PeaceGrabber

I was hoping to upgrade my aluminum bike into a decent steel bike without sacrifice the component because I wish to save some money. Man, I don’t know what people are thinking these days.

Any of the old Colnago, Eddy Merckx, Steelman, Independent Fabrication and De Rosa steel frames with fork are still going for over US $500 - $700 easy on *Bay. Those frames are like from 1996 to 2001, which is, nine to five years ago.

For that kind of money, it is not far to buy a full carbon frame like 05 Felt F2C in mint condition. That frame alone, if I remember correctly, was about US $1100 dollars in the end price. I can also also buy Trek 2XXX series frame with carbon stray easy.

I am not sure whether the majority of people are nostalgia or they are insane. Those bicycle frames neither in limited production nor rare collectable one.
Am I missing something here? I want an answer.

All I wish was a comfort ride in a cheap alternative but it turns out to be a dilemma.

Whether I should spend for a good decent steel frame and sell my old frame or trade my bike for an aluminum frame with carbon stray like the Trek 2xxx series is questionable. Don’t forget to add the shipping and swapping cost in bike shop into the equation. My bicycle is just 2 years old.

PS. This does not happen in photography like getting a film Nikon F2 camera, top of the line back in the 70’s; in fact, most film cameras are depreciating except for mint or rare cameras. And in Radio Control hobby, few years old stuffs are selling in fairly cheap price, except for collector items, of course.

Serpico

check out burley, salsa, gunnar, bob jackson for reasonable steel frames

maybe Leica would be the correct camera analogy

allgoo19

Steel bicycles came and still come in different price range. What you are talking about(Colnago, Eddy Merckx) are the collectable part of the market.

You can find many Japanese made bicycles sold in 80s for $100.-. If you really meant "All I wish was a comfort ride in a cheap alternative ." those bikes fit the bill.

fogrider

the thing about a good steel bike is that...well, it's a good steel bike. and one that is built by a craftsman, will hold it's value. don't bother hanging your old low end parts on a nice steel rig.

a colnago, steelman and the like should have da or campy record.

one reason is because of weight, steel is going to be about 1/2 a pound more than a trek xxxx, but by the high end parts can put the total weight of the bike under 19 pounds.

Thylacine

PG, you're comparing a hand made frame to Felt? A Felt is a product. A piece of plastic that pops out of a mould like Tupperware. Comparing the two isn't fair to either party. Also, steel tends to have better fatigue characteristics than other frame materials, so a 5 year old Steelman or whatever shouldn't be much different to the day it was pulled out of the box. Buy a 5 year old Aluminium frame and you're rolling the dice.

If comfort is what you're after, many of the big companies have magically discovered that most roadies don't need a 'modern road bike' and started to offer bikes with more....um.....whatever the opposite is of most 'modern road bikes'.

Okay, slight exageration, but we're talking subtle changes like slightly longer head tubes, slacker angles, longer stays, that sort of thing. Specialized's Roubaix line is an example, I'm sure there are others....such as reject Sevens that were bought by fat inflexible executives that sold them after soon after they realised they had to breathe hard, for example.

jeff williams

I ride a 15 yr old chromoly frame, a new frame same feel -900 US.
The 'art' of making stong\load flex isn't by robots\CAD\CNC.
Get on a good'un, you get off and look at the frame and go 'huh?' why does this one rock?
Time, craftmanship, design, art.
Pay the man.

If you spend a lot of time in the saddle, spend on the frame.
If I liked road riding I might be interested in CF, but no....
If I had 900 to buy a new frame , I'd order up from the man who welded the frame I ride and honestly trust with my body.

T.R.

Sammyboy

There are tons of handmade 531 frames available for MUCH less than that, at least on UK ebay. Ok, they're not Colnagos etc, but you can get an excellent frame, like a Rotrax, for little cash. I bought an old Nigel Dean frame for $35. I bought an entire Gazelle bike for $50. You're being tempted by certain names.....

Lucky07

Peace,
I think one of the problems you're running into is that steel frames, esp. vintage steel is just 'too hip' right now. People are over-pricing them because they know someone out there will pay an insane amount to get what they want. Right now, hundreds of peeps are trawling the internet for a name steel frame that they can turn into a track bike. That's who you're competing with on ebay.

Try your local craigslist.org for more reasonable prices and surf froogle for bargains. I'm sure you can find a good cheap steel frame out there for a reasonable price.

53-11_alltheway

They are nuts.

The SS/FG gear people do the same dumb thing . Why the **** do these old ass frames go for so much moeny is anyone's guess, but I've got my money on old wives tales on the indestructability of steel as the number one reason. People think steel never fatigues (Lol, even after they break a steel spoke they still think this way)

StanSeven

That's it exactly. A lot of these people started cycling when these bikes were what everyone craved. Now they are years older, have a much better income, and want one of those old frames for a FG, SS, or a beater/spare bike.

pigmode

You deserve a Felt. Or a Trek.

HJR

PeaceGrabber

I know what you are talking about and people are partially right with their assessments. However, I bought my Bianchi Alloro frameset a year or so ago for $200 and my Cervelo Superprodigy frameset for $425 exactly a year ago. At least from what I have been able to research, the Bianchi was a 1999 and the Alloro was at that time one of Bianchi's less expensive racing frames and not part of their standard line. The SP was a year old and is a fabulous bike. Keep looking and broaden your search a little. Good luck.

hiracer

Saw a Peugot steel 10 speed in second hand store last year for $10. It was in flawless shape, except the tires and leather saddle needed replacement.

puddin' legs

Well, a steel frame and a 'steel' spoke are different creatures doing a different thing for different loads, so this isn't really a good comparison. Why is some old steel expensive? Sometimes it's history. Several years ago I road up through a touring group and saw a gentleman riding a Serotta Huffy. Turns out it was Jeff Pierce's father, and that was the bike that won the Champs stage. Cool bike. A mid 70's Gios, Austro Daimlier, or Puch loaded up with Super Record is a beautiful bike, but that belongs more in the classics thread. Some steel bikes are just plain old beautifully made and riding a piece of craft fabricated by a master or his sons is satisfying. I have a 12 year old Tommasini Tecno that still turns heads and get compliments regularly, particularly among folks who've been on the road awhile. The frame was $800 purchased in September 1994, so it was heavily discounted at the time. Now, about longevity, I never see old carbon frames of the same generation. I've seen one Vitus. I' see dozens of retired steel road frames converted into commuter bikes and fixed gears riding up the hill taking their owners to university or work. One student rides Gord Frazier's old steel Guercotti to class. Local riders and racers here nearly all have a 'winter' road bike for rain that are again, 10-20 year old steel.Regardless of what you might think of steel, it does last a long time even if it ages in a way that may not make it the best bike to race on given the newest latest technology out their. Would I buy a steel frame today? Maybe, maybe not. If I were a parent helping a junior buying a bike to start racing on, steel or Ti would be at the top of the list exactly because of their relative durability/repairability.

Now why some old frames go for so much money is anyones guess, but I imagine that in 15 years when you see an old Look 585 loaded with mint looking 2005 Record...you know, that bike you want but can't afford now? Well, you just might want it down the road when you can as a 'vintage' classic.

Phantoj

It's like a 1965 mustang... neither rare nor posessing remarkable performance, but with classic style that made it desirable then and makes it desirable now.

You can get a cheap lugged chromoly steel frame. Like an old Ford Fairmont, it will have equivalent performance, but no collector appeal. But the OP is buying with an eye for the brand; he is like the collector. Otherwise, he'd pick up a Centurion or Miyata...

PeaceGrabber

Steel is an old technology and it's suprise me that it holds strong value. A decent mechanical Nikon F2 does not goes as high as modern digital camera. I am not sure if I'm making a good comparsion here but I know those old cameras are made out of metal without electronic control shutter. They are hand made,too. It is just not fair for bicycle hobbist.

wangster

steel is easier to repair than alum and carbon is nearly impossible to repair. a lot of people, including myself like the look of steel frames. I own 2 steel bikes and an aluminum one. I like the look and ride of the 30pound schwinn frame from the 60s more than my new steel frame with slightly oversized tubing. I only wish the schwinn fit me better. The alum specialized is nice but if I had the money, I'd spend it on a nice custom steel frame with lugs. I can ignore the extra weight given the ride is better in my opinion. As for old steel frames, its an appreciation thing and also those frame do last quite a while longer than aluminum frames.

djgonzo007

Agreed. My next bike will be steel, oh yes it will.

ollo_ollo

Look around for a Bianchi "Trofeo" frame, Dedaccai (sp?) steel with ovalized downtube.
I paid $100 for mine a couple years ago.

mikeoverly

Like others have said, you can find great old not-so-brand-famous steel frames at a decent price on Ebay. The best bet is looking for an entire bike, as they tend to be undervalued compared to the frame-alone auctions. If the components are decent you can often auction those off and thus have a "free" frame.

The price is up on hand-mades like Colnagos, etc. because it's becoming harder to find bikes like these in the high-end new bike market. After Colnago & others went to trendy carbon forks & stays, many people began snapping-up all-steel Colnagos, De Rosas, etc. It's not necessarily the least bit rational, but some of us like steel and lugs and think chainstays deserve bridges, etc.

When you consider that fairly generic-looking tig welded frames are now coming out from even the old Italian masters (and in some cases subcontracted to Asia -- nothing wrong with that ... just loses that old-world, somebody-built-this-by-hand aura) -- usually for big $$ -- a 5-20-year-old $500-700 Nag frame in good condition looks pretty sweet.

USAZorro

I think you're comparing apples with oranges Peace. The steel frames you're seeing sell for several hundred dollars were top end in their day. You should be comparing them to today's top of the line frames - then you'd get a better idea of relative values. As others have mentioned, there are planty of good, used steel frames available, with slightly lesser reputations that could be had for much less than what you're griping about.

Personally, I ride nothing but older steel bikes. My current a-ride is a 1973 Fuji "The Finest" that I picked up last year for under $100.00 - for the entire bicycle. Not only is it a sweet ride, but (IMO) it looks nicer than anything that's come off a production line in over 10 years. I could get something that's 4 pounds lighter, with all the latest and greatest that might get me going 1 mph faster than I ride now, but I'm enjoying what I have now just too much to spend $1,500+ on something with some CF bits.

Expand your search just a bit more, and I'm sure you'll find something really nice in the price range you have in mind.

same time

PeaceGrabber, you say you want an answer. What, exactly, is your question?

You want a high-end steel frame, less than ten years old, and you're surprised that the price is high. The price is high on ebay because the demand is high. Other people want them, too, probably for the same reasons you want one. Why are people insane for wanting something that you want, too?

As others have said, lower your sights a little. Look for a Trek, Specialized, Bianchi, Fuji, or even a Schwinn Paramount from the early 90's. All made very nice frames that should be more comfortable than the aluminum frame you're unhappy with.

And be sure to set aside some money for a couple of new components, because swapping the parts from one frame to another is never as simple as it sounds.

cs1

It's economics, Supply and Demand. There is a limited supply of older steel bikes and lots of buyers with money. Nothing wrong with that. If the price of older bikes is too high then don't buy one.

Tim

ggg300

Eddy Merckx, in an interview in a mag that I have at home, said that he was not sure why steel is as big as it is in the US. hhhhhmhmhmhmmmhmh

Wind 'N Snow

My 1988 Pinny with Columbus SLX is still running, although the components are a little long in the tooth. the Frame is going strong, it is resiliant and comfortable. I think all bike stuff is overpriced, but this steel holds its value.