All Aluminum Isn't Created Equal

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My carbon road bike is in the shop getting a new bottom bracket bearing, so today I rode my nearly new aluminum cyclocross bike (with road tires) 70 miles with friends.

Last night I was dreading this ride. I knew a fair amount would be on rough chipseal. My previous bike was an aluminum road frame (2010 Cannondale Synapse 5) with carbon fork, just like my CX frame.

So, imagine my surprise when I found this frame to dampen vibration nearly as well as my road bike. Huh? Color me surprised!

I told DH that if my first bike had been a Redline Conquest that I may not have even felt the need to upgrade right away. It's ~4#s heavier than my road bike, but it was still a pleasure to ride, even up some pretty steep hills (that's when the added weight and loss of wider-range road gearing would have been nice).

[Rebekah H]

70 miles? Dude. You kick booty!

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70 miles? Dude. You kick booty!

Heh, last Sat. I rode 147. Though today almost felt harder, since it was crazy hilly.

Trust me, keep riding and eventually 70 will be a NBD ride.

[Rebekah H]

Showoff!!

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Showoff!!

Nah. Friends of mine did the same 147 mile ride...then the next day turned-around and rode back...with a headwind. They're just crazy gluttons for punishment!

[Owlie]

My carbon road bike is in the shop getting a new bottom bracket bearing, so today I rode my nearly new aluminum cyclocross bike (with road tires) 70 miles with friends.

Last night I was dreading this ride. I knew a fair amount would be on rough chipseal. My previous bike was an aluminum road frame (2010 Cannondale Synapse 5) with carbon fork, just like my CX frame.

So, imagine my surprise when I found this frame to dampen vibration nearly as well as my road bike. Huh? Color me surprised!

I told DH that if my first bike had been a Redline Conquest that I may not have even felt the need to upgrade right away. It's ~4#s heavier than my road bike, but it was still a pleasure to ride, even up some pretty steep hills (that's when the added weight and loss of wider-range road gearing would have been nice).

That's awesome. And 70 miles...meep! (Read in a sort of Beaker-type voice)
Entry-level aluminum frames seem to be pretty crappy--DBF said the difference between his old OCR3 and his Cannondale was dramatic, and his Cannondale is at least six years old at this point. Or is it just that relaxed-geometry aluminum frames tend to have crappy ride qualities? I seem to remember DBF saying that at the time he had his OCR, Giant used the same frame through the entire aluminum line. (Does Redline do the same thing?) I'd love to hear someone knowledgeable on the subject's input.

(So I'm not crazy for considering aluminum for my next bike, right? )

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That's awesome. And 70 miles...meep! (Read in a sort of Beaker-type voice)
Entry-level aluminum frames seem to be pretty crappy--DBF said the difference between his old OCR3 and his Cannondale was dramatic, and his Cannondale is at least six years old at this point. Or is it just that relaxed-geometry aluminum frames tend to have crappy ride qualities? I seem to remember DBF saying that at the time he had his OCR, Giant used the same frame through the entire aluminum line. (Does Redline do the same thing?) I'd love to hear someone knowledgeable on the subject's input.

(So I'm not crazy for considering aluminum for my next bike, right? )

I'm not sure if Redline does or not...I think they might, though. Price point on the Redline and Synapse were about the same, though. The Conquest actually has lower end components (came stock with a mix of Sora/Tiagra, which we had swapped for SRAM Apex, since I have Rival on my roadie). My Synapse was 105. Both with carbon forks. So maybe it's related to the quality of the forks or the carbon used...?

You might be right about the geometry, too, since the Synapse was quite relaxed and sorta mushy. The Conquest feels a lot stiffer and more responsive.

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Oh, and you are totally not crazy to consider aluminum. And I definitely would check out the Redline Conquest bikes. I love that I have the option to use it for CX or road or even for some touring, since it has mounting points for panniers and racks and stuff.

[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.

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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).

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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.