StanSeven

I once did a lot of test rides before deciding on a Ti. I tried all the different materials and assumed the combo Ti and CF (Seven, Merlin, Serottas, etc.) would be ideal. I also tried Al and CF. What that produced was a combination of the worse properties of each material rather than the best. There's a reason those aren't made now.

rpenmanparker 

I always say the lugs should be CF and the tubes metal, not vice-versa.

RJM

I ride a new steel bike...a Rivendell Roadeo built up with Ultegra 6800, Rolf wheels, and even has a lugged quill stem. I love it.

Does a carbon framed race bike have better "performance?" Yeah, probably...probably lighter too. I'm kinda surprised the Op has a "squishy" carbon bike...that just doesn't sound right. All the carbon I have ridden has been pretty stiff.

If I was looking for a pure race bike, I would most likely choose a carbon framed race bike from Trek because that is the local dealer...but honestly, the bike I have checks all the boxes for now.

Drummerboy1975

Seat post, brah.

Jarrett2

Interesting stuff.

I own a Secteur with 32c tires and a Roubiax with 25c tires. On smooth roads, its a coin toss. On rougher roads, the Roubaix is by far the more comfortable of the two to ride.

chasm54

Interesting, possibly. Inaccurate, certainly.

Loads of people in Europe ride steel, it is still the most common frame material. Very few people race steel any more, because of weight/cost. Some do, but it's uncommon. But among commuters and tourists, steel is still prevalent, with alu second and carbon way back.

StanSeven

I don't think the post is inaccurate. The context is about road bikes and the post mentioned if steel is around, it's from old bikes. It's difficult to find steel today except from small builders. Granted steel reins for touring and commuters where you want something older and inexpensive but strong.

Euro was definitely knowledgable and a source of really good information. Unfortunately most came with a lot of controversy attached. That's why he was banned I guess. He did have lots of chances I remember.

rpenmanparker 

I agree. Sure steel is everywhere in Europe, but it is mostly very old stuff. Europeans can be notoriously frugal compared to Americans. So there are lots of old bikes around making steel look very popular. But for the new purchases, not so much. Our context her is race type bikes. Sure commuters and tourers many well still be on a lot of steel, even new.

stevemtbr

Sounds like a nice ride. How about a pic?

rpenmanparker 

That's what I'm talkin' about.

RJM

Let's see if this picture from flickr actually comes up.

bruce19

FWIW my Masi Gran Criterium is AL w/CF fork and rear. Totally awesome bike. IMO it rides as nicely as my Guru steel. Which btw I love. To each his own.

StanSeven

I should have been clearer. What I loked at were combo tubes in the main triangle and not just stays.

bruce19

I didn't know they even made that kind of frame. Must have been mid-90's or so when I was out of cycling?

rpenmanparker 

Several companies still offer them. Holland Cycles (custom), Seven, and others.

thewilson 

TL;DR

I've got a wabi special (fixed gear) and the love the hell out of it. Wabi now offers a road frame set, Wabi Lightening RE

Holden McNeil

This is my main "go fast" road bike, a 2004 Cervelo SuperProdigy in "Team CSC" livery..

As the story goes, according to multiple forum archives, the SuperProdigy started in 2003 and was built for Team CSC to compete in the Paris-Roubaix race. The frames were welded by hand at Hot Tubes (Hot Tubes hottubes91@aol.com (978) 425-9033) in Worchester, MA (now Shirley, MA) from Columbus Thermacrom (UltraFoco) steel, with Tom Ritchey cast dropouts, then nickel plated and painted in the livery you see below.

A note on the bike history and Columbus steel from Cervelo's Archive...

"Some time ago during the production of the Prodigy, Columbus supplied us with incorrect tubesets. Instead of a Prodigy tubeset, most of the tubes were dimensioned according to our Renaissance tubeset spec. At the time we didn't make too much of a fuss about it, and we painted them as normal Prodigies. But word got out that there were a few "SuperProdigies" out there, and those customers who through weighing their frames figured out they were one of the lucky ones gave us great feedback on their frames. So for 2003, we will come clean and tell it like it is. This year, we offer you the SuperProdigy in all its glory.
It still has the great combination of stiffness and handling, not to mention the feel of steel. But while the Prodigy was already the lightest steel frame in its class, the SuperProdigy is simply in a class of its own. Coupled with our new superlight Wolf fork, this new frameset can rival most Aluminum framesets in lightness."

"The SuperProdigy uses a custom Thermacrom steel tubeset made by Columbus. Below please find Columbus' material information.

Thermacrom is a steel micro-alloyed with manganese, chrome, molybdenum and vanadium. These elements produce a marked increase in temperability, a reduction in sensitivity to overheating which ensures that a fine-grain metal structure will be obtained after welding, more able to withstand fatigue stresses, better characteristics of strength and tenacity and better characteristics of resistance to corrosion and wear. After mechanical deformation working and drawing, Thermacrom undergoes a heating and cooling cycle that gives the steel its particular microstructure. The treatment, which only ends at the time of welding by the frame-maker, enhances the mechanical characteristics of the material by giving it high breaking loads permitting completely safe reductions in thickness."

"The entire frame undergoes a nickel plating treatment to increase its corrosion resistance, not just the areas of the rear triangle and decals which is left exposed."

They were paired with a Columbus Muscle Carbon fork (w/Ti Mesh) around an 1" steerer. My specific bike has a period correct Ritchey WCS crankset (yes, its a recalled one but I'll ride it until it breaks!) and a full Dura-Ace 7800 Groupset. I recently replaced the Cane Creek S2 headset with a Chris King Sotto Voce and upgraded the stem to a period correct Ritchey WCS. The bike, as pictured, weighs in at just around 17.5lbs, and includes a rather heavy Zipp 303-laced to-PowerTap G3 wheelset. If I put my 25mm carbon tubulars on we would be looking at sub 16lbs or extremely close. Riding a high end, hand welded, steel frame with a nice carbon fork is, in my opinion, the best of many worlds. I've owned quite a few carbon bikes and the closest I've felt in an overall fast/comfort/ride quality sense is a Hi-Mod EVO. Hell, if this bike was good enough for Team CSC, I'm sure it's more than good enough for me.

Enjoy!

Untitled by , on Flickr

chaadster

Nice!

stevemtbr

Very nice!

stevemtbr

I need to takes some new pics but here's my steel ride.

531Aussie

Hot. Here's mine. Shield your eyes from the cranks. Great frames, aren't they?!

I could be wrong, but Cervelo told me via email (a long time ago) they were made in Taiwan, which is why they were about half the price the predecessor, the Renaissance

I got rid of the full-carbon Muscle fork coz I found it too flexy (i was about 200 lbs at the time).



This is an older shot; I dunno how I rode a 130mm stem back

Holden McNeil

The more I ride it, the more I love it. Funny you mention the Taiwanese manufacturing, I've heard that once but I'm unable to find anyone who can confirm it. As for the Muscle fork, I'm 145lb with gear so there isn't much flex going on. One thing to note, this bike is all race, all the time. The geometry makes for a very quick steering bike that some could find twitchy depending on their background. I love it and feel that it gives the bike a very direct and focused ride.

bpanahij

I am loving my new Ritchey Road Logic 2.0. Ritchey Road Logic 2.0

kbarch

I wish I understood this discussion about the stiffness and responsiveness of frames. I've noticed a lot of differences in the few bikes I've ridden lately, but I can't speak with any real knowledge in that regard.

In terms of ride quality, the first thing I noticed when I got back on a bike after a couple of decades was that the bike I had felt "twitchy." After a year and a half riding that, then picking up a new steel road bike, I noticed a lot of things different about the ergonomics and components, but the only thing I really noticed about the ride was that mashing and riding out of the seat was much easier. The most noticeable differences attributable to the frame were only a matter of geometry, not material. However, if pressed, I would say the steel bike feels more resilient, but it's hardly "squishy," and the carbon bike doesn't really feel hard by comparison. Another complication to the comparison: the wheels are completely different. Steel bike has low-profile alloy rims and 32 3-cross spokes while the carbon one has 40mm carbon rims and far fewer spokes, radial in front and 1-cross/radial in back. Tires are essentially the same, though. But saddles are different.... I wouldn't know lateral stiffness and vertical compliance (or whatever) if it slapped me in the face.

D1andonlyDman

+1. This. The operative word for a proper steel frame is "resilient". A properly designed/made steel frame might flex a bit, but to me, it doesn't lose the energy from the flex on the downward power pedal stroke - but rather, stores it and gives it back on the rebound upstroke, in essence, acting like a stiff spring. It's this factor which has always made me prefer riding steel to riding aluminum, which may have less flex, but feels deader when riding out of the seat during a hard climb.