Originally Posted by
robertv
Umm. You're wrong. Hi-ten is crap. Don't even try to suggest that it isn't. When you're younger it will probably get the job done and there's nothing wrong with having a hi-ten frame but it is nowhere near as strong as Chromo. The difference is night and day.
This has nothing to do with wal-mart bikes. A hi-ten fit, kink, we the people, or anything else is still hi-ten and not nearly as good as a chromo frame from the same company. This is also reflected in warranties. Hi-ten frames do not have nearly as good of a warranty s Chromo frames usually do. Because the manufacturer knows it isn't as strong.
Seriously, stop trying to rationalise it and realise that hi-ten does just kinda suck.
I've been riding a high ten-frame for ten years as a bike messenger in NYC. I stack on 45+ lbs on my front rack daily and am 240lbs riding 40+ miles a day 6 days a week, dropin off curbs abusing the heck out of it. The reason hi-ten is a little bit heavier is because they make it the thickness of a frame thats not going to break. It doesn't matter how heavy my bike is because I rarely pick it up or race with it. It's a working bike. So in the end does it really matter? No it's just preference.