Doug Fattic wrote:
>
> Whether light tubing in traditional diameters is a whippy
> ride depends on the rider. I'm 5'8" 130 some pounds and have
> made several frames for myself using .6 X.3 X .6mm tubing.
> 7/4 is even stiffer.
Just another data point, I too built frames with .6/.3 but not for myself - I chickened out. I did build myself "experimental" road and track frames with .7/4 (1" toptubes), and decided I liked it for road racing but not criterium and definitely not track. I'm 6'1" (60 cm track, 61 cm road), weighed 180 lb in my racing days, and was rather fast-twitch for my size, definitely a sprinter. (That's not what I wanted to be, but you play the hand you're dealt...) I _wanted_ to like the light tubing, but I definitely found there is such a thing as too wiggly! I thought of myself as a smooth pedaler, but obviously there is a limit to how much that can compensate for sheer size/weight.
I sold the track frame to a guy who was my size but lighter and more of a pursuiter than a sprinter, and he loved it. Not for pusuiting, we're talking the normal mix of points races, miss'n'outs and scratch races in a typical Friday night program. He said the flex in the frame made him faster. (It is possible that he is an idiot however!)
Just to counter the constant drumbeat of "stiffer is better" in the cycling press...
Mark Bulgier
Seattle WA USA