Best Frame material for comfort.....

Weeman1973

I'm looking at putting together a new build but with comfort in mind over speed now I am getting to a certain age & it's got me wondering as to what frame material I should be looking at and I have narrowed it down to Titanium, Steel or dare I say carbon but in the guise of a 'Sportive' or 'Endurance' style frame.

I currently have an R3 which is far from harsh and also a Vitus Vitesse VRI which I would say is more inclined to be a race bike as opposed to a mile cruncher that won't leave me feeling worse for wear after 3 or 4 hours in the saddle.

So this is where I need some input from you guys as to which frame I should be looking at in terms of getting the most relaxed, smooth ride over a longer distance. I am totally aware that comfort isn't in the frame material alone and has a lot of contributing factors (geometry, wheel & tyre choice etc. etc.) but there must be a material that is more forgiving than others even with the other variables taken into account?

For what it's worth I am a very slight rider at just under 60kg and always ride wide rims (HED Ardennes LT are my preferred choice) with 25mm tyres at a lower 80psi to be as comfortable as I can on my current frames.

So what should it be - Carbon as in a Roubaix or Domane, Titanium or good old fashioned steel????

markhewitt1978

Although I have not ridden one myself I hear the seatpost system in the Domane is really quite effective and gives a smooth ride over quite rough terrain.

hypster

I've owned and ridden bikes (over many 100+ mile sportives) with the four main materials over the years - steel, aluminium, titanium and carbon. As you say, it's not just down to the material that the frame is constructed of but the design and other factors as well. Having said that my general feeling is carbon will ultimately give the best ride because it is the easiest of all the materials to actually 'tune' the ride. Of course there will be cheap, basic mould carbon frames that ride like a plank but once you move up the cost scale, they will generally have some level of thought and design built in.

In terms of my actual experience of the materials here is an extreme generalisation based purely on frames I have owned. I realise these are just generalisations and with the right design and construction all the materials can produce a great frame.

Steel: Generally comfortable with some flex or compliance. Will tend to produce a heavier frame. High-end custom frame builders should be able to produce really nice frames though in this material.

Aluminium: Can be very light, stiff and punishing but manufacturers like Canondale have put a lot of research into their aluminium frames over the years so these can be some of the best using this material.

Titanium: Very compliant and comfortable but can tend to be flexible in larger sizes. A relatively expensive material to build frames in due to high level of skill required in fabrication.

Carbon: In my opinion the perfect combination of stiffness, lightness yet compliance. It is the most modern of construction materials and as such is able to be moulded into any practical shape and tuned to give exactly the sort of ride the designer is aiming for.

I currently have two carbon-framed bikes - a Scott CR1 and recently a GT Grade carbon Ultegra. The Scott I have ridden over several thousand miles and is the most comfortable bike I have ever ridden over any sort of distance bar none. I also have an aluminium Scott Speedster S6 which is almost identical geometry to the CR1 yet riding it over any distance on a regular basis is noticeably tiring (especially on the rear end!).

I recently acquired the GT and have not ridden it any distance yet but initial impressions are very favourable. I bought this bike as a replacement for the Speedster to be used as my main training bike year-round to hopefully be a bit more comfortable.

Just to reiterate I would stress that these are extreme generalisations for each material based on my experience. Personally, I don't think I would consider buying any bike that didn't have a carbon frame from one of the larger manufacturers who usually put a lot of D&D into their frames and are usually widely reviewed. Try and get a test ride as well because you might find a particular geometry doesn't suit your riding style.

andcp

Only a bloke off the internet's opinion......I currently have an R3 also - love it to bits, but without any doubt in my mind the most comfortable bike I ever owned was a Look 566. Light, gloriously comfortable over a long distance and relatively inexpensive.
http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/cate ... -12-46233/

imposter2.0

Comfort is a product of bike fit and tyre choice/width/pressure. Frame material has very little - if anything to do with it.

Anonymous

You will get a far better package if you go for steel or Aluminium than carbon.

If you are setting a budget then a carbon bike will probably, more often than not, have most the value tied into the frame and items like wheels and groupset will be of a lower quality.

A very well made alu bike with better quality wheels coupled with a better quality saddle and seatpost etc will be far more comfortable to ride than a carbon with cheaper components. Things like vibration cause fatigue in your arms and shoulders if you get a lot of road buzz generally from poor wheels/tyres and seatposts which manufacturers stick on carbon to keep the price down. Cheap saddles can make it difficult to get a good riding position which in turn makes you fidget.

JoostG

Imposter wrote:

Comfort is a product of bike fit and tyre choice/width/pressure. Frame material has very little - if anything to do with it.

I agree. Wide rim, with wide tubeless tyre and low pressure and any bike will be comfortable.

Weeman1973

Thanks for the comments so far & totally agree with most that it isn't just down to the frame to obtain comfort which is what I eluded to in my OP. I will be putting together the bike myself so regardless of what frame I plum for, everything else will be the same (will use my HED Ardennes LT which I plan to run Tubeless, Carbon Seat Post etc.) so with this in mind I was wondering which frame material I am better off with to get the most comfort in conjunction with the better quality / comforting running gear I will be using.

Brian B

Maglia Rosa wrote:

You will get a far better package if you go for steel or Aluminium than carbon.

If you are setting a budget then a carbon bike will probably, more often than not, have most the value tied into the frame and items like wheels and groupset will be of a lower quality.

A very well made alu bike with better quality wheels coupled with a better quality saddle and seatpost etc will be far more comfortable to ride than a carbon with cheaper components. Things like vibration cause fatigue in your arms and shoulders if you get a lot of road buzz generally from poor wheels/tyres and seatposts which manufacturers stick on carbon to keep the price down. Cheap saddles can make it difficult to get a good riding position which in turn makes you fidget.

+1 what he says

964cup

FWIW, I have steel, carbon, alloy and Ti bikes. In my experience there's as much impact on comfort from the seatpost, saddle, stem and bars as there is from the frame itself - with tyre and rim choice obviously being the primary driver. Right now I think the most comfortable bike I own is Ti - an Enigma Excel with a full Ritchey Superlogic carbon finishing kit (seatpost sleeved down from 31.6mm to 27.2mm) and a Brooks Cambrium C15 Carved, running on Pacenti SL23s with Hutchinson Intensive 25c tubeless at 90psi. All that said, I weigh 80kg, so will flex everything more than you.