Originally Posted by gizmocat
Why are steel frames preferable to aluminum frames?
I have now got to carry my bike indoors every day up several flights of stairs and I can't manage it with a steel framed bike, so have a 21 pound Trek that I can pick up with one hand.
any opinions would be received with interest.
I'm a 110lb female and I can lift my steel frame Volpe up and carry it into the house no problem, in fact I often lift it up just to annoy my roomate who has an aluminum framed bike that is entirely too heavy to do that with.
There is a lot more to the weight of a bike than frame material, just as there is a lot more to how a bike rides than frame material.
That said, I like the ride of the steel frame of my Volpe. It is less jittery than any of the 5 or so aluminum bikes I've ridden.