
Just wondered if anyone has a perspective concerning the differences of the two materials, as this is akin to the world collapsing around my ears.
Thanks
Stig