RJM

When I went from a nice lugged steel frame the bike itself dropped like 5lbs and that wasn't in wheels or groupset because they were the same between the two. The carbon bike is swifter, climbs better, and is probably the same comfort level. I am more careful to not knock the carbon bike around compared to the steel bike.

But, the steel bike was prettier, held its value when I sold the frameset, really showed craftsmanship, and I really did like riding it. I could take either, or rather I would prefer having both.

Shuffleman

I am not traveling on a plane. It is all car. I have 3 particular cities that I drive to. They are all over 120 miles each way. I will just put the bike on the back of the car to transport it and keep it in the hotel over night.

Shuffleman

I currently ride Athena and love it. However, I paid for more for my frame than I would have liked, thus the groupset will take the hit. I am fine with Veloce though. For $300 it is well worth it. As for the bars, I agree that black should be the color. I thought hard about a silver groupset and silver bars but I just don't like it.

alexdi

Try Ergon's CF3 or one of the unbranded copies. The difference on my aluminum ride was striking. I consider it to be an enormous competitive advantage for Canyon.

winston63 

No real thoughts on which seatpost, but I notice the 2016 complete build uses black for the seatpost, handlebars & crank and I think that looks very nice with the green so that would probably get my vote. Of course they mix it up with a silver derailleur which also looks OK so what do I know?

Looking more at their website photo, I do think that black would allow the beautiful green frame to stand out a bit more than silver, but I'm sure either would be gorgeous.

tkm

I've owned 3 high-end carbon road bikes and two high-end aluminum road/cross bikes over the past 10 years or so.

All of those are gone now. Currently I only own Ti or steel.

Back in my youth I would have (and did) argue about the benefits of carbon...but as you get older you tend to appreciate the "feel" more than you do the technology. And I was just happier riding on steel than I was anything else.

And IMO, nothing beats the appearance of a steel bike. Carbon, no matter how "shapely", just does not have the appeal.

Shuffleman

I picked up my Green ***** Tonk frame today. The paint is beautiful. I still have to get a headset and wheels. I will start the build after I get those. I will also post pics of the progress as I go along.

Jarrett2

Congrats. Start a new build thread and post a link in here so we can follow along.

I had a blast building a steel bike a month or two back.

Maelochs

I rode my Alu and then my steel bikes back-to-back over the same loop this morning. The steel bike felt a lot faster ... but in the end, the computer says it wasn't. I guess it was either fatigue which slowed me in the final few miles, or maybe it was because the Alu bike has some red on the frame and wheels, while the steel bike is raw steel with blue.

I am jonesing for my carbon fiber frame .. . should be her in ten-twelve days.

Nothing really to say ... just trying to muddy the waters.

tkm

If you are riding for enjoyment, then it appears that steel won in your comparison. I think that's what a lot of the people are saying.

Hiro11

"There is nothing you can trust in this world. Not men, not women, not beasts."

*points to steel*

"This you can trust."

winston63 

Awesome news! I'm looking forward to updates.

Jarrett2

Here's some more completely anecdotal evidence.

I took my most recent steel build out on a local route I used to ride quite often with my carbon fiber and lighter steel "race" bikes. This new bike has a little heavier frame and a really heavy steel fork. It also has a little more relaxed geometry, more clearance for bigger tires and is just generally built more for comfort than speed compared to my previous bikes.

I came up on a couple of Strava segments on the route that I used to try and best regularly on my "go fast" bikes and I thought what the heck, let's see how much slower this all steel heavy cruiser is on these segments and began to put forth a little effort.

When I got back and looked at the stats, I found that I had tied my previous PR on one of the segments and beaten my old PR by one second on the other. Despite being a couple of pounds heavier than my other bikes, I didn't really give up any performance. The funny thing is I haven't been training for speed lately, just riding for fun. Less miles, less intensity. Yet, I ended up having better performance on a "slower" steel bike today. I found that interesting.

kbarch

I have PR on some short, slightly uphill segments on the FG, which is also the heaviest bike. There is something about just the right feedback - where it's like the bike is a coach encouraging you to work harder. Light bikes can make you lazy.

Maelochs

I find that when I have to take time off (illness, injury, too much work, whatever) I often come back faster ... I think because I don't really care about recovery times and performance and all that. When i can I ride every day because it is today, and I might not get to tomorrow.

If I was trying to maximize performance in terms of time and distance, I might set up a training schedule with sufficient time off to fully recover and thus achieve greater speed ... but then I would wake up, see a beuatiful day, and think "Perfect day for a long, lazy ride" and there goes the schedule.

FXjohn

if you putz around going 13mph with your wife, buy a steel bike.

Bob Ross

But you'll have to use the Nashbar warranty...

dr_lha

Glad this had a happy ending.

bakes1

If you putz around going 13mph with your wife but want to go 13.1mph instead and feel 'snappy' while climbing a hill pay thousands more and buy a new cf bike every two years.

UmneyDurak

This thread...

FXjohn

why every 2 years?

joejack951

Because @cyclingtom;

Maelochs

Because ... Asplosion!!!!!


EDIT: It has been proven in the only undeniable fashion: repeated repetition on BF---that CF bikes only last two years. So ... that's a fact.

kbarch

They may last more than two years - just not in anyone's favor.

bakes1

I was not referring to cf's asplosable tendencies when I referenced two years.
My timeframe reference was more of a nod towards the folks who are susceptible to marketing hype and need to have the supposed latest and greatest.
Better recreational cycling through accessories baby.
Your skill or fitness level does not improve but you gain .1 mph and feel 'snappy' lol