alloy versus steel alfine 8 speed hybrids?

janwal

I have a Giant full sus bike which really only sees canal paths etc and I have Scott carbon bike for roads.I may have to do some commuting shortly and don't want to use the scott for this though and the GIant really is a heavy bike -about 35lbs all up but it is very comfy and I have done 60 miles on in a day touring without probs many times.
An alfine 8 speed really appeals to me for something different and would easily take the sort of off rode that I do
I have had a short ride on steel framed ON one pompetamine
http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/CBOOPOMPALF ... ine-alfine
Evans are also doing the alloy Scott sub 10 solution at the moment for the same price
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/sco ... gn=froogle
Going to test ride it monday.
Two very different looking bikes but which one will give me the best/comfiest ride the alloy or steel,I've not ridden steel since i was kid,I'm now 58 so memory crap !!

davis

If 2 frames are made to the same standard and geometry, steel will be more comfortable. It flexes more, whereas aluminium is stiffer. Steel will absorb road buzz better.

The above is a fairly big generalization: there are myriad steels, myriad aluminiums, and many ways of making bikes, so it would be possible to create exceptions. The Pompetamine is generally accepted to be a well-made frame (hope so; I'm getting one soon!) that's comfortable.

I'd dismiss that Scott because I don't like the look of it.

You should probably know that a steel Alfine-8 bike will be fairly heavy at the back end: do you need gears? Single speed might be an option.

Edit: Forgot to say: tyres will make a big difference too. Probably more than the frame material

janwal

Thanks Davis,yes I do need gears, live in the Pennines and lots of hills between Halifax and Huddersfield and all up hill on way home!! Infact the only real worry is having a low enough gear if needed (58 year old legs).You can specify smaller chainrings when ordering though so may go for 39 instead of standard 42 as top speed is not really a problem and when not on commute will only be on tow paths and light off road trails.The weight is not a problem, the pompetamine is nearly 10lbs lighter than the Giant.Infact it felt suprisingly light when I picked it up.The powder blue looks nice in the flesh but they do black and 'dayglo white' for night time reflection. They hadn't one in the showroom though.It looks very minimalist /retro really.I like the quality of my Scott road bike which is why I'm looking at it on Monday as the quoted weight is the same as the Pompetamine probably due to all the oversize tubing it uses and BIkeradar gave it a good revue.
cheers

Moodyman

davis wrote:

If 2 frames are made to the same standard and geometry, steel will be more comfortable. It flexes more, whereas aluminium is stiffer. Steel will absorb road buzz better.

The above is a fairly big generalization: there are myriad steels, myriad aluminiums, and many ways of making bikes, so it would be possible to create exceptions.

This is true. All other things being equal, steel is more comfortable and enjoyable, but there are too many variables to simply do Steel vs Alu.

davis

Sorry, as you'd mentioned towpaths I'd assumed it would be flat! Gears are probably a good idea.

Just to throw another bike into the mix:

http://www.cotic.co.uk/product/bikes/roadrat/alfine/

I built one up for my dad (same age as you) and he found he preferred the 39T chainring too. I think it's ridiculously spinny, but there you go. I will say that Roadrat frame is one of the most fun, chuckable-like-an-MTB roadbikes I've ridden. Certainly gave a comfortable, compliant ride too. Cotic were a really good company to deal with too. On-one haven't been exactly confidence-inspiring in my experience of ordering of the Pompetamine so far.

If it was my money, I'd still lean towards steel. In fact I'd get the Roadrat with discs (slightly more money). I'll let you know once I get my Pompetamine 11 (though mine's will have drop bars).

Edit: And Cotic are pretty close to you, too.