Coming late to the party. The author does not state that the material makes a difference. His comments are solely about construction techniques.

David i want to let you know that you are correct. Many noobs who listen to second hand opinion and marketing will never believe this (alongside the other many myths in cycling.) While frame material does play a role in ride feel, it is not the most significant one. But tire pressure playing the biggest role but being 95% of ride feel is an exaggeration. I would argue there would be a difference in ride feel if you rode with a bamboo (non metal), frame. Also, you forgot/unaware that unlike frame material, wheel material plays a big role in ride feel. And finally, the choice of seat post material is more important than “4%”. Heres a link youll enjoy reading. Stay woke.

Vertical stiffness of bicycle frame and its influence on rider comfort | Discover Applied Sciences

The thing is, different materials will allow you to have more lateral stiffness while flexing a bit. You may be able to do that with aluminum but it’s going to fatigue poorly so engineered in flex will be minimal compared to carbon

These are made for people that want brifters with friction shift. As far as I know, there’s an abundance of brifters with indexing

Probably durability testing. Frames and components are typically put through machine-repeated stress and impact cycles simulating thousands of miles of riding before final release on the market. They’re seeing if new designs will break so they hopefully avoid warranty claims or lawsuits if someone gets injured.

Friction mode on these shifters is an intriguing real-world adaptation to 11-13 speed mechanical systems because their closer tolerances between gears mean that cable stretch and contamination make them harder to keep in tune. Friction shift takes some skill development when riding, but offers long-term reliable shifting regardless of cable and system wear or contamination. It would be excellent for long bikepacking or touring trips.

So tell me about the frames of different materials that were otherwise identical and that were setup exactly the same that you’ve ridden. Oh, I know the answer: none. That’s the answer.

Let’s say that I am, just hypothetically. In that case, it should be easy for you to disprove my statement — but you are unable to, and are forced instead to resort to a pathetic attempt at ad hominem attack.

Which makes it even more clear that I am speaking the truth.

Sorry Dinger, but you can investigate the results of every single blind test ever performed on this topic, and you will learn that no one has ever demonstrated an ability to distinguish frame materials.

And yes, when the frame is two orders of magnitude stiffer, it does not deflect until after the tire has failed.

And no one believes that you can stretch frame tubes with your bare hands there Hulk. The tensile strength of all materials used in frame construction is well beyond the range of human strength.

You are describing the tendency of humans to believe what they want to believe, and that tendency is stronger even than steel. However, when a blind test is performed and we remove belief from the equation, no human being has ever demonstrated an ability to distinguish between bicycle frame materials.

If I’m reading your comment as intended, you’re saying that all aluminum frames should ride exactly the same?

Because this statement: “There were NO ADVANCES in last 30 years in what kind of aluminum is used to make bicycle frames, and NO ADVANCES, in last 50 years, in how aluminum frames are manufactured.” is nonsense.