Now I always knew there was a difference between frame material in terms of feel, stiffness, compliance and other marketing buzz words etc, probably less noticeable on a MTB hardtail than a CX bike due to tyre size etc.
But at the weekend our CX course had quite a stony layer underneath, so noticeable changes in surface texture. I’ve got one carbon framed bike and one alloy framed bike, they both have 27.2mm carbon seatposts, different brand but both Ti railed saddles and they’re equally comfortable, full carbon forks, the same wheel sets and the same tyres set up tubeless at the same pressures and checked with a digi pressure gauge.
But while on the smooth bits – where there were no stones poking through – there’s little to tell between them (at race pace anyway) in terms of compliance, but during the race when on the alloy bike I recall feeling the rear rim bottoming out 3 or 4 times per lap (in the same place each time) whereas the carbon bike didn’t suffer from that.
It’s a bit of an eye opener for me, but not that important, other than longevity of the wheels.