All Aluminum Isn't Created Equal

[GLC1968]

My husband's most comfy ride (and he's had too many bikes to count) came from an aluminum Specialized TriCross. It actually rode smoother than his two TI bikes, multiple carbon bikes and a couple of steel ones on chipseal. And yes, geometry makes a HUGE difference. My Tri bike is carbon and it beats the crap out of me on rough road because it's designed to be stiff and fast. Frame material is only a part of the equation - wheels, tires, inflation, geometry, fit, etc....they all make a difference in how well a bike handles rough roads.

[redrhodie]

My nicest bike is Al. It is very comfy. I always wondered if the Al bashers had ridden nice Al. I bet not.

[zoom-zoom]

My nicest bike is Al. It is very comfy. I always wondered if the Al bashers had ridden nice Al. I bet not.

That's the really odd thing...everyone says "oh, Cannondale...alum. is their specialty!" But my experience with an aluminum Cannondale was pretty iffy, even with a carbon fork and relaxed geometry, which I would have thought would have dampened the buzz a lot more. When I wanted more aggressive geometry I didn't even look at a CAAD frame, since I figured that would be even MORE uncomfortable--instead I went for the SuperSix, which has the same geo, but in carbon.

Perhaps that CAAD would have been just as comfy (and cheaper), but there was no way to know, since no one stocks the men's version in a little 48.

[rubysoho]

Question: How do you know a bike is made with the good aluminum? I have been hesitating on the Specialized Tricross with disk brakes (2012 model) because it is aluminum. And I can't test ride it on a really long ride to see if I will like it as much as my Ruby Elite (carbon).

[zoom-zoom]

Question: How do you know a bike is made with the good aluminum? I have been hesitating on the Specialized Tricross with disk brakes (2012 model) because it is aluminum. And I can't test ride it on a really long ride to see if I will like it as much as my Ruby Elite (carbon).

That's the million dollar question. I always assumed that my Cannondale was about the "best" aluminum available. Now I don't know.

[GLC1968]

Question: How do you know a bike is made with the good aluminum? I have been hesitating on the Specialized Tricross with disk brakes (2012 model) because it is aluminum. And I can't test ride it on a really long ride to see if I will like it as much as my Ruby Elite (carbon).

If you see my post above - my husband LOVED his TriCross, despite the aluminum! He actually owned 3 different tricrosses at one point (for other reasons) but felt they all had a ride that felt as smooth as his carbon Roubaix.

[Hi Ho Silver]

A bike's material is only a part of the comfort equation - how the material is formed (i.e., tube shape, diameter, wall thickness) and how it is used (i.e., frame and fork angles) play a significant part in the equation. Perhaps just as importantly, the tires and PSI play a huge part in comfort.

Although lots of people quote the familiar slogan "steel is real", I haven't found that to be the case. My first MTB was made from steel, including the bullmoose handlebar/stem combo. The high level of road and trail buzz transmitted by that bike caused my hands and shoulders to throb ...until I ditched the steel handlebars/stem combo and installed an aluminum stem and handlebar. That made all the difference in the world as far as comfort.

At one time, I had both a steel Raleigh MTB and a Klein aluminum MTB (reputed to be one of the stiffest MTB's back then). The Klein didn't beat me up on trails and/or roads as much as the steel bike did.

I currently have a steel road bike (1997 DiamondBack) with very relaxed angles, and a carbon fiber bike (2011 Specialized Ruby Elite) with steeper angles. The carbon fiber bike rides like a Rolls Royce, even on recently laid chip-seal roads, whereas the steel bike is buzzy and harsh enough that I tire after 30 miles on rough roads.

[Catrin]

Interesting discussion, but it makes sense to me that it goes down to the quality of the materials regardless of frame composition. My Gunnar is a full custom, and they have their own custom lightweight steel tubing they use for both Waterford and Gunnar builds (they use two basic types). The ride is very smooth and cushy - the only bike I've ridden that is more comfortable is my fill suspension mountain bike!

My LHT is less comfortable, though far better than my Trek 7.6 was. The steel tubing is much heavier and indeed the smaller LHT sizes could be said to be over-built. Nice ride, but not as sweet as my Gunnar - and I am specifically referring to road vibration/dampening, NOT handling. The Gunnar wins in that department as well but that is another topic.

[rubysoho]

If you see my post above - my husband LOVED his TriCross, despite the aluminum! He actually owned 3 different tricrosses at one point (for other reasons) but felt they all had a ride that felt as smooth as his carbon Roubaix.

Thank you! I missed your post in my haste.

[Caddy]

Hrm... I've had the opposite experience and so has my spouse - we both went bicycle shopping the last three weeks.

I hated, hated the Tricross. I felt everything on the road and acceleration was difficult. The Giant TCX W was a lot more comfortable, but unfortunately a tad too large.

My husband tested about 15 different bicycles, including the Tricross, and concluded that the Cannondale Synapse felt the most comfortable (Jamis Ventura was the second closest and the Caad9 was third). Granted, there is no Redline Conquest near us in his size, so perhaps that's even plushier, but now I'm confused about the differing opinions!