Originally Posted by
bigwoo
There were some peaks and valleys- You had great Reynolds 531 machines in 1970 but you also had evolution and supreme quality Columbus TSX in the late 80's and Reynolds 853 TIG's were extremely smooth and responsive rides in the early 2000/s.
No, very few keepers of the torch today can match the craftsmen/women of the past. $3,500.00 "Custom" builders today pale in comparison considering they have more technology at their disposal. We have lost artisans in this world of electronic gadgetry and CNC programming. They are still out there, but have to charge a lot for their skill set and are few.
I'd be interested to hear from TMar on how alloy contents changed over the years too.... I don't think the available materials are as good today (IMHO)
Many of todays custom steel builders build completely by hand. A hacksaw and a couple of files to cut the miters and a handheld torch to stick everything together. I don't see any use of CNC machining except that some may use a CNC to make their own dropouts or headbadges. Some, mostly TIG builders, will use holesaws mounted in a mill to do their miters.
I think you are wrong to suggest that todays handbuilders are inferior to yesterdays because of reliance on technology. There simply isn't any evidence to support this.
Now, to answer the OP's question. Steel bikes have yet to peak. Today there are many artisans building beautiful handbuilts with tubesets that continually improve. Reynolds has brought a new lower cost stainless tubeset to the market, KVA has a fantastic stainless offering, the people at Cycle Design Group may eventually bring a steel tubeset to market, True Temper is still producing wonderful tubes. In addition, all of the old standards, Reynolds, Columbus, Tange, etc. are still doing their thing. All of these companies are offering a wide varieties of diameters and wall thicknesses.
It just keeps getting better and better.