Road Cycling - Cr Mo frame

Hi,

Any of you guys using a cr mo frame bike?
Apart from it being a little heavier, is it more confortable ?

I am looking to buy my first road bike with a budget. I am now narrowing it to either a KHS Flite 500 with cr mo frame or a Lemond Reno (alluminium).

Any advice?

I have a LeMond Zurich frame made from 853 Chromoly.

I prefer the ride of steel over aluminum and carbon fiber.

Steel is Real as they say!

L8R

Some alluninum frames are more comfortable than some Cro-Mo frames. A test ride will remove all doubt.

In general, Cro-Mo will be more comfortable. The "Reno" was made with Cromo last year, maybe you can find an 03' model.

I commute with a cheapo Trek CroMo. It's not as smooth as my CF or Ti bike. However, I've test riden a Serotta steel and it was really smooth. I remember being very impressed with it. I don't remember what kind of steel was on the Serotta, but I think it was 853.

My old bike frame is cro-mo d/butted Tange 900 lugged , nice ride but a bit on the heavy side , no worries about doing any damage in the average crash though!

In general, budget aluminum is stiff. I'll take budget steel over budget aluminum any day.

Hi,

Any of you guys using a cr mo frame bike?
Apart from it being a little heavier, is it more confortable ?

I am looking to buy my first road bike with a budget. I am now narrowing it to either a KHS Flite 500 with cr mo frame or a Lemond Reno (alluminium).

Any advice?
I bought the Reno and [after riding steel for years] was surprised at how nice it rides!
Didn't like the saddle, though...changed it to a Selle Italia.

Hi,

Any of you guys using a cr mo frame bike?
Apart from it being a little heavier, is it more confortable ?

I am looking to buy my first road bike with a budget. I am now narrowing it to either a KHS Flite 500 with cr mo frame or a Lemond Reno (alluminium).

Any advice?

Thanks a lot for those comments.
At least now I know it will be ok to get either a cr mo or an aluminium frame as long as it fits me well.

Steel is Real

Or if you prefer in Italian (like my soon to be procured Bianchi Vigorelli) L'acciaio è reale

I made the switch from Carbon to 853 chromoly on my Lemond Zurich. I wouldn't go back to carbon the bike is awesome and will be racing in a little over a week on it for the 1st time.

That's all I've ever rode! My first was a Trek TX900 with Columbus CroMo; the next was a Schiwnn Traveller with True Temper CroMo; then a Trek 412 Ishawata CroMo; and my current ride a Trek 660 with Reynolds 531cs CroMo. I will know I will never own a aluminum bike but Carbon Fiber may be a remote possiblity.

That's all I've ever rode! My first was a Trek TX900 with Columbus CroMo; the next was a Schiwnn Traveller with True Temper CroMo; then a Trek 412 Ishawata CroMo; and my current ride a Trek 660 with Reynolds 531cs CroMo. I will know I will never own a aluminum bike but Carbon Fiber may be a remote possiblity.

I know I'm picking on you a bit, heck, I'm a bit of a retro man myself (I still use toe-clips), but tell you've at least got aero brake levers:)

Some alluninum frames are more comfortable than some Cro-Mo frames. A test ride will remove all doubt.

In general, Cro-Mo will be more comfortable. The "Reno" was made with Cromo last year, maybe you can find an 03' model.
you got a tip if true, cheaper and get gruppo upgrades.
Hey, and thats the right term 'gruppo' shift,brake,cranks?.

I know I'm picking on you a bit, heck, I'm a bit of a retro man myself (I still use toe-clips), but tell you've at least got aero brake levers:)

uh not really, unless the drilled out brake levers are considered aero!!! And yes, I also still use toe clips and friction shifting! I like the older style bikes, they are more artistic, not that industrial look that most bikes have today, no black stuff just shiny silver. I like silver on bikes because it makes them look classy like the old cars with the real chrome bumpers, mirrors, trim, grill etc. So yep, I guess I'm a true retro freako.

I like silver on bikes because it makes them look classy l.

Yeah, in the 80s I used to dream of having chrome forks, so I eventually had them done about ten years ago, along with the stays. I still have them on my 1988 531, but now they're rusting a bit.

Maybe you could try what I've done: keep your retro bike and get another one, perhaps carbon with STI etc. :) I find I appreciate the good points of my bikes much more when I alternate.

I ... will be racing in a little over a week on it for the 1st time.Sherpa,

Are you planning on doing Pesky next Saturday?

SteveE

Hi,

Any of you guys using a cr mo frame bike?
Apart from it being a little heavier, is it more confortable ?

I am looking to buy my first road bike with a budget. I am now narrowing it to either a KHS Flite 500 with cr mo frame or a Lemond Reno (alluminium).

Any advice?

The KHS is a the best deal, you get more from your money than you will with a mainline brand. The war though will start with the issue of frame material, so as not to get personally flame broiled, read these web sites:

http://www.henryjames.com/faq.html
http://www.kirkframeworks.com/Philosophy.htm
http://www.exploratorium.edu/cycling/frames1.html
http://rivendellbicycles.com/html/101_pureopinions.html
http://rivendellbicycles.com/html/101_framematerials.html
http://rivendellbicycles.com/html/101_framemanufacture.html

Then there's this info from a couple of publications:

Hayduk, Douglas. Bicycle Metallurgy for the Cyclist. Boulder, Colorado 80302: Douglas Hayduk, 640 Marine Street, 1987.

Frames Materials
CROME-MOLY steel is the best material for bicycle frames, because it’s the safest and most durable (has a long fatigue life), is easiest to repair, and is more workable in the sense that in the right hands, it can be made more beautiful and unique. In the wrong hands, it’s still safer and more durable. Also, its strength and stiffness allow it to be used in diameters which are not just aesthetically pleasing, but also allow for good tire clearance, fender clearance, and so on. If the tube has to be fat to be strong, it encroaches on the tire too much; steel doesn’t. Don’t fear rusting steel—there are a number of sprays you can coat the insides of the tubes with to absolutely prevent rust; so don’t worry.
ALUMINUM is light and cheap and always large-diameter because, like a presto log or a block of pink popcorn, it doesn’t stand up to repeated flexing. Aluminum has a short fatigue life, so the smarter makers eliminate fatigue-inducing flex by using huge diameter tubes. There are some fine aluminum frames out there—notably, the ones made by Charlie Cunningham and Gary Klein. They at least, have some flesh and blood and brains behind them. But today’s cheap-labor imitations have nothing to offer beyond their function, and if you can warm up to one of them, you can likely warm up to anything. Consider yourself lucky?

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VeloNews dated 6/10/03, page 42.

“As anyone familiar with beer cans can tell you, al is softer and less stiff than steel. Al is easy to draw and form into shapes, easy to machine and relatively easy to weld. Its density is about a third of steel and half of ti, so it is not hard to build a light bike with it. It will oxidize, and should be painted, powdered coated or anodized to prevent corrosion, but it does not rust away rapidly. Al has downsides too. Its tensile strength, yield strength and elongation are far less than those of high strength steel and ti alloys. Al is more vulnerable in a crash. Al has no fatigue limit, a property steel possesses, often expressed as a % of its tensile strength. Below this limit, the material can be cycled indefinitely without breaking. This means that al can be less predictable than steel as to when it will fail after long use. Back to our beer can: compare a can of beer to a metal can of olives and it’s apparent that he al container has much less stiffness than a steel can of similar thickness and diameter. Yet many al bikes feel stiff. Why? It’s because al’s density is so low; tubes can be made large and thick for stiffness and light weight. Al can be alloyed with other elements to enhance its properties. Scandium for instance is an element that can help make a very strong al alloy. “

And by the way, Cro Mo is all I use.