box opener

Hallo,
I am recently upgrading my old MTB or Trekking bike from Gironelli, do you think the steel frame is good enough? cause I like rigid and strong steel built frame, I am thinking of replacing quite a lot components for new, would like to have your opinion of if this frame is worthy to invest on? who knows about this steel frame, Acciaio CMn ? I feel that it is much stronger and more rigid than aluminium ones but is there a better steel frame than this, is reynold 531 better?

Thanks!

Charliekeet

Sure, I think it's not far off of Reynolds. What you have there is Columbus Aelle tubing. Italian steel instead of English.

Someone who knows this stuff inside & out will either post the hierarchy (Columbus SL, SLX, Aielle, etc) or direct you to a link, but essentially you have a frame of finely-made chromoly steel from one of the two or three most famed manufacturers.

Unless you must have the absolute numero uno, I'd be pleased to have it!

Trakhak

Columbus Aelle isn't chrome-moly, but then neither is Reynolds 531. Aelle was Columbus's second-from-the-bottom tubing, but it's still good stuff.

In more detail, of the two high-end tubesets available in the 1970s, Reynolds 531 was a molybdenum-manganese formulation whereas Columbus SL was chromium-molybdenum. In a sly bit of damning-by-innuendo marketing, Columbus introduced Aelle, which was carbon/manganese/vanadium and thus somewhat reminiscent of Reynolds tubing, as their mid-level tubeset.

Reynolds, playing the same game, then came out with their own mid-level tubeset, Reynolds 501 (chromium-molybdenum, like Columbus SL).

Tube for tube, Aelle OR is roughly 30% heavier than the equivalent Reynolds 531 tubing.

All that said, it's unclear what you would gain from "upgrading" a 30-year-old rigid mountain bike. No matter what you do, the bike won't be significantly lighter, faster, etc. Many people here who have thrown money at an older bike of that quality have said that they should have put the money toward a new(er) bike instead.

If you do want to do some modest version of upgrading the bike, install lighter, narrower tires (assuming that you use the bike exclusively for road riding, which appears to be the case). That's about the only upgrade that would make a perceptible difference in the ride of the bike.

Crankycrank

This site has some good info. 8th paragraph down gives a little info as to where Aelle sits in the Columbus range. The Retrogrouch: Classic Tubes: Columbus

box opener

I like heavy frame very much, my most impressed experience was a dutch made Gazelle lady bike, it is like from heavy iron or solid steel, very old but very heavy, very stable, I especially enjoyed the feeling of being brought ahead forcefully after intensive pedaling, it is like a tank to me, however, the back is coaster brake which I could never get used to.
For this Gironelli, it is also heavy, I just renewed the stem, the new stem is the only weak point of the bike, cause it is made of aluminium,unlike the orginal solid steel, it is also with longer shaft, so when on bumpy road condition, I feel a little big shaking of the shaft.

I have still a question, how does this Aelle compare to CrMo 4130 frame in terms of stiffness, someone claim that double butted 4130 is the same as Reynolds 520, I can not understand by this comparison yet.

bradtx

box opener, From the looks of it, you have a bike that you are using as a commuter and/or a light touring (trekking) bike. The tubing is well suited to those tasks and trying to compare with other brands and other metal formulations is pointless. There is unlikely something exactly the same due to the manufacturer's patents.

A complete overhaul is probably all that is required. Upgrade only on parts that require replacing.

Brad

JohnDThompson 

Aelle tubing is seamed, and heavier gauge than 531 tubing. Seamless tubes like 531 are traditionally thought to be superior quality, but modern seamed tubes are cold drawn to obliterate the seam and appear to be much the same as a seamless tube. The old Aelle tube set I have here doesn't appear to have gotten the cold-drawing treatment, but the OP's later Aelle OR tubes might be different.

The thicker walls of the Aelle tubes will make them heavier and stiffer than the thinner 531 tubes; this will affect the ride quality more than any other difference in the tubes. Whether you find this difference good or bad is a subjective judgement. In general, bigger (taller, heavier) riders appreciate stiff frames more than light riders do.

box opener

Thanks, Never expected to be so well answered

grizzly59

In a mountain bike I think the tires determine the ride more than the frame. A mountain bike's tires flex before the frame, they're not pumped up rock hard like a road bike. And we need some data:

The Bicycle Info Project :: Columbus tubing chart

Charliekeet

As an aside, thanks for schooling ME (as well as the OP) on the fact that Aelle is different- that is, NOT 4130 chromoly.
It is odd, as some bikes I've had you can tell the difference in weight and responsiveness right away when they're chromoly, but sometime you get a really nice ride out of something that's not. (I'm thinking of a Peugeot I had that was their proprietary "103 Carbolite" :-)

Perhaps Aelle is that way. It's Columbus after all, and as was said, for regular rider use, super springy light weight may not be so necessary.