What is the current king of aluminum in 2017?

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wpccrunner
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by wpccrunner

Spooky and VYNL are both Frank The Welder frames with their own specs. I'd be interested to know how the two frames compare in ride quality.

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C36
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by C36

Wookski wrote:

That Klein is awesome... I'd love to get my hands on one at some point, but I'm sorry. I have to completely disagree with you. First, the pics you're referencing don't even show bikes with small welds. Second, I think what you're trying to convey is smoothed welds and yes, it was common for bikes of that era to have smooth welds.... i.e. welds that were ground/sanded smooth, but in recent years many frame builders have chosen to leave welds as is because it is a means to show how well the welds are done.... i.e. like a roll of dimes pushed over. Both of the bikes you're taking about are great, don't get me wrong, but they don't represent any advanced aluminum technology that's been "lost". IMO, they were great for their time, but they don't hold a candle to current aluminum bikes.
Correct- Klein’s and Old CAAD’s has their welds smoothed to create a uniform look. Bertoletti uses a 3rd party company to achieve the uniform look without compromising the weld.

Klein’s and CAAD’s are cool, it’s just that things have moved on.
I still think that we "moved on" mostly based on financial consideration. Nothing really stop us to keep having those types of finishes... but time and its associated cost.
The claimed fragility is linked to other problems, lack of control on the overall process, not on smooth welds.
Cannondale caad12 could be perfectly finished like his predecessors, if they invested more time/cost on their frames.



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Last edited by C36 on Thu Feb 15, 2018 6:01 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Wookski
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by Wookski

vinuneuro wrote:
Thu Feb 15, 2018 4:33 am
So many pages in this thread when there are really only two. Allez Sprint and CAAD12.
Yes, the “poverty pack” alloys :D

In all seriousness CAADs and Allez are cult frames for a reason. I love alloy and the fact that so many people discount it as a material makes it even more special.
Last edited by Wookski on Thu Feb 15, 2018 10:25 am, edited 1 time in total.

Nefarious86
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by Nefarious86

vinuneuro wrote:So many pages in this thread when there are really only two. Allez Sprint and CAAD12.
And Spooky

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Wookski
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by Wookski

Nefarious86 wrote:
Thu Feb 15, 2018 10:04 am
vinuneuro wrote:So many pages in this thread when there are really only two. Allez Sprint and CAAD12.
And Spooky

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Legend has to be in the mix as well- it’s not just about Merica

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C36
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by C36

Wookski wrote:
Nefarious86 wrote:
Thu Feb 15, 2018 10:04 am
vinuneuro wrote:So many pages in this thread when there are really only two. Allez Sprint and CAAD12.
And Spooky

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Legend has to be in the mix as well- it’s not just about Merica
From a tech point of view I am not seeing why legend and spooky should be there. If you look they are behind what a caad5 was. Round tubes not differentiated.


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Mackers
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by Mackers

Nobody knows more about building with aluminum than Giant.

Having tried both the TCR SLR and the CAAD12 to me the former is the clear winner.
Haven't tried it but I must admit I like the looks of the Kinesis Aithein EVO quite a bit.

robertbb
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by robertbb

The welds on the Canyon Ultimate AL SLX are brilliant. Highly recommend this frame. A little heavier than some of the superlight ones, but you get their top level fork with it and the whole package handles brilliantly and is very comfortable to ride.

My whole bike, size M, with alloy stem/bars, Campy Chorus throughout and Campy Zonda C17's still comes in at under 6.8kg.

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by robertbb

Mackers wrote:
Thu Feb 15, 2018 11:30 pm
Nobody knows more about building with aluminum than Giant.

Having tried both the TCR SLR and the CAAD12 to me the former is the clear winner.
Haven't tried it but I must admit I like the looks of the Kinesis Aithein EVO quite a bit.
Are you talking about the newer 2018 model (that resembles the carbon TCR), or the older one?

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silvalis
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by silvalis

robertbb wrote:
Thu Feb 15, 2018 11:33 pm
The welds on the Canyon Ultimate AL SLX are brilliant. Highly recommend this frame. A little heavier than some of the superlight ones, but you get their top level fork with it and the whole package handles brilliantly and is very comfortable to ride.

My whole bike, size M, with alloy stem/bars, Campy Chorus throughout and Campy Zonda C17's still comes in at under 6.8kg.
Do you have a build thread somewhere? under 6.8kg sounds great.
Chasse patate

robertbb
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by robertbb

silvalis wrote:
Fri Feb 16, 2018 5:34 am
robertbb wrote:
Thu Feb 15, 2018 11:33 pm
The welds on the Canyon Ultimate AL SLX are brilliant. Highly recommend this frame. A little heavier than some of the superlight ones, but you get their top level fork with it and the whole package handles brilliantly and is very comfortable to ride.

My whole bike, size M, with alloy stem/bars, Campy Chorus throughout and Campy Zonda C17's still comes in at under 6.8kg.
Do you have a build thread somewhere? under 6.8kg sounds great.
Coming soon!

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by CrankAddictsRich

Mackers wrote:
Thu Feb 15, 2018 11:30 pm
Nobody knows more about building with aluminum than Giant.

Having tried both the TCR SLR and the CAAD12 to me the former is the clear winner.
Haven't tried it but I must admit I like the looks of the Kinesis Aithein EVO quite a bit.
Giant hasn't sold the TCR SLR in the US in a number of years... I think 2014 might have bene the last. A friend of mine had one of those bikes and it was great, for sure.

This is my custom S-Works Allez... 6.8 kg.

Image

morganb
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by morganb

CrankAddictsRich wrote:
Fri Feb 16, 2018 12:55 pm
Mackers wrote:
Thu Feb 15, 2018 11:30 pm
Nobody knows more about building with aluminum than Giant.

Having tried both the TCR SLR and the CAAD12 to me the former is the clear winner.
Haven't tried it but I must admit I like the looks of the Kinesis Aithein EVO quite a bit.
Giant hasn't sold the TCR SLR in the US in a number of years... I think 2014 might have bene the last. A friend of mine had one of those bikes and it was great, for sure.

This is my custom S-Works Allez... 6.8 kg.

Image
A friend of mine has one of those Giants and the Black/Keyline E5 SL Allez, he got both intending to race them and sell at the end of the year and hasn't been able to part with either. Loves both still.

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corky
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by corky

Zancanato...

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knef
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by knef

corky wrote:
Fri Feb 16, 2018 1:32 pm
Zancanato...
Zanconato

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