General: //Alluminum frames//

I like my aluminum Spicer frame. I've ridden it for 3 years and its a great ride. Thompson seat post, carbon fork, oury grips, somewhat thick seat

a guy in my city bough a leader rode if off the curb and the top tube cracked..... the day he bought it.... people really like them on tracks and it was a while ago and probably a fluke bike. i cant be hating b/c i have an aluminum iro, i love it its great! light responsive. fast.

Aluminum is automatically harsher = myth.

Every frame material has the potential to give different ride characteristics, be it steel, aluminum, carbon fiber, titanium, magnesium, etc. Much of these tendencies are not based on the material itself, but on the frame design and geometry, frame size, tubing thickness, and tubing diameter. Another important factor is the wheels you're riding on (some are stiffer than others) and the tires you have on them, and the pressure you run those tires at. Ride will be different with 25C tires at 100PSI than with 20 or 23C tires at 120PSI.

As an example, take the 80's Cannondale race bikes, a fairly harsh ride. This wasn't because they were aluminum --it was because they were engineered to be stiff, by having relatively thick-walled oversized tubes, with a very tight rear triangle and relatively steep seat tube angle. Good sprinting, climbing, and criterium frames, but suffering in ride quality as a result.

Then take Trek's early 90's frames. Slightly oversized bonded aluminum. A very compliant, pleasant ride, though at the expense of being a litle more flexy. A different design, and different ride characteristics than the Cannondales --but both aluminum.

There are plenty of carbon frames these days that are harsher rides than aluminum, despite the "Carbon = comfortable" myth. Carbon CAN indeed be comfortable, but once again, it's a matter of frame design. Moral --test ride the bikes you're interested in, and compare to decide.

P.S. I've ridden both steel and aluminum --and my favorite bike is an aluminum frame. It's got an incredibly comfortable ride.

Frame material is just one of many factors that dictate how it performs and feels.

Aluminum fatigue seems pretty academic to me. I see a lot of old aluminum on the road.

Leader frames are light and strong to my knowledge.
My roommate has that 735 and I don't hate it but it does dent really easy and is about 20x louder than any steel ride.
Geometry is pretty track and with the stiffness also it isn't quite as comfortable.
But you wouldn't regret it.

a mediocre Japanese frame made by an 8 year old in a sweat shop

man what

You might be talking about Taiwan, which is a different country, culture, ethnic group, language, language group, and rests about 1500 kilometers away (the distance from England to Italy). If you're saying cranky things about the Taiwanese and their ability to make bikes, you're talking about 95% of bicycles sold in the US. I mean, I love Cannondales. I really do. But I'm not under the impression that the frames of Trek, Jamis, Giant, Kestrel, Cervélo, and Bianchi are inherently low quality.

Early 90's cannondale aluminum bikes gave them the name Crack'n'fail.

Posted By: Nashthat must be why the track frames still sell for several thousand dollars on ebay, right? and yes they are no longer hand made in the US, just another offshore operation.

by several thousand dollars for the frame, do you mean $1500 for a complete bike? that's what you must've meant.

Posted By: Nashthat must be why the track frames still sell for several thousand dollars on ebay, right? and yes they are no longer hand made in the US, just another offshore operation.

Pro tip: It's because they look "cool" and aren't around so much, which is the same reason why NJS frames, GTB's, and so forth are selling to big moneys.

I'm not saying it's a bad frame, but the prices are over-inflated.

And I have two aluminum bikes, and one CRABON FIBRE frame.

First,excuse me my bad english.While I was in the cicling team and after that I rode many brands high end bikes,and I can say all of them are good bikes.I rode low end bikes,and they are something different.Thus,when you will buy one for your oun,look for high end frame and build it correspond to your needs.If somebody wants comfort,he can use car,plane or something else.I think it is important to answer a few qustions to know which bike is perfect to you-Why you will ride,where and when will you ride, What is your body condition and so on.What about me:there are high mauntains,low mauntains and flat roads around my place.Instead one expensive new bike I bought five high end old bikes.I think in advance where I will ride ant take correct fitted bike,and I am really happy with all of them.