Carbon vs. Titanium?

[rebeccaC]

Talk to the frame-builder about flex versus stiffness, and try to determine what your bike is like.

Designing the proper vertical/lateral/drivetrain flex/stiffness into a frame for a persons needs is one of the benefits of a custom build in my mind. I learned a lot about how those are related to each other and the ride in the conversations during my Seven build. It’s a worthwhile issue to understand especially if you’re spending the money on a higher end custom bike.

The transition from carbon fiber to titanium can help reduce vibration at the transition point. My seat tube/stays being carbon ending in Ti helps in that. Balanced with Ti designed for efficient power transfer and a carbon fork makes it my favorite construction design for the kind of long rides and climbing I like to do.

Lots of choices to make a frame ride the way you want it to.....

[Kathi]

I have an 11 year old Serotta ti/carbon custom frame. I've also had aluminum and full carbon. I get beat around no matter what the frame material. One year I got blown off the road on Rabbit Ears Pass while on Ride the Rockies tour. I stopped riding tours in Nebraska because I couldn't handle the wind. I attribute it my weight, 100 lbs. Good to know others have the same issue.

Last week I had a refit done on my bike. While the bike fit well the fitter said some updating needed to be done. He recommended a newer style handlebar. He said I was "planked out". He meant my arms were stiff and I was riding in the curves of the handlebar. The new bars bring the reach closer to me, allow for a bend in my arms and seem to improve the steering. My thought is if I have better control I won't be like a "drunken sailor" in crosswinds.

Because I have 650c wheels the seat stays are Ti. The only time I notice the stiffness is if there is too much air in my tires. I run 86 psi but sometimes the LBS will fill them higher which makes the ride uncomfortable for me.

If you haven't had a fitting since you bought your bike it might be worth it to see if anything can be done to improve your fit. I was shocked at the changes we made to update my 06 fit to todays standards.

[pumpkinpony]

I'm a little late to the thread (but only a few months, not years!). I have both... I've been gearing up for the hotter than hell century and was trying to figure out which bike to ride, so I've been alternating rides on the two bikes weekly. It took me until two 75 mile rides 2 weekends in a row to decide - I'm taking the Ti bike. The 2 weigh very close to each other. The carbon bike feels sportier and accelerates a bit quicker, or at least it feels like it does. The Ti bike is smoother, but almost soft. Alternating my long rides on the weekends was a good test. I feel less tired/beat up on the Ti bike, and oddly enough my average speeds have been slightly higher on the Ti bike. I had a pro-fit done on them, and they are set up the same geometry wise, same seats, aerobars, etc.

And I may have missed it in another thread, but did you make your decision yet?