Carbon seatstays or post?

Well, I searched the forums and couldn't quite come up with my answer so I guess I will pose it here to those with more experience than yours truly. I have been narrowing down my new bike choices and have considerably narrowed the field. The Felt FW35 has a carbon seatpost, but not stays, but is full 105, and is a double. Both the Trek 2.1WSD and the Specialized Dolce Elite have carbon seatstays and seatposts, but are Tiagra front derailer and shifters, 105 rear derailer and are both triples. Furthermore, they are both one to two hundred more dollars. Is it better for me to go for the Felt with the better components or get one of the others for comfort. Do the carbon seatstays make that big of a difference over just the carbon post?

i am not so experienced but have been VERY grateful to have a triple, especially as a new rider who needs all the help she can get on the hills-- if it were me (which it's not of course..) i would decide if you can live with the double rather than the triple - i would think this would make much more difference to you and your riding than whether the seatstays are carbon or not.

What she said - I'd go for the one with the better components but if required, take the triple. If not, make sure that double is a compact, not a 53-39. For hills.

How's the fit and comfort compare? My Luna (steel) has carbon fork and seatstays and is very comfortable. I've never ridden on a carbon seatpost. I switched my standard double to a compact double. I wouldn't have had to do that if I'd gotten the triple in the first place.

You might want to consider this: you will never change the stays, but you can upgrade your components (altho you may never do that either). On the other hand, if the stays are shaped--and I assume they are, with that hourglass curve--then you'll get a little more forgiving ride, right there. Also, I wouldn't want to go below the level of 105. The 105 group nowadays is very good. Btw, are the shifters 105s? I think that's more important than the derailleur (and a LOT more expensive to upgrade later).
All in all, I agree with the last post: it will come down to how these bikes feel to YOU. You've just gotta take the time to do a serious test ride, and try to get a sense of which one feels best. I own 2 bikes, and love the one that cost less, probably because it fits so well.
As for the carbon seatpost, one thing to think about is that you will not be able to mount a seatpost rack on it. If you like to ride w/o baggage part of the time but sometimes need to carry stuff, it's really nice to have a quick-release rack that just attaches to your seatpost (Topeak makes a great one, and a bag that slides on & off quickly & easily).

Triple, Triple, Triple.

I have a Roubaix Elite, Double with all carbon, crank, seatpost, seatstay, Frame, Shimano 105, Ultegra... If you're a beginer, this makes NO DIFFERENCE. Get a triple, you'll be happy you did.

A bunch of us were chatting with a bike shop owner about bikes one day recently. A guy had come in with a NOS Blue he was thinking of buying and wanted to know the LBS's owner's opinion on the brand. (Just as the shop owner his/her opinion, and you'll get more than you bargained for!)

According to his observations, many new cyclists shop for bikes backwards.
They focus on components first, then frame (and often never even consider the wheelset).

Components are easily upgradeable and changeable. Therefore, they should be the LAST thing to consider on your list. First should be the frame. What frame fits you best? What frame feels most comfortable to you? Ride them all...ideally one right after the other, so you can compare one against the other. And don't discount the wheels that are on each bike. Ride one bike and ask the shop to swap out the wheelset on the same bike and you will be amazed at the difference in ride.

And...if you intend to ride for a long time, a few hundred bucks..does it really make that big a difference? If you ride 200 times, that's a dollar a ride. ;)

I've always heard, in order of importance:

1. Frame
2. Wheels
3. Components

Wheels are, of course, the easiest thing to swap out. Many shop owners will be happy to quote you a price for upgraded wheels when you're buying a new bike. Or you could sell the wheels that come with your bike & buy decent ones. I have one set of crappy wheels (bought to use on my rollers mostly) and on hills especially I can feel a BIG difference between them and my nice wheels.

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Originally Posted by violette

Triple, Triple, Triple.

I have a Roubaix Elite, Double with all carbon, crank, seatpost, seatstay, Frame, Shimano 105, Ultegra... If you're a beginer, this makes NO DIFFERENCE. Get a triple, you'll be happy you did.

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There we go again, strawberry or vanilla. Depends on your terrain....

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Originally Posted by alpinerabbit

There we go again, strawberry or vanilla. Depends on your terrain....

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Did I say something wrong?:(

Carbon is just bling. Get the bike with better components. IMHO, carbon seatposts don't make an appreciable feel difference, it's only worth it if they make a weight difference (I have ridden carbon seatpost in carbon frame, Thomson alu seatpost in carbon frame (no difference at all in feel between former and latter), and alu seatpost in alu frame (no difference in saddle/seatpost feel, actually, but carbon frame IS less buzzy than alu frame was -- fwiw, I had a Felt F50 with carbon fork & stays)).

Currently I'm riding a carbon road bike, but previously I had an alu road bike with carbon fork/stays. I also have a Bianchi alu cross bike with a carbon fork, but alu seat stays. I have ridden said cross bike on pavement with road tires, and honestly it doesn't feel harsher than my alu road bike with carbon stays felt...

Also, I test rode a Cannondale bike (I get the Systemsix and Six13 confused, it was whichever has a carbon front triangle and alu rear triangle) and it was fast, fast, fast and not super forgiving, but not harsh either...

So I would pay attention to fit, handling, and drivetrain components -- how materials feel depends a lot on how a particular frame is built.

Violette -- I think the "sin" you committed (and I think it is completely forgivable) was to assume that everyone has the same needs and preferences. I am pretty happy in semi-hilly terrain with my standard double (53/39), and I have ridden various triple configurations and know what I am missing in terms of low gears -- AND I'm carrying 10 extra pounds right now and am a bit out of shape. So.... "triple, triple, triple" might not be the right mantra for everyone.

Double vs triple does seem like it will vary by person and by terrain. Personally, I live in a hilly, but by no means mountainous area, and I have always had a double. I don't feel that I need a triple, and wouldn't want to be tempted to use a granny gear if it wasn't necessary - I like to think that it will make be stronger. The temptation to drop into the granny might be too much for me.

That is on my road bike. My touring bike has a triple, and I can spin seated up a hill on my way to work on that bike, that I have to stand on my road bike on. Needless to say, my mountain bike is a triple. I'm not anti-triple, but I think that riding a double can help a person to get stronger and tougher (not overnight), as long as the terrain isn't too extreme for it.

I just finished reading Miles From Nowhere, by Barbara Savage. She and her husband toured around the world. The did the US first (8000 miles, or something). It wasn't until the end of the US leg that they upgraded their 10 speeds to 15 speeds! The Rockies, etc - on 10 speeds, with 50-60 lbs of gear!

I've been biking recently on a frame without carbon seat stays, it did have a carbon front fork and a carbon seatpost. I've been having a lot of wrist pain and hand numbness, despite gel under the handlebar tape, raising the handlebars, and keeping the weight off my wrists... And I've been having it early in the ride.

Yesterday, I fixed up my bike with carbon seatstays, carbon seatpost, and carbon front fork... And magically there was no wrist pain till probably about 20 miles into the ride and it wasn't that bad.

When we got back home, I sort of took both bikes, and dropped the front end on to the concrete floor of the garage... The frame without the seatstays kept vibrating for quite sometime and transmitted to the handlebar of the bike. The frame with the carbon seatstays, dampened the impact fairly quickly and I couldn't feel it much in the front of the handlebar.


If you have any wrist issues (I do have bad wrists to begin with), I'd get a bike with the carbon seat stays. I probably wouldn't buy the bikes with tiagra shifters though. At least 105 for the shifters, if the front derailleur's tiagra, that's not a huge deal - it's like a $40 upgrade to 105 if that, and you're not going to notice a lower end front derailleur.


As for double vs. triple... I live in a hilly/mountainous area. I tend to stay riding on the hills and don't need my granny ring - but I like the option of having the granny ring in case I eventually go nuts and decide to start riding up the mountains. I'm just working my way up to it.

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Originally Posted by Catriona

I probably wouldn't buy the bikes with tiagra shifters though. At least 105 for the shifters, if the front derailleur's tiagra, that's not a huge deal - it's like a $40 upgrade to 105 if that, and you're not going to notice a lower end front derailleur.

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I'm not quite sure I agree with this. I think the difference between a higher-end versus a lower-end front derailleur is much more noticeable than the difference between different grades of rear derailleur. I know my Ultegra FD shifts much more crisply and easily than my 105 FD, though there is not much difference in the rear shifting (one bike has full Ultegra and the other has full 105).

I wouldn't skimp on the FD.