Engineered compliance plus flex stays on short travel bikes (carbon, I know) seems to be gaining more traction (see what I did there :-)) in recent years. I love the idea of using simple flex and compliance instead of a suspension unit in situations where it is practical to do so. Easier and cheaper to service, clean, etc.
Like you, I've had a lot of ht frames in both steel and aluminium with huge variation in comfort/compliance. Overall, the steel frames have been better historically, but I can absolutely believe there are just as good alu options today. The stigma of older stiff AF alu frames will hopefully disappear at some point.
May 26, 2023, 12:32 a.m. - Tremeer023
Engineered compliance plus flex stays on short travel bikes (carbon, I know) seems to be gaining more traction (see what I did there :-)) in recent years. I love the idea of using simple flex and compliance instead of a suspension unit in situations where it is practical to do so. Easier and cheaper to service, clean, etc. Like you, I've had a lot of ht frames in both steel and aluminium with huge variation in comfort/compliance. Overall, the steel frames have been better historically, but I can absolutely believe there are just as good alu options today. The stigma of older stiff AF alu frames will hopefully disappear at some point.