Originally Posted by
lambo_vt
Steel's great, two of my bikes are steel. But cheap? Quality new frames are pretty expensive regardless of material, and you can get cheap frames in any material you want other than maybe Ti. Said cheap frames are never worth repairing. And the fatigue life of an everyday aluminum frame is much longer than most of us would care to own it.
Steel is good as a bike frame material, just like aluminum, carbon fiber, titanium, magnesium, and whatever other moon materials they're using these days. Frame and component quality matter thousands of times more than material.
yeah, i was referring to 4130cromo frames. i was about to plunk down some serious moolah for a 953 frame last year, but really couldnt afford it, so i went with my cheaper backup plan and got a ti frame.
i agree, im not bashing aluminium, but if im picking up a $300 frame, id rather it be steel, than aluminium. btw, for no other reason other than i prefer the way a steel frame feels, it has nothing to do with durability, weight, fatigue, blah blah blah.
i cant jive with you 100% on the last one. parts are so good these days, that 105 is light years better than the dura-ace we were using, well, you guys were using, 20 years ago. im a big fan of getting the frame as close to perfect (size, material, geometry) as you can, before trying to dress it up. if the core isnt right, youre going to spend too much time trying to find parts to make it seem right, instead of just being right...but i digress.
steel forks are, imo, pretty nifty and as a 260lbs rider, i have NO problem with my fork being a little on the beefy side. in sub zero temps, im not too keen on all carbon just yet. a carbon fork in the summertime at 70 degrees, which my road bike has on it, sure, just not at -10 below. while it would probably be fine, my peace of mind is worth it.