Road Cycling - Steel

Comparing Different steel frames, what is the ride quality feel of the cheaper steel frames,(not 853 for example). I know of the weight difference and the air hardened difference for strength, but do they ride differently?

I appreciate your question...I've got an old high-tensile, "gas pipe" frame with atypical geometry (I'm all legs...) that fits me like a glove. I've been considering an upgrade for a long time, but want to make sure that the anticipated difference is worth my investment of time and $. I've heard that cheap steel feels "dead" where nicer tubes are more "lively." Can anybody confirm this and/or describe the differences more completely?

ride one of each and see for yourself. The design will influence this more than the material

I have a De Bernardi made with Columbus Zona steel tubing and it rides like a dream. A steel frame was the best option for me since the roads out here are in terrible shape. It's kinda hard to find a "cheap" steel frame nowadays unless you're looking at x-mart bikes. Aluminum alloys are still in style, therefore demand for good steel frames is not very high (although that seems to be changing).

One UK cycling mag did a blind tasting. They had 4 frames built to identical design in 4 different Columbus tubesets (all quality butted , but varying in weight and material). The frames were built up with the same components and tested by experienced riders/testers.
No-one could place all the bikes in the correct order of tubeset quality.

Aluminum,easy to build a light bike with it.Its more vulnerable in a crash.Less predictable than steel as to when it will fail after long use.Steel is strong,stiff and tough and cheap to produce.Its lively and springy.Drawback is rust and high density which works against it in a light bike.Ti,tensile strength are well over half those of steel and density is half that of steel.Wont corrode.Mucho bucks.Carbon durability should last indefinitey if not crashed or abused.

All steels have the same inherent stiffness and weight, regardless of strength - Reynolds superb 853 is no stiffer than 1010 (mild steel). Adding a tiny bit of chromium and Molybendum make it strong enough to "butt" or thinned down in the middle, thus lighter. This alloy is generically called chrome-moly, chromoly, CrMo, Cromo, Chromo, and most quality steel frames use a variant of chrome-moly.

This principle of engineering frames to use less of a stronger, stiffer material is true for all frame materials. The materials themselves are not lighter, it is the way they are used that allows the builder to use less material to build a stronger frame. At one time nearly all high quality frames were made from Chromoly. The recent development of very high strength "air-hardened" steels (like Reynolds 853 or True-Temper's OX-Platinum that gain rather than lose strength as they cool from welding) has made for frames that have a strength to weight ratio equal to titanium frames.

The strength of any type of steel allows builders to engineer a certain amount of flex by using thinner tubes which translates into what riders call a "lively" feel or springiness, something builders using aluminum can't do because if aluminum flexes it will fatigue and eventually fail. Steel frames are also relatively easy and cheap to repair, and the technology has been around for a long time.

Source: City Bikes