This myth of steel frames going soft (over the course of a season) I'm fairly certain was shown to be a function of racer fitness. They actually got stronger and fitter over the course of a season and were able to get more flex out of a frame later in the season. But controlled structural tests showed that the same amount of force was required to flex the BB (and other bits) at the end of the season as at the beginning. I can't recall where I had read this report but it made far more sense and had data to back it up.
As for the alignment issue, I'd say many frames aren't perfect from the start. Aligning them will help them ride properly/more comfortably but I can't imagine it would have any effect on flex.
Also I think the 'crispness' of a new racing bike has more to do with the lack of slop that develops between parts over the course of their life, leading one to an assessment of a stiffer/crisper riding machine. Most folks are happy with new bikes because they're new, everything works (or should!) nothing to complain about. :-)
And then there's the FAQ:
http://draco.acs.uci.edu/
I like the 'fact' that old racer's frames 'go soft', that way they're more likely to sell them to me cheap! :-D
David Bilenkey Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
> -----Original Message-----
> From: classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org
> [mailto:classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org] On Behalf Of
> Jerome & Elizabeth Moos
> Sent: September 30, 2004 9:53 AM
> To: richardsachs@juno.com
> Cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> Subject: Re: [CR]Old, worn out racing frames
>
>
> I know I've had frames I knew had not been crashed
> refinished, and they were found significantly out of
> alignment and rode much better aftter correction. But they
> were production frames, so maybe the alignment was just poor
> to start with. If a steel frame does not deform absent a
> crash, then the loss of "feel" racers report after a couple
> of seasons is all in their heads. Of course more than one
> racer has been accused of being a head case,anyway. Or
> given the nature of American criteriums, maybe any frame
> which has been used for two seasons has been crashed at least
> half a dozen times.
>
> Regards,
>
> Jerry Moos
> Houston, TX
>
> "richardsachs@juno.com" <richardsachs@juno.com> wrote:
>
> snipped:
> wrote:
> "What does happen is that old frames become misaligned over time."
>
>
> Moos-issimo -
> i have never known this to be true unless a
> crash or three was part of the equation.
> e-RICHIERTC
> Richard M Sachs
> Chester, CT