Are Steel MTB Frames ACTUALLY Flexy? (Video)

Starling Cycles’ owner-operator, Joe McEwan, took to YouTube to address a common idea he’d heard a lot during his time in the industry. Generally speaking, riders attribute a sense of “flex” to steel frames when compared to their carbon counterparts. Though this is often seen as a positive attribute, the presence of flex also seems to denote a loss of power through a lack of stiffness. Performance-oriented riders, then, would assume their carbon rigs, while lacking in the “give” many associate with steel alloys, maintain the power transfer present in the physical sensation of stiffness.

Using a series of controls, Joe puts a Nukeproof Reactor and a Starling Mumur through tests that he reckons would mimic some of the forces a mountain bike is subject to as riders put their weight through the frame while turning. He also attempts to measure wheel stiffness and runs tests with the shocks on both bikes installed and uninstalled.

While I won’t ruin the results for those who haven’t watched yet, there are some interesting and worthwhile insights derived from what appears to be an objectively run series of tests. That said, I’m always a bit skeptical of these sorts of scientific measures for various reasons. I have some thoughts about what it takes to recreate real-world forces in an indoor test jig, but I still appreciate people like Joe taking the time to try and provide some objective, measurable data to sensations that are all too vague in the bike space.

For more on Starling Cycles, visit StarlingCycles.com.

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