Road Cycling - Road frames w/ carbon stays?

I'm a mtn biker looking to get into road biking and am researching what seems to be a myriad of frame configurations. I have ridden steel MTB frames for a long time. Any aluminum I tried beat the hell out of me. A good majority of the bikes in my price range (~$1000; eg. Trek 1500) have full aluminum frames, then for a couple hundred more there are frames with carbon seat stays. Then I found this site (scroll to item #7):

http://waltworks.com/dev/faq/suck.php

This guy seems to be a staunch believer in steel, and doesn't offer any basis for his statement. I'm still a little gun-shy of putting anything aluminum underneath me, and this didn't help. In the end I know I will have to get on different bikes and try them, but I'm attempting to get a list of frames (or frame types) to focus my attention on.

Thanks for any input!

I'm a mtn biker looking to get into road biking and am researching what seems to be a myriad of frame configurations. I have ridden steel MTB frames for a long time. Any aluminum I tried beat the hell out of me. A good majority of the bikes in my price range (~$1000; eg. Trek 1500) have full aluminum frames, then for a couple hundred more there are frames with carbon seat stays. Then I found this site (scroll to item #7):

http://waltworks.com/dev/faq/suck.php

This guy seems to be a staunch believer in steel, and doesn't offer any basis for his statement. I'm still a little gun-shy of putting anything aluminum underneath me, and this didn't help. In the end I know I will have to get on different bikes and try them, but I'm attempting to get a list of frames (or frame types) to focus my attention on.

Thanks for any input!

I am riding an Orbea Volata with Carbon seat stays and fork...also a carbon seat post, but who knows if that matters? The ride is completely different than the old OS Al 'dale butt killers...Steel is fantastic, but their are a lot of composites and AL/combo frames out there now that will give you a great ride...

I was recently in a similar position as you. I test rode the 04 Trek 1500 and 2200 and a couple of Marin bikes. I like the Marins the best because they were steel and seemed to absorb road bumps fairly well and thus I got a close out Marin Argenta which is not only steel but also has carbon seat stays (and fork). Couldn't be happier and only paid $700 for the bike having started out with a $1000 budget.

If you go AL for sure get one with carbon stays but I think you can find a good steel bike in your price range without too much problem.

I'm getting a Giant OCR Elite which is an Aluminum Frame with Carbon stays, seat post, and fork. I road a steel frame, Bianchi Campione and Eros, and it didn't feel any smoother than the carbon/AL combination. The reason I'm going with the AL/carbon combo is because I didn't like the flexiness of the steel frame. I've read lots of threads about this and I think frame material is a thing of personal preference. My advice would be to find an LBS that will let you take a long test ride, 20-30 miles, and ride a few different types. That's the only way to find out which one YOU will like best. That's what I did. And of course post pics when you get your new ride :D

I ride a Felt f30 after a Cannondale R 500 and it's a huge ride quality improvement. The F30 has a carbon fork and stays. BTW I'm 215 lbs and that is a huge factor in comparing ride quality. It was actually why the Cdale was supposed to be OK originally.

Larry

yeah, the extended test ride is a great idea if you can swing it.

i test rode a cheap Cdale R600 for about 15 miles. i should have driven back out to this other place and tried the Trek 2100 they had, but instead i bought a Viner Competition from GVHbikes.com and i couldn't be happier.

of course pretty much anybody who spends one or two grand on a new road bike is a gonna tell you they love it. but still, i wanted to chime in to say that i love the ride of my lugged italian steel frame and also to shill for GVHbikes because they have a few deals that are a good value and give you a full Ultegra component group - something which no LBS will do for $1100.

you might want to see if you can test ride the Jamis Quest. it is a good value in a steel frame with Ultegra and a full carbon fork (carbon steerer as well, which no other bike will have at that price) - it costs $1300.

$1000 is a funny budget because there are too many new bikes that don't quite manage to give you a nice frame or a nice group much less both at that price.

if i only had $1000 to spend and i wasn't as freakishly tall as i am i would have shopped around for something used instead just to make sure i got a nicer frame and group.

stay away from alum framed bikes in that price range like the cheap Cdale's and Treks. test ride some modern steel frames (Reynolds 853 or 631 - not 520) and compare them to the "mixed material" bikes avail in your size (that's the way ppl refer to an alum frame with carbon stays).

here's a few pix of the bike i got:
http://bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=62669

I think the Felt F60 is about 1200 with carbon stays and fork which isn't too far off your price range. The OCR Elite I'm getting is 1500 however I thought the OCR1, carbon fork and seat post, had a nice ride and it's only 1k.

yeah, the extended test ride is a great idea if you can swing it.

i test rode a cheap Cdale R600 for about 15 miles. i should have driven back out to this other place and tried the Trek 2100 they had, but instead i bought a Viner Competition from GVHbikes.com and i couldn't be happier.

of course pretty much anybody who spends one or two grand on a new road bike is a gonna tell you they love it. but still, i wanted to chime in to say that i love the ride of my lugged italian steel frame and also to shill for GVHbikes because they have a few deals that are a good value and give you a full Ultegra component group - something which no LBS will do for $1100.

you might want to see if you can test ride the Jamis Quest. it is a good value in a steel frame with Ultegra and a full carbon fork (carbon steerer as well, which no other bike will have at that price) - it costs $1300.

$1000 is a funny budget because there are too many new bikes that don't quite manage to give you a nice frame or a nice group much less both at that price.

if i only had $1000 to spend and i wasn't as freakishly tall as i am i would have shopped around for something used instead just to make sure i got a nicer frame and group.

stay away from alum framed bikes in that price range like the cheap Cdale's and Treks. test ride some modern steel frames (Reynolds 853 or 631 - not 520) and compare them to the "mixed material" bikes avail in your size (that's the way ppl refer to an alum frame with carbon stays).

here's a few pix of the bike i got:
http://bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=62669

I'm not too far behind you; I'm 6'2.5" w/ a 35" inseam so the frame is going to be on the larger end. Jamis is a good company, their mtn bikes have a good rep and I would have bought one of their steel MTB frames a couple years ago but didn't have the cash. I may meet up with a buddy this weekend who has connections at a LBS he used to work at in college. We may take a ride over and see what they have and if they'll be willing to work any deals.

Thanks for the responses so far!

you should know that Jamis only runs up to 61cm. not sure if that's be big enough for someone your size.

that bike i got comes in a 62, 63, or 64cm strangely - and each size up adds a full cm to the top tube.