I remember Alan Cote from years ago - perhaps he lurks on this list?
What I also remember, although my memory gets more suspect as time passes, was that Alan was a pretty light guy. It is quite possible that all the test bikes in question were a tad heavy for him! The lightest frame is a Columbus EL OS frame - it would have been very interesting if an EL skinny bike was included as well.
Also it is to be remembered that many folks really can't tell much difference in frame tubes - and others can. So if Alan is bordering on the "can not tell" group, and every frame is a tad heavy for him, the test is of little value compared with those who can tell differences among bikes (which is a great number) that are in their "well matched zone".
Also those who remember that article comparing the Mondonico built bikes might recall the front cover of that issue. On its front was a lug with brazing that was (ok, still is) absolutely gorgeous!
That frame was built by lengendary rando/brevet/race bike builder Peter Weigle.
Mike Kone in Boulder CO USA
Greg Overton said "...Has there been a change in the way [Aelle] is viewed? When I was selling frames and racing bikes, Aelle was an entry level performance bike at best...."
No change if money is an indicator. My eBay observations are that frames
with higher grades of Columbus tubing sell for more than Aelle frames. If
the bike is well-designed, then an Aelle bike may present you with very good
value though. I eBay-purchased an inexpensive early 80's SOMEC Aelle
frame,and it rides superbly in the San Diego mountains backcountry. Good for
climbing, great stability and handling on twisty downhills with some
bumpiness ...here's a headcam video where I'm riding my Somec following
Sterling Peters on one of those downhill runs
http://www.youtube.com/
Bicycle Guide ran a story by Alan Cote entitled "The Magnificent 7, the ultimate blind test?" using seven Mondonicos built the same (frame, paint, and parts) with seven different Columbus tubesets. The bikes were ridden, and the author concluded:
"... The bike I liked best, which I also thought was the stiffest, was ... the Neuron frame. The one I thought was the softest was ... the SLX frame. The one that seemed to absorb vibrations best was .... the Thron frame. I could perceive no real difference between ... Cromor ... Brain ... Aelle... and... EL-OS. ... To be honest, I couldn't feel a difference between an Aelle frame - with straight-gauge tubing and weighing in at 4 pounds 12 ounces - and an EL-OS frame - with double-butted, oversize thin-wall Nivacrom tubing and only 4 pouncs of heft. A conclusion which, if marketing literature is to be believed, doesn't make a whole lot of sense. If the numbers on the bikes were switched around and I were to test each bike again, my guess is that I'd come up with different tubing preferences. I think my ride impressions were essentially random. Does this mean you should pass on the expensive steel frame and buy a cheap one? I don't know. The Aelle frame does weigh 3/4 pound more than the EL-OS frame, but the EL-OS frame costs $815 more - close to three times as much as the Aelle frame. I'm reminded of something Richard Sachs - one of the finest custom framebuilders in the country - told me. Sachs said, "When someone is buying a bike from me, they're buying my design choices and my construction skills. I actually think material is the least consequential choice." What do these seven Mondonicos say about bike performance and testing? Perhaps more than anything, they illustrate that the personality of a bike is determined much more by fit, frame geometry and components than by what kind of tubing lies under the paint."
Peter Brueggeman
La Jolla California USA
4peebee(at)peterbrueggeman.com