Sometimes on the Desert Hipster Web site a reader will get out of line and criticizes them:
As at all times, he was roundly scolded and mocked for his heterodoxy, and that was that. In fact totally different tubing produces totally different journey high quality, and naturally the reviewers over on the Desert Hipster Web site have the finely-tuned scranuses which are capable of discern it. Anybody who feels otherwise is a bitter curmudgeon, case closed, the top.
I, nonetheless, suppose they’re each unsuitable, or no less than not fully proper. Within the case of the commenter, I do know he’s unsuitable for 2 causes. This:
And this:
Definitely the commenter’s proper in that you just’re not going to really feel any vertical flex sitting on prime of a triangle. Nevertheless, the Teledyne Titan (made earlier than they actually found out how one can construct bikes correctly out of titanium) flexed clearly and disconcertingly in just about each different course. Little question a whole lot of this needed to do with the fork, additionally titanium, which you could possibly see deflecting like somebody whose title has been discovered within the Epstein flight logs, however judging from the chain rub the body flexed a lot too. Some bikes you suppose possibly you’re feeling some flex or some dampening taking place, however you’re not likely even positive in the event you’re feeling it, or in that case the place it’s coming from:
However with the Teledyne Titan there was little question, and it felt nearly comically sproingy.
As for the Y-Foil, it completely flexes vertically and dampens vibration. Granted, that’s not precisely a good instance, because it’s not a conventional diamond body. Nonetheless, that bike’s 27 years previous, so it’s not precisely loopy to suppose that within the ensuing years they’ve found out how one can make UCI-compliant crabon frames which are flexy in a single course and never the opposite. Is it significant or discernible while you’re simply sitting on the bike and rolling alongside a flat floor? In all probability not. They usually nonetheless arrive at it by trickery, like elastomers and notches beneath the seatpost and stuff. However while you consider all the varied permutations and undulations of driving a racing bicycle (sprinting, climbing, diving into turns at velocity, rocking the bike forwards and backwards), little question the fabric and the way it’s utilized is among the issues that informs the best way the bike goes to really feel.
So primarily based on the above, I’d agree the commenter is inaccurate. BUT. These are excessive examples. No person within the enterprise of promoting bikes immediately–whether or not it’s Big, or some non-binary custom-builder-of-the-moment in Portland–goes to construct a motorcycle that behaves like that Teledyne. Fairly, they’re all going to fall inside a sure vary of what’s adequately sturdy and adequately mild. So the query then turns into whether or not you cannot solely discern the particular journey high quality of the tubing, because the Desert Hipster Web site reviewer claims (the remark on the prime of this put up was in response to a evaluate of a sure Ritchey body), but additionally achieve this by means of the handlebars and the saddle and the tires and all that different stuff–in an age through which no influencer can be caught useless on tires narrower than 35mm, no much less.
And I’m going to go forward and say that you could’t. (Or no less than that the diploma to which you’ll be able to might be significantly exaggerated.)
In fact, as a way to actually know for positive you’d want do to a blind take a look at with a number of bikes which are produced from totally different tubing however are in any other case an identical–which, as most individuals know, somebody did:
And right here was the outcome:
And that was on tires no wider than your thumb that have been most likely inflated to 120psi.
Given this, is it humanly doable to check the tubing on this bike…
…and this bike?
They sound totally different after I flick them with my fingernail. Individuals on the Web will say stuff like “Rivendell’s frames are [x] and Waterford’s frames are [y].” However is one actually smoother or is the opposite stiffer? Are you freaking kidding me? The stuff you really feel instantly are the the tires (by far essentially the most speedy), and the variations between the saddles, and the best way the controls really feel in your palms:
And sure, there’s definitely a distinction in stifness between totally different handlebars and stems:
And naturally these two bikes are totally different sufficient it phrases of geometry and match that they journey otherwise:
Do they journey shockingly, mind-blowingly otherwise? They don’t. I believe if most of us with a number of bikes are being sincere, after we change from one bike to a different, the variations are extraordinarily pronounced for about 5 minutes, then we simply get used to it and overlook all about it:
However they’re totally different–most noticeably in match, tire clearance, wheelbase, and aesthetic end. And by extension, they’re totally different when it comes to how one can set them up, which is what’s most essential. However of all of the variations I can discern, it will be an actual stretch to attribute any of them to the tubing.
Similar goes for this bike…
And this bike:
I’m fairly positive they’re each produced from totally different units of Columbus tubing, and I’m completely positive that I can’t inform the distinction in journey high quality between these two units of tubing. I can inform the 2 bikes are sized otherwise and are geared otherwise, however by far essentially the most dramatic transformation in journey high quality occurred after I went from the unique tires on the Cervino to 30mm high-end Vittoria tubulars.
So positive, in excessive instances–comparable to with the Teledyne–you’re undoubtedly feeling the body materials. Damon Rinard stated that whereas it might or is probably not doable for a body to be too stiff, it could definitely be too flexy:
Is it doable for a body to be too versatile? I consider it’s. Below a tough effort by the rider, a versatile body really permits the wheels to come back out of airplane with respect to one another. You possibly can see it in any dash if you will get a view from the entrance or behind. All frames do that to some extent, however giant or highly effective riders could want a stiffer body to reduce this impact.
And a too-flexible body might be laborious to deal with in some driving conditions. For example, on high-speed descents and in corners, an excessively versatile body can weave round sufficient to turn out to be a handful to maintain beneath management. In different phrases, versatile frames might be scary! I as soon as learn a quote attributed to Andy Hampsten to the impact that the one factor scarier than descending on a TVT body was climbing with out one! A really versatile body might be disconcerting sufficient to trigger a rider to again off in some conditions the place a stiffer body would permit him to maintain up velocity.
By that logic, sure, I’m additionally ready to simply accept it’s doable to strike a steadiness between flexy and too flexy, and even that one thing particular occurs when a body (whether or not accidentally or as a result of it’s been constructed only for you) is “excellent.” Nevertheless it’s laborious to reconcile this with my expertise of most bikes feeling “excellent” as soon as I’ve taken the time to set them up the best way I need them, and with the speedy adjustments that occur after I change sure elements, particularly tires–and the broader the tire will get, the tougher it’s to consider you’re feeling a lot if something from the body. (A lot much less the insane assertion that sq. taper spindles and titanium cranks cut back ankle fatigue and are conducive to “all-day driving consolation,” a declare made by the identical website.) Is there a distinction between strolling on a wood flooring and a concrete one? Sure. Is the distinction much less noticeable in a pair of ugly-ass Hokas? Sure. Is it inconceivable to note while you’re in mattress? Additionally sure–although in the event you’re humping particularly vigorously I wouldn’t rule it out fully. And I think it’s the identical factor with body tubing.
Most significantly, it’s extremely foolhardy to rule out the psychological results bikes have on bike dorks. We’re like drunk bros at a strip membership round this stuff, and are usually in no psychological situation to objectively consider their attributes, least of all of the journey high quality of the tubing. I’ve been driving the Milwaukee for 10 years now, and aside from tire adjustments, essentially the most dramatic change I skilled in journey high quality was when it went from black…
…to crimson (or technically it’s copper):
I rode the factor for weeks straight after it got here again with its new end and I couldn’t consider it was the identical bike. Nevertheless it was very a lot the identical bike, and I didn’t even change the elements. (Sure, the elements are totally different within the two pictures, however they have been the identical earlier than and after the paint.)
I actually have a secret bike none of you realize about. (A woman has to have some secrets and techniques.) It’s made by somebody who’s Form Of A Huge Deal:
Is it all the things it’s cracked as much as be? Nicely…sure, sure it’s. Nevertheless it’s additionally inconceivable to overlook what you’re driving while you’re driving it, and to belief your emotions about it. It’s kind of like hanging out with a celeb. Am I experiencing the individual? Or am I experiencing my concept of the individual? Am I having enjoyable? Or is what I’m actually having fun with the concept somebody may see me with this individual?
It’s most likely how Lance Armstrong felt when he frolicked with me:
He was so naive.
