Alan, Jan Heine's 2021 book, *All Road Bicycle Revolution*, has some good
reading on this topic ("characteristics of a great frame can be obtained
from all materials"; p. 174) that aligns with Sheldon Brown's writing from
20 years ago <https://www.sheldonbrown.com/frame-materials.html> ("the
reality is that you can make a good bike frame out of any of these metals,
with any desired riding qualities, by selecting appropriate tubing
diameters, wall thicknesses and frame geometry"). They both argue that the
"feel" of a frame is influenced more by frame design than by the material
itself.
This doesn't answer your question. :-)
I'm not sure I have an answer. All I know is that my aluminum Yuba Sweet
Curry cargo bike is the stiffest thing on the planet (to give 300-lb cargo
capacity; look at all the aluminum trusses
<https://www.flickr.com/photos/millhiser/52222090285/in/album-72157718795961798/>
!).
And that I agree with Matthias: my "forever bike" is also a C'dale
adventure touring bike (this T1000
<https://www.flickr.com/photos/millhiser/52412267528>; the aluminum CAAD2
touring frame) that turns 25 in December. I had posted previously
<https://groups.google.com/u/1/g/rbw-owners-bunch/c/D-pKAbwxr4U/m/9hf6sGA0AgAJ>
about how I am slowly turning it into an Atlantis, having drunk too much
Kool-Aid in Walnut Creek. But I must say that the T1000 rides better than
any RBW bike that I've owned. Blasphemy, but there it is. Something about
its chromoly fork's geometry gives it magical handling. If only it had the
Atlantis's clearances. I am waiting for the aluminum to fail so I can get
in line for the next Atlantis batch. :-)
Will M
NYC
On Sunday, August 6, 2023 at 5:32:56 PM UTC-4 Nick Payne wrote:
> As I said in another thread (
> https://groups.google.com/g/rbw-owners-bunch/c/tAas6urcOwg/m/KW63fr0LCQAJ),
> modern aluminium frames can be quite comfortable. Last week I did back to
> back rides on successive days over the same chipseal roads on that Al bike
> and on my Riv custom. I can't say that the Riv felt any more comfortable or
> better handling. The Al frame was running Conti GP Urbans and the Riv Rene
> Herse Bon Jon Pass, both nominally 35mm tyres.
>
> Nick Payne
>
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