Nut in zis contry! The German TOUR magazine did a very interesting test a
few years ago. Read my translation on Google Groups. Bottom line- Going
from the noodliest ultralight steel frame to the stiffest aluminum frame had
the same effect as changing your tire pressure 10 psi. They concluded this
by measuring impact on a rider with sensors.
http://groups.google.com/
If the URL doesn't work search for "Frames Do Influence Comfort, According
to TOUR tests"
> Message: 11
> Date: Tue, 21 May 2002 09:17:59 -0700
> From: cnighbor <cnighbor@pacbell.net>
> To: "classicrendezvous@bikelist.org" <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> Organization: Pacific Bell Internet Services
> Subject: [CR]Ride quality
>
> We talk about the ride quality of steel versus aluminum versus Ti versus
> whatever. My question is this has anyone every seen or done a
> quantifiable study on how air pressure or a change of tires or tire
> width affects ride quality. I know form experience that just lowering
> the air pressure 5 psi can turn a rough ride into a smooth ride and
> going from say a 25c width to 28c width does the same. And with the
> contact area of the tire being nearly equal for both widths does it
> matter if one go to a wider tire.. So how does evaluate a frame ride
> quality when tires and pressure affect the decision process so much.
> Charles Nighbor
> Walnut Creek, CA