Raced on different steel frames in the old days - changed to one of the better alu in 99. Also a nice frame - but I missed the steel feeling. But instead of buying a steel frame I got a carbon (italian C4 Magik) - and got the best of both: Compliance and comfort as the steel frame, with bb stiffnes as the alu frame.
Be very careful if you go for a steel frame - standard steel frames in large sizes are somtimes too soft and unstable in decents; select a good framebuilder.
Steel makes a mighty fine bike. There is no worry about the aging if you bake it for paint (within reason), tubes can be replaced, braze-ons can be added, and if properly cared for, it is a long-life bike.
I don’t know if you’ll become a better cyclist for riding one, unless you enjoy the ride that well and want to ride it, ride it, ride it!!!
I will say this: a good frame builder makes the bike have the ride quality you’re looking for, not the material. It takes hundred upon hundred of miles to differentiate between materials. Sometimes, I wonder if the reason why people lust after steel is that many experienced builders have built in steel the longest, and some people hearken back to the good ol’ days with a bike that they loved dearly. I have been told by some of the few I know who own an aluminium Salbierre (or is it Sablierre- someone help me out) has said that’s their lifetime bike. This builder was the g’dfather of aluminium, and many great pro cyclists (earlier than one would ever guess) had them repainted as their own steeds. I have never gotten to ride one :(. They are rare as can be.
That being said, I love my steel bikes, as over a few hundred miles, you can tell the difference. That could have to do with geometry and tubing selection.
Steel has come to a unique age. Good steel is not cheaper than aluminium, as 7000-series al is the one of the lightest and cheapest tubesets you can buy (as a builder). Aluminium is still going to be lighter than even the best steel frameset. You can have a steel frameset that can weigh upwards of five pounds, and that is just a frame!!! But, you can also get a steel frameset that weighs three pounds, which is in the neighbourhood of titanium. True Temper S3 can build a fifteen pound bike, provided you use the lightest fork and other components. 853 can build a light frame with great ride characteristics. 753 is something that is quite rare these days, and though a fine tubeset (as it won the TdF over a ten or so year time period), it is outdated according to many standards. True Temper still makes fine steel tubes, and aero to boot. Columbus and Deda make fine ones, and don’t forget Tange.
What is my current road bike? I currently ride a GT Course 853, which is a fine bike. I got the thing N.O.S. for $200. I did not like the fork, as I know that lighter steel forks are available, so I chose a Look. The bloody thing had touring eyelets (with none on the frame, which was race geometry), and I could just see that their steel fork came from their low, low end line of bikes. I could be dead wrong about that. But I felt that the fork that came with that frameset was made to go in the mechanic’s spare fork box. If I were to buy a Yamaguchi or Land Shark, I would get their steel fork, no matter the weight penalty.
Down tube shifters are the BOMB. I like them so much better than that finnicky STI crap. Get downtube shifters, for certain.
Who would I recommend? Mandaric, Yamaguchi, Land Shark, Steelman.
One last word of advice: make sure you do the following:
Clean the bike regularly and touch up any paint that has chipped. Use your wife/girlfriend’s nail polish if need be.
Every time you clean the bike, grease the seat post.
Spray J.P. Weigle’s Frame Saver in the tubes once or twice per year, more if you ride in a rainy climate.
<Does anyone else experience this? For me it’s strange since I’ve never even ridden on a steel bike!>
Perfectly natural. How old did you say you are?
I spend the majority of my cycling time on a Peter Mooney semicustom road bike. It’s a constant source of pleasure, visually and tactilely. For two weeks before each race, and during it, I ride a Kestrel KM40 Airfoil. I love it, too. Some might say two bicycles could hardly be more unalike. Yet they have the most important thing in common: They both fit me perfectly. (Kestrel=56cm; Mooney=~58cm; me=6’2", 175)
Differences? Well, the Kestrel’s set up with cowhorns and aerobars, the Mooney with standard road bars, so I go faster on the Kestrel. Doh. The main difference, though, is that the Kestrel doesn’t make a satisfying ting sound (Dedacciai 01) when the rear brake cable shield slaps against the top tube.
David
I’m waiting on my new steel tri bike. My suggestion is two fold. If you don’t know the geometry you want, pretty much exactly, I would go to a seasoned TRI bike maker. Maybe its tradition, but most steel bike builders want to and are great at building road bikes. On the other hand, the deals to be had in steel are from smaller builders. I knew the exact geometry, tube lengths and angles that Iwanted, so I drafted it up and hired Jay and Jeremy Sycip in NorCal to build the frame for me. The price was excellent and I had seen some examples of hteir work that were amazing. Smaller companies tend to spend more time with you, and will work through the design process. They bigger builders I talked to, especially in tri bikes, already had their own opinions of what I should ride (like 76 degree angles), that I didn’t agree with.
I almost went with Yamaguchi, and I would highly recommend them if you would rather the builder did the design, but I had problems translating my specific desires to Mr. Yamaguchi (via his wife). I also dislike the cable stops he uses (they don’t allow for endcaps, which eventually frays the casing wires).
I did a lot of research, since I am not rich, and wanted to make sure that I was not screwing myself with my own design, and not getting screwed by someone else’s ideas of how I should ride. My top two choices would be:
Sycip designs: www.sycip.com, and
Yamaguchi: www.yamaguchibike.com.
Good luck, steel will last a lifetime so any hard work you put into it will be repaid manyfold over many years,
eddie
I have to say that I have been lusting after the cervelo SuperProdigy for some time now. I ride a custom Guru Crono and I absolutely love it, but I would also like to have a road bike for those longer rides and for those rides where I don’t feel like riding at 78 with cowhorns and bar-end shifters.
The idea of steel appeals to me because carbon fibre road bikes are becoming far too commonplace. Besides, how many triathletes have you seen on steel bikes. (yes, I like to be different) Plus, I just love the look of the SuperProdigy (I know, buy the bike that fits).
There is also a frame builder in Ontario, Canada (True North) who makes beautiful steel frames, but I’ve got some saving to do first, so we’ll see.
mp