Mountain Biking - Steel MTB Frames

Does anyone know who still makes steel MTB frames? Right now, Gunnar is priced a little higher than I want to go. Something in the $250 - $500 range. Hardtail is the preffered style. Better still, does anyone make a good complete MTB in steel. I don't want to go lower than Deore and the fork doesn't need a lot of travel. The bike isn't going to see any wild action. I'm just not a fan of aluminum bike frames.

Tim

For a complete check out the Rocky Mountain Hammer. It's a little more than a grand.

If you are doing a budget buildup you might want to give the Nashbar Signature frame a try. It's 853 for a smoking price.

My brother has a Gunnar Rockhoud and loves it. But like you said, out of your price range-- new that is. Maybe see what you can find on eBay?
In Sept., I purchased a Kelly Deluxe steel hard tail for $500. They were normally $1100 but he went out of buisness and liquidated everything. Occasionally I see one on eBay from people who bought more than one and are trying to make some money off it.

Well there is always this: http://www.ridesoul.com/roscoe.html Though it's geometery probably isn't what you're looking for.

Check out the Nashbar steel frame and fork. You can probably put a bike together with their frame/fork and a groupo from them that will fall in your price range.

Surly, Soma, Jamis Dragon series

Independent Fabrication, nothing compares. You can get them used off of ebay for decent prices.

Marin makes some steel bikes.

edit: this is the only one I see, nice bike though http://www.marinbikes.com/bicycles_2007/html/bikes/bike_specs/specs_pine_mountain.html

the eldridge grade used to be steel.

Gary Fisher has the Ferrous (26" wheels) and Ferrous 29 (guess).

For the price range you are looking at you might be better off buying a used bike that was over a thousand new but mostly ridden on roads or light trails. You can find numbers of them on craigs and ebay that have been sitting in garages for five years never ridden.

The material 4130 Chromoly Steel seems to be a VERY in vogue material right now. In the 29er world, this stuff is all over the place.

Surly makes a variety of bikes in 4130. NinerBikes is shipping a few bikes in steel. Soma comes in steel. On-One comes in steel. Raleigh is shipping a few 29ers in steel as is Redline. Gary Fisher has a few fully built bikes labeled Ferrous (in 26er and 29er). JensonUSA.com is offering a variety of frames under the "Zion" name.

As someone else pointed out, the $50 4130 frames at Nashbar are a real steel. You cannot possibly go wrong.

The material 4130 Chromoly Steel seems to be a VERY in vogue material right now. In the 29er world, this stuff is all over the place.

In Vouge? That alloy has been around for years. It's popular because it's cheap and easy to work with. It's also not that light. Don't get me wrong, it'll get it done for sure. It's nothing revolutionary, though.

For a complete check out the Rocky Mountain Hammer. It's a little more than a grand.

If you are doing a budget buildup you might want to give the Nashbar Signature frame a try. It's 853 for a smoking price.

and from what I can see from the pictures, the exact same frame as the Rocky Mountain Blizzard.

and from what I can see from the pictures, the exact same frame as the Rocky Mountain Blizzard.

How do you figure that? For one thing the Nasbar frame just has an 853 triangle, the rest in something else.

Gary Fisher has the Ferrous (26" wheels) and Ferrous 29 (guess).

Checked out the site, very nice. A little pricey though.

Tim

and from what I can see from the pictures, the exact same frame as the Rocky Mountain Blizzard.

Rocky Mountain is welded in Canada, if that matters to you. Also the paint job is much nicer (subjective) and likely much more durable. JensonUSA has an 06 Blizzard frame in my size for $450 which I must admit is very tempting... can't afford the couple of grand it would cost to built to my tastes though.

On One Inbred ... best bang for the buck bar none!

Salsa Ala Carte

In Vouge? That alloy has been around for years. It's popular because it's cheap and easy to work with. It's also not that light. Don't get me wrong, it'll get it done for sure. It's nothing revolutionary, though.

Vogue does not mean new.


1. something in fashion, as at a particular time: Short hairdos were the vogue in the twenties.
2. popular currency, acceptance, or favor; popularity: The book is having a great vogue

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/vogue

Rocky Mountain is welded in Canada, if that matters to you. Also the paint job is much nicer (subjective) and likely much more durable. JensonUSA has an 06 Blizzard frame in my size for $450 which I must admit is very tempting... can't afford the couple of grand it would cost to built to my tastes though.

there's been a lot of debate over the past few years whether the Blizzard is indeed still made in Canada, or farmed out to Taiwan. don't think there's been any definitive evidence one way or the other, and i'm not gonna believe some second hand opinion from this guy who knows this guy, who heard it from his bike shop etc. etc.

this past year, RM included a decal on many of their frames that said, "hand crafted". "HAND CRAFTED - Not built by robotic drones. Completely designed, assembled, and welded by highly skilled craftsmen to our unmatched standards." I took this to infer that the frames bearing these stickers were made by hand in their Canadian factory. the Blizzard didn't get one. and the Blizzard's rear triangle is made from generic cro-moly too.

and if you look at a picture of the RM Blizzard frame, and the Nashbar frame, they're pretty much identical. although RM didn't have mounting posts for V-brakes on this year's frame, the design of the disc brake frame support, disc mount, rear dropouts, the extreme sloping top tube, the head tube, the way the rear stays are welded to the seat tube in the same place, and above the toptube weld point, and so on, the two frames are practically identical. My Blizzard even has the same three holes in the chainstay bridge.

and compare how the built-up RM Hammer(same frame design as the Blizzard, just made with 725) and the built-up Nashbar look.

in my opinion, the RM Blizzard and the Nashbar frame are one and the same. course, I could be wrong, but it's gonna take some real proof, and not just someone saying that RM Blizzard frames are hand made in Canada. cause I don't think that's true anymore. and seing this generic Taiwanese Nashbar frame that looks identical to the Blizzard just confirms those suspicions.

and check out the measurements. Rocky Mountain:


Size 14.5" 16.0" 17.5" 18.5" 19.5" 21.0"
Head Angle 70.0° 71.0° 70.5° 70.5° 70.5° 70.5°
Seat Angle 74.0° 73.5° 73.0° 73.0° 72.5° 72.0°
Horiz. Toptube Length 525 540 565 580 595 610
Headtube Length 90 100 110 125 140 175
Chainstay Length 425 425 425 425 425 425
BB Drop 30 30 30 30 30 30
Wheelbase 1022 1027 1048 1063 1073 1084
Front-Centre 599 604 624 640 650 661
Standover Height 721 737 752 768 783 815




Nashbar:

_________NASHBAR 853 SIGNATURE MOUNTAIN FRAME SPECIFICATIONS_________
_SIZE_ _15.5"_ _17.5"_ _19.5"_ _21.5"_
Top Tube (horizontal): 541.4mm 566.2mm 596.0mm 610.7mm
Head Tube: 100.0mm 110.0mm 140.0mm 175.0mm
Wheelbase: 1027.5mm 1047.7mm 1073.4mm 1083.8mm
Front-Center: 604.3mm 624.5mm 650.2mm 660.5mm
Standover Height*: 737.0mm 752.0mm 783.0mm 815.0mm
Chainstays: 425.0mm 425.0mm 425.0mm 425.0mm
Bottom Bracket Drop: 30.0mm 30.0mm 30.0mm 30.0mm
Head Angle*: 70.5deg 70.5deg 70.5deg 70.5deg
Seat Angle*: 73.5deg 73.0deg 72.5deg 72.0deg
*Measured with an 80mm travel fork (uncompressed)

sorry, can't make a decent table.

Good deals are to be had on Ebay as well. search for reynolds 853 and you'll find a few bargains.

rufus - I think the consenus now on the Blizzard is that it WAS made in Taiwan for a few years, but was brought back to Canada around 2005. What isn't know is what plant the frame is made in. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that it comes out of the Procycle plant in Quebec.

Also regarding the rear triange, 853 is not made in in a diameter for chain and seat stays (at least this used to be the case, haven't heard recently) thus ALL 853 frames use a different alloy for the stays.

Not sure what you are getting at with the geometry charts, they are similar, but not exact. My guess is that Nashbar borrowed most of the measturements, sent them to the factory, and got a Blizzard like bike in return.

Again, I'm not trashing the Nashbar, I think it looks like an unbelievable frame for the money. If cash was tight (it always is for me with a wife and two toddlers at home) I'd go for the Nashbar if I needed a new frame. If I had some disposable cash I'd go with the Blizzard, or a Cotic Soul.

I can say from experience that the Nashbar 853 is really nice. I put one together in October and have been riding ever since. I don't know anything about the Rocky Mountain bikes, but they have a great reputation. The Nashbar has a 4130 rear triangle, and as was already mentioned, all or most 853s have this. The ride is very nice, and the weight is within a quarter pound of the more expensive 853 frames. So, while the price is a good deal, I bought it for three reasons. 1) It's a great frame. 2) I don't care about brand names. and 3) Why pay more if you don't see any real advantage. I'm not saying that the other more expensive frames are not better, I just probably would not be able to tell the difference between the RM, the Fisher and the Nashbar. And of course the extra money I saved paid for the new fork I put on Monday....:D

The picture attached was right after the initial build. I've since put on a nice Marz fork.

sure, nashbar could have sent similar specs for their frame. but to have it manufactured so it looks absolutely identical to a Blizzard? that's quite a stretch.

and I'd say the measurements are exact as well, differing only in an interpretion of the tape measure reading, or just rounding off numbers.

there are 853 stays. but most manufacturers use the cheaper genertic cro-moly. i only pointed that out because someone else on the thread was saying that the RM was all 853, whilke the Nashbar wasn't.

Does anyone know who still makes steel MTB frames? Right now, Gunnar is priced a little higher than I want to go. Something in the $250 - $500 range. Hardtail is the preffered style. Better still, does anyone make a good complete MTB in steel. I don't want to go lower than Deore and the fork doesn't need a lot of travel. The bike isn't going to see any wild action. I'm just not a fan of aluminum bike frames.

Tim


Depending on what you want it for, how about this Rocky Mountain Route 66 bike for a rock bottom price of $69...?

http://www.nycbikes.com/images/items/_407_1.jpg

NYCBikes (http://www.nycbikes.com/item.php?item_id=407)


Check out their other inventory as well. They have a lot of low cost deals. If cost is your primary concern.


At the top of your price range there is this, although it is Titanum @ $499. Is Canadian Made

https://secure15.nexternal.com/icycles/images/dnaframe.jpg

Icyclesusa (https://secure15.nexternal.com/shared/StoreFront/default.asp?CS=icycles&BusType=BtoC&Count1=962444484&Count2=879584908&CategoryID=2&Target=products%2Easp)

NYCBikes (http://www.nycbikes.com/item.php?item_id=407)
At the top of your price range there is this, although it is Titanum @ $499. Is Canadian Made

https://secure15.nexternal.com/icycles/images/dnaframe.jpg

Icyclesusa (https://secure15.nexternal.com/shared/StoreFront/default.asp?CS=icycles&BusType=BtoC&Count1=962444484&Count2=879584908&CategoryID=2&Target=products%2Easp)

Your tempting me now.

Your tempting me now.

:lol: I have been very tempted myself ;)

16 or 17" only, so if it fits.... I was going to jump on one of these, but found my other project.

awful short toptubes.

awful short toptubes.

Depends on the person I suppose :)

540mm in a 17" is about right for me

awful short toptubes.

I didn't even read the specs. You are correct, that is a short TT. My old 17" Rockhopper Comp is a 17" and has a much longer TT. Maybe if you measured it as a virtual TT the length would be longer. Still, a very nice looking frame.

Tim