Pardon the newbie question.

Been looking for a new bike and am trying to decide on a new one or to buy an older one to restore.

Was at a thrift store today and saw a bike by Skynomish. It looks good with the exception of the read rerailer which is badly damaged. The decal on the frame said that it is CroMoly tubing. Had Shimano Airus shifters and Yeti grips on it as well. Would need to replace the cables and derailer, but other than that it is in decent shape. They are asking 20 bucks for it.

Is CroMoly a decent material for a frame? Or should I run away and look for something better?

Cro-Moly is a type of steel and is generally considered a "safe bet" in the sense that it's durable, has good strength, is reasonably lightweight (as far as steel tubing goes) and can be manipulated and welded easily. There were many different brands of tubesets made from Cro-Moly steel. I had a Nishiki Ariel MTB made from Tange Prestige (a form of 4130 Cro-Moly) that rode wonderfully, was comfortable on long rides and survived plenty of offroad trail abuse. However, bear in mind that we're talking steel here and thus you need to perform careful inspection for rust.

Steel? I don't ride anything else. I rode a Ritchey RB-1 for 10 years, and I'm in my 6th year on my Ritchey Road Logic. My SS MTB is an old Bridgestone MB-3, and my geared MTB is the a '95 Stumpjumper -- the last year they offered a steel one.

I don't have anything against the other frame materials, I just prefer steel. My bikes all weigh a pound more because of it, but they don't hold me back. I like the softness of the frames. I'm a 6'4" sprinter, and full-power sprints feel like dancing on a wood floor -- the return from the flex just takes the edge of the mechanical nature of the machine -- making it feel more organic.

I could see myself enjoying a Ti frame, but I'm too frugal to drop the coin on one. Same with Carbon Fiber, expensive plus I don't like its failure mode. Aluminum just doesn't do it for me: oversized tubing makes them too stiff, and if they weren't stiff, they'd fatigue and crack at the head/top tube or around the bb shell after a few years.

(ripped from the dated, yet classic, Metallurgy for Cyclists)

"Once giants lived in the earth, Conan. And in the darkness of chaos, they fooled Crom, and they took from him the enigma of steel. Crom was angered, and the earth shook. Fire and Wind struck down these giants ... but in their rage, the gods forgot the secret of steel and left it on the battlefield. And we who found it are just men - not gods, not giants, just men. The secret of steel has always carried with it a mystery. You must learn its riddle, Conan. You must learn its discipline. For no one, no one in the world can you trust - not men, not women, not beasts ... this you can trust." - Conan's dad, from the film Conan the Barbarian.

CroMoly = steel. Solid material, it won't let you down. One of the safest bets out there.

For $20 it almost doesn't matter what the frame is in that you are getting that value and more in the seat, wheels, tires, components. But in fact, cromoly is an excellent material. More durable and since it is a bit more springy than aluminum it gives a more gentle, less jolting ride than aluminum.
It's a steel steal!

Chromoly is good. Many cheap bikes add a couple of chromoly tubes to hi-ten stuff so they can write chromoly on their marketing stuff (hi-ten is a lot heavier). My view is that if it's a full chromoly frame then it's a great deal. If not, then it's only $20 anyways, as long as it's the right size and not too expensive to fix-up.

For years, chromoly steel carried people down screaming descents, up endless climbs, across vast emptinesses.......and it did so over and over again without thought on the same frame. Steel has druability, absorbancy, and "feel"......if a few pounds extra weight is worrisome, then ride a bit more, eat a bit less, and lose it from your waistline.

cromoly is the material, side by side with Reynolds 531, reynolds 853 and equivalent tube setings. You should have taken the bike at once!

BUY IT,
quick