Reynolds 853 vs. Carbon

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  • February 10, 2016 at 5:41 pm #1047547
    hozn
    Participant

    Tires (pressure, size, tpi) make a huge difference. But I’m sure the frame properties are relevant too. Incidentally, try lowering the pressure in your 25mm tires; that should make things smoother. You shouldn’t need to run same pressure in different tire sizes.

    Other things that make one bike feel different from another:
    – Saddles and seatpost
    – Wheels (depth, width, spoke count/lacing, etc.)
    – Handlebars
    – Bar tape

    So probably too many variables for there to be an easy answer, but frames will make a difference in the ride. (Also carbon != carbon. Just like steel != steel. You’re talking about frame layup, etc.)

    February 10, 2016 at 6:29 pm #1047556
    Crickey7
    Participant

    I would say that just because carbon can be a more forgiving material doesn’t mean it will be, for the reasons mentioned. Steel would in general be more forgiving due to its inherent qualities.

    February 10, 2016 at 7:58 pm #1047569
    Vicegrip
    Participant

    it is all in the build. Any frame material can be built to almost any desired end point. Steel can be dental damaging rigid, aluminum can be comfy and compliant and carbon dull and heavy. To be both stiff and light takes you into tighter constraints. Forks add in to the damping factor as well. Many frames now have carbon forks regardless of the material used in the frame itself.

    February 10, 2016 at 9:14 pm #1047578
    Crickey7
    Participant

    If you’re so inclined, there are several very good seatposts from Ergon and Specialized that take the sting out of bumps, and something like a Brooks Cambium saddle might help. You only have one butt, you know. Take care of it.

    February 10, 2016 at 11:31 pm #1047583
    GovernorSilver
    Participant

    Before I bought my adventure road bike, I tested about 10 or so different bikes in that category. I was so sure the the steel ones would ride better than any carbon but was proven wrong.

    I ended up buying a carbon Jamis Renegade, despite my bias towards steel bikes for the pretty colors and looks in general. It felt just as good to ride as any of the steel bikes on a variety of surfaces, except a really rough, wavey, and kinda nasty patch of asphalt down the hill from Proteus (the bike shop) – I got rattled when I rode on that patch, no matter which bike I was riding.

    It helped that the Renegade came with 35 x 700c tires stock, I’m sure.

    February 11, 2016 at 4:42 pm #1047754
    Raymo853
    Participant

    @Geoff 134716 wrote:

    One of my bikes is a carbon frame Scattante. Tires are 700×23 Hutchinson Nitro.

    Get rid of those 23’s. No one over 50kg/110 pounds should ever ruin such a narrow tires outside of a velodrome.

    OK, after that smart butt comment, tires are the biggest variable in smoothness however that frame is the second. And it is just not the material, but also how it is built. There are very “soft” and very “hard” carbon frames. The same applies to steel.

    I strongly suspect the Lemond was made to be smooth, while the Performance house brand was made with price point the most important variable and the ride quality was nearly ignored.

    February 11, 2016 at 5:20 pm #1047759
    hozn
    Participant

    If the steel Lemond is anything like the ti Lemond Victoire I used to own, then I would agree that the frame was made to be smooth. The guy I sold the Lemond to came back from a test ride saying that it was the smoothest bike he’d ever ridden. I mostly noticed this as being extremely flexy — brakes would rub if standing on the pedals — so I was really happy when my Habanero (also titanium) road frame didn’t feel quite so “smooth” :)

    In general Raymo’s probably right about running larger-size tires — larger tires *at same PSI* roll faster (but as noted, riding a larger volume tire at same psi makes for an even harsher ride). But I kinda like the extra road feel that the smaller tires provide; I’ve got my commuter/cx bike if I want to ride the 28mm tubeless tires (which feel really nice, yes) and the 23mm GP4000S tires on the fast bike for when I want to feel more “connected”.

    February 13, 2016 at 1:19 am #1047672
    vvill
    Participant

    I wish I knew the answer to this. Ti, carbon and fancy steel bikes are a little too expensive for me to chop and change, so I don’t have much experience with them, and although I do have a one Reynolds 725 bike and one titanium frame, the frames/wheels/tires are so different there’s no way for me to tell what’s really affecting the ride.

    I’m not convinced of the beautiful smooth ride of steel (although I do like the look of it, and the generally rounder tubes), nor the dead harsh ride of Al, especially when as Vicegrip points out, the tubing shape/diameter has a huge influence on how the material performs. I feel like your position on your bike, seatpost, your weight, riding style, etc. will all have quite an influence too. I can and do change wheels and especially tires and tire pressures to see how the ride quality is affected, but I still don’t know about frame materials.

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