> In the 70's an Ideale 90 with alloy frame was lighter than the other leather saddles but not used, Cinelli plastic versions got the nod, especially for racing. The Ideale was expensive even back then & not very avail.
Cinelli alloy bars and stems had built up a good reputation, a great one until the "new design" internal bar clamp arrived. It was avoided by the "riders".
On the track it was steel, for style & confidence. (at the recent Junior Worlds, I would have backed off if I was riding a bike with bars that creaked the way many did, scary)
Production French alloy bars & stems were generally avoided, there were exceptions, but hard to obtain, and the low end model failures were legendary, urban legend or not.
In the depths of the shop in 1975 I came across one Williams cottered crank arm in alloy, I was told the other failed, the surviving one got tossed in a move.
Q factor was thought of but for only those who were experiencing a knee pain or walked heels in, it was mentioned for triples but that was the cost of a 3rd ring. TA was the most avail. for this and had the best width as well.
John Jorgensen
Palos Verdes Ca