Why not? Aluminum gets a bad rap. I blame Cannondale. For years they made their frames stiffer and stiffer with larger and larger downtubes. The increase in tube size may have been done to decrease weight, but it resulted in an increase in stiffness. To top it off, they used a harsh geometry. Thus it became common "knowledge" that AL frames are ball busters.biker77 said:So what would drive the decision to do Roubaix on an Aluminium frame?
Agree 100% on that.BroDeal said:Why not? Aluminum gets a bad rap. I blame Cannondale. For years they made their frames stiffer and stiffer with larger and larger downtubes. The increase in tube size may have been done to decrease weight, but it resulted in an increase in stiffness. To top it off, they used a harsh geometry. Thus it became common "knowledge" that AL frames are ball busters.
I also blame the difference in acoustics between the different frame materials. AL sounds very harsh when hitting a variation in the road. FE and TI will give a nice little ping where AL will give a loud bang. Carbon varies a lot. People translate the sound into the idea that they are getting beat up.
Custom geometry, longer chain stays, etc and easier to do in aluminium than a new carbon mould.biker77 said:So what would drive the decision to do Roubaix on an Aluminium frame?
This may seem funny to say in light of Brodeal's comments - which I pretty much agree with - but I would seriously look at Cannondale.biker77 said:Any recommendations for good alu frames? Long road rides and some racing.
Merckx, available in Europe only, special order in the US. Probably the best riding alu frames made.biker77 said:Any recommendations for good alu frames? Long road rides and some racing.
Ha! Me too. In fact, I consider myself a bit of an aluminium crusader.fatsprintking said:I agree with BroDeal and personally have been championing aluminium a bit lately.
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I'm pretty hard on bikes, so I tend to go cheap so I can ride over anything without thinking about the cost of replacement.biker77 said:Any recommendations for good alu frames? Long road rides and some racing.
The above mentioned Merckx bikes use the same philosophy.DirtyWorks said:If you want to go high end, Andy Hampsten sells slacker angles than most in a 'road' package. Beyond that, find a builder who works in aluminum and get one made using road geometry from the 60's or 70's. The top tube placement will change to make the bike look more modern as compared to a 60's/70's bike, but the rest should be the same.
This unbiker77 said:so if you could pick, carbon or aluminium merckx?
I wouldn't mind an alu Team SCbiker77 said:so if you could pick, carbon or aluminium merckx?
Does anyone know the country of origin on that bike? The sweep of those seat stays suggests it's being built somewhere in Asia. Backed up with the published current lifetime (rare!) conditional warranty, that could be a good value.Bustedknuckle said:
not sure of the origins but they're not cheap. 2011 f&f retails at c.€2,000DirtyWorks said:Does anyone know the country of origin on that bike? The sweep of those seat stays suggests it's being built somewhere in Asia. Backed up with the published current lifetime (rare!) conditional warranty, that could be a good value.
I thought Merckx moved all production to Asia.DirtyWorks said:Does anyone know the country of origin on that bike? The sweep of those seat stays suggests it's being built somewhere in Asia. Backed up with the published current lifetime (rare!) conditional warranty, that could be a good value.
biker77 said:Any recommendations for good alu frames? Long road rides and some racing.
From the pages on the aluminium bikes (including the AMX5) on the Merckx website:BroDeal said:I thought Merckx moved all production to Asia.
All their carbon is mfg'd in Taiwan at the same plant as Pinarello, Merckx aluminum is done in house, just as kiwirider found out.BroDeal said:I thought Merckx moved all production to Asia.
Does it have to be new?icebreaker said:Someone find me a NOS in 56 - please.