Highlighting things Mr. Eckhardt wrote that I like:
Originally Posted by
Drew Eckhardt
Aluminum, bamboo, beryllium, carbon, magnesium, metal matrix composite, steel, titanium, and wood can all outlast you when used properly or fail early;
Fondness is probably more about what you came of age with than technical merit. Lots of guys about my age ride titanium. Lots of older guys ride steel. Lots of kids these days ride plastic.
I bought my first road bike in around 1972 or 3 and always thought the steel racer was the epitome.
BUT - I just can't believe that the pinnacle of bicycle technology ended with steel tubes and brazed lugs. It just blows my mind that people think so. A quality built, well engineered CF bike just has so many possible design changes (possibly even
improvements) compared to the finite choices for the steel tube, most if not all of which have already been achieved.
Mark me down as an old guy who loves a modern CF frame..... but also has a soft spot in my heart for the aesthetics of a classic lugged steel frame. But I would never be so silly as to suggest that there's anything superior in function inherent in a steel frame. Superior examples in steel? sure. Superior examples in CF... even more likely.