I have a pretty nice aluminum road bike that I use for triathlons. This year I’m going to get a tri bike to go with my road bike. As I look at all of the new bikes and the different tube shapes, aero bars, and other bells and whistles, I seem to be more and more interested in having a quality steel frame to ride. I’ll get my fancy triathlon bike, but the steel keeps calling.
Does anyone else experience this? For me it’s strange since I’ve never even ridden on a steel bike! I’ve just been told about the great characteristics of riding steel and for some unknown reason I think I’d be a better cyclist for riding one. I even want down tube shifters on the bike! I know, I must be crazy with all of the great new things out there.
If you have the steel frame and thinks it’s great, let me know. If steel isn’t all that I think it is, please take away these horrid notions that I have. Finally, if you want to give me your old frame or bike, I’ll take it and find out if I really do like steel. For those giving me your bikes, I’m about 6’3" and take something in the 58-61 cm range. Okay, not too many of you will give me your bikes, but I do want your impressions on steel.
I love the ride of steel, that’s why I’m upgrading the grouppo on my mid 80’s Miele this winter. It still rides nicer than my aluminium bikes. Plus I love the classic looks of the lugs.
I may retire from tri but I’ll cycle until I’m too frail. Eventually I want to get my dream bike - something like a custom built Richard Sachs steel.
Steel is still the standard by which other bikes are judged. I had to chuckle when recently reading an ad from a high end titanium frame maker who wrote that their bikes “ride like steel”.
There are some good steel frames to be had but do consider the Cervelo Super Prodigy. One heck of a good $$ deal and rides soooo smoooooth.
I have a steel bike, and I love it. I’m 5’8", ~160. If you are as big as you are tall, you might find steel to be a little too flexy for you. I have a friend who is around 6’2", 210, and all muscle, and he needs Ti to get enough stiffness to put the power to the pavement.
Overall, though, I still love steel the best. Give me $5,000 and I might make a convincing argument for Titanium.
well, " make me a better cyclist" sounds a little over the top.
but, by all means go get yerself a nice new school steel road bike. it is a golden age for steel bikes, with insanely sweet beautiful looking and riding bikes to be had from any number of builders of impeccable pedigree for LESS than the masses are paying for taiwanese made bikes of inexpensive aluminum glued to chinese laid CF rear triangles.
Steel is the deal! I ride a steel Holland (TIG-welded oversized Tange Prestige) that I got in 1992. I had it stripped down for a repair about 2 years ago. We weighed the frame at 3.1 pounds – lighter than almost any production titanium frame in my size. Stiff enough for me, but with that twangy springiness only a steel bike has.
As for the post about big guys having a problem with stiffness – jeez, sounds like the guy needs a different frame, but it’s not because it’s steel. A friend of mine (a Commander in the Navy) is 6’2" and about 240 lbs and powerful as a rhino. He rides the same bike I do from the same builder. The only difference is that his bike has a larger diameter downtube.
I love my steel frame, but let’s face it – it’s only a frame. The components and wheels and saddle that we choose have just as much (or more) to do with how the bike rides.
"…he needs Ti to get enough stiffness to put the power to the pavement. "
Steel’s modulus of elasticity is about double that of titanium. Therefore titanium is about twice as flexible as steel given two identically shaped tubes. Titanium has a lot of good qualities, but stiffness isn’t one of them. I’m afraid somebody made a sucker out of your friend.
Steel is cool, but the cost really isn’t cheaper than aluminum, and aluminum gives you less weight and better stiffness. Steel theoretically lasts longer, but in practice aluminum can last almost forever given the right tubeset and the right builder. I’ve got around 6 steel bikes and 5 aluminum. Both work great, but I always reach for the aluminum bikes on race day.
Downtube shifters shift crisply, they are light, and you don’t have to worry about the indexing ring wearing out since you’re always got the friction option. But STI/Ergo is so much nicer in the rolling hills where you have to shift a lot. Not to mention the quick shifting needed in a crit, road race, etc.
Steel kicks ass. I love it. My future tri bike may not be steel (want a Titan-Flex), but my future track & roadie will. I converted my old lugged Benotto into a fixie and swear it’s still the sweetest ride I’ve ever owned. Find yourself a good builder who knows what tubeset, construction tehniques, and geometry will work best for you. Then drop a healthy chunk of change down for a sweet-ass frame, build it with the best you can afford (Campy Chorus is the worldbeater wrt bang-for-buck in my opinion), and have your wheels hand-built by a master. Get your fit dialed in, and rock your own world!
Mmmmmmmm…Yamaguchi…custom built and only $1,380.00!
This Aero frame was developed for people looking for the aerodynamic advantage in frames.
Yamaguchi designed custom-made True-Temper airfoil shaped Heat-Treated Tube set is meticulously
fillet-brazed at a carefully controlled temperature with nickel silver for maximum strength.
Its airfoil tubes include the down tube, front fork and seat stays.
The top tube is oversized, and the chain stays are light gauge.
These provide the best aerodynamic advantage of any steel frame on the market.
This lightweight frame makes for good acceleration and easy climbing.
Frame only weight (54cm)3.4lb Aero Road/TimeTrial/Triathlon $1,380.00
Well, the amazing thing about it is that this guy has an ME/EE degree, and he and I have had some pretty heated arguments about the mettle of the metals, and he still told me this. BTW, this was based on his experience, not a saleperson suckering him.
I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and think that he suckered himself because he wanted a Ti bike. What do you want from roadies? ;p
hey record10 this is the first time i have ever agreed with anything you said, buddy. that yamaguchi kicks ass, and that is no lie. anybody who walks past that for some taiwanese welded aluminum or chinese fibres in glue at the same price (more?) needs their head examined.
I have a steel 58 Paramount PDG, built by National/Panasonic with Tange OS, and I love it dearly. It has DT shifters, eventually I’m going to get barends, but the DT work fine for JRA. I wouldn’t race with DT, though. Also have a alu Trek 2300 which feels distinctly stiffer than the steel - this is my race bike.
I like steel because I’m a retrogrouch… Really I think the difference in ride has more to do with tires, saddle, and even bar tape, than it does the frame. That said, I believe I can feel a difference between the Trek and the Paramount when accelerating or climbing hard, but it might be in my mind: or in the difference between 1999 Ultegra and 1991 105…
You say that it might be in your mind, but I don’t think that matters. You THINK the steel rides well. So what if there are differences in wheels and tires that change the ride on the bike, you like the steel ride with the down tube shifters. I think that’s what’s driving me to want a steel bike. I just THINK it would be fun to have.
I would certainily race on my new bike and I would probably do most of my training on the new bike, but I would want to have the steel one out there for those nice rides when I want to just go out for the pure love of being out. Of course once I start riding steel I might sell the new bike and commit myself to being a steel only kind of rider. It just seems nice.
I’ve got an ealy 90’s Serotta made out of Tange Prestige. I love it. I rode it with DT shifters (8 speed) but this year I’m up-grading to 9 speed STI. Steel is great for long rides. I’ve used my Serotta for my tri-bike as well but it begs to ridden without the aero-bars.
so, what are you looking at there, adam? a steelman? an IF ? serotta? strong? holland? waterford? kirk? ? ? ? ?
Tim,
I am looking to get a custom steel frame in the near future and would like your input on builders. I like strong or maybe soulcraft, I’m thinking of TIG welded frame in one of the newer steels. Any input on builders? Nothing crazy, I’m looking at ~1200 for the frame. Thanks
I have an old colnago that is still sweet, got a one speed Soulcraft on e-bay and bought it’s twin from the boys in Petaluma. It is a really nice steel frame. I sort of lust for the Yamaguchi in yellow, another good one. On the cheaper end Rock Lobster is under a grand for the frame (no fork), and Curtlo in Wash State makes some nice rides for cheap. Steelman just went way up on his costs, and Tom Ritchey makes a good steel frame at around a grand. You might try local builders, some of them make sweet rides for cheaper too. G
You seem to be suggesting that becuase many products in the cycling industry are being manufactured overseas, that they are somehow inferior or less respectable. Have you ever seen a tiwaneese bike factory? They are are by no means sweat shops or 2nd rate operations.
btw, a hell of a lot more engineering and thought time goes into making a light, high end aluminum frame. You are purchasing the thought and time invested into designing a high end aluminum bike. Otherwise, cheap, straight guage aluminum and steel bikes are very compareably priced at your local walmart.
Please do not compare a good steel frame with something you find at Wallmart. Let me tell you a lot of thought goes into building a great steel frame. Ben i can not understand why you think more thought or enginnering goes into a aluminum frame??? A steel frame will have advanges over aluminum frame,like being able to replace a tube or a dropout,or adding water bottle braze-ons,with steel you can go tig welded or fillet brazed,or go with lugs,and the lugs can go from plain to works of art depending on what you want,with Aluminum break a tube or drop out and thats it,if you ever ride a good steel frame you will want one,i have three steel road frames and two Aluminum road frames,one steel mtb and two Aluminum mtbs,so i ride both materials,and i am 6 4 215lbs so i really give both materials a good test
I hope i didn’t come across that way. I was comparing cheap steel with cheep aluminum, becuse the guy i was responding too reffered to aluminum as cheap. Aluminum is cheap, so is steal (you’ll find both materials used on walmart bikes), its the engineering that goes into an aluminum frame, the hours of cad clicking, frustration, and designing that makes an aluminum frame expensive. It may only cost $1-200 in material cost to make a cannondale (just a theoretical estimate/guess, im not sure how much it cost) but it also took a design team and a lot of expensive computer work a long and strenuous time to figure out where to butt and shape those tubes, and all the test for stiffness, strength…I didn’t mean to bash one material over the other, just to point out that aluminum is no cheaper than steel, and to explain why bikes cost what they do. .
I don’t know much about steel frames in the sense that i have no idea what kind of engineering goes into one. Im sure cervelo spent a lot of time developing their prodigy, perhaps Gerard would give some insight into the difference in developing the tubing for a high end steel bike, and a high end aluminum bike?
