Globalti
Legendary Member
I don't buy the idea that a metal frame can be made as comfortable while as stiff laterally as a carbon frame. My carbon 1996 Roubaix looks like a collection of carbon tubes neatly joined together and rides pretty smoothly but my 2012 incarnation of the same bike is a different beast altogether - the frame bears no resemblance to a traditional tubed frame and the result is that it is almost completely rigid laterally; you can press with your toe on the BB axle and there's very little flex at all, consequently the bike tracks like a train on rails (not Spanish obviously) and feels sharp and precise, including in braking and climbing, while still managing to deliver a comfortable vertically-compliant ride. Big manufacturers like Spesh and Trek are spending lotsa lolly on improving their carbon frames and learning fast how to make the most of carbon. I don't see metal tube manufacturers or traditional frame builders doing the same - I believe that hydroforming was probably the last evolutionary step in metal frame building and unless somebody concocts a new wonder alloy, metal frame development has probably all but ended while carbon will continue to romp on ahead.
