livedarklions

Who can forget the immortal, sublime "Ode on a Nilla Wafer"? I get teary just typing the title.

Rajflyboy

I like strawberry

TimothyH

Melancholics prefer vanilla.

Why take chances?


-Tim-

rydabent

Part of the "steel is real" goes back to the 80s when there was a high point in cycling. We had the 84 Olympics, the Coors Classic, the start of click shifting and the start of clipless pedals. But most of all we had beautiful steel lugged framed bikes. They had down tube shifters, and almost no cable flapping in the air.

Rollfast

Plywood is classic and what low rent trailer or old house is complete without it?

PS Wallboard is mondo expensive now.

Rollfast

That's why you top pudding with bananas with them.

Rollfast

Only if you weigh no more than 150-160 lbs. To a heavier person, it's like riding a wet noodle.[/QUOTE]

I do it because they all have TANKS and I look good huffing and puffing.

Rollfast

What's two-four pounds when the bike is 60 lbs. equipped and I weigh over 240?

bruce19

I do it because they all have TANKS and I look good huffing and puffing.[/QUOTE]

My steel Guru weighs 17 lb 13 oz or thereabouts. I have that college football player body and weigh in at 190 lbs. Rides like a "wet noodle"? Hardly.

FiftySix

The tube diameters on my 21st century steel Schwinn are as large as the tube diameters on some aluminum bicycles. My Schwinn doesn't have a tank, but it's built like a tank.

fietsbob

Inflatable fake tanks .. from WW2 D day preparations ..






...

drbarney1

I do not say this out of charity or solicitude, but gratitude. I was limited by my budget to a steel frame mountain bike because 1.) my income is no longer reliable enough to always have use of a car and I need a bike to get my groceries, 2.) I need a bike that is solidly built to last and be easy to maintain. The posts in this forum have educated me on how steel better suits my purposes than aluminum, carbon, or titanium. For a trivial few extra pounds I have a steel frame made of heavy duty stock. Since I am not competitive, I am not interested in the few extra pounds other frames can save. I need a bike that will last and for me, I now appreciate steel is best for my purposes.

aplcr0331

paulxinfinity

Ti is fly / Carbon's darlin / Aluminum is ummmm....ya!

NeilBurt

Is that why I was polishing my carbon frame and got cut by a hook?

Jack B

I own a '92 Marin Palisades (Steel) and an '18 Marin Fairfax (Aluminium). Whilst they are vastly different in discipline, I find my '92 to be slightly more comfortable and (thanks to my Biopace SG cranks - I know, "they'll kill [my] knees") slightly faster accelerating. However over a 2 mile ride my Fairfax can be marginally faster - but that's more likely to be down to the road tyres it's wearing.

I use my Fairfax as my primary commuter as it is slightly faster over a longer commute. However I feel that my '92 is more agile. Personally I prefer my '92 but there is not much in it. Both bikes have their merits and their pitfalls, mainly due to the components bolted to the frame, not the frame itself.

To conclude, for the average rider, frame material is unlikely to make a huge difference. I agree with others, tyre choice will make more of a difference to your comfort and speed than frame material. Frame geometry is also worth paying attention to, but at the end of the day ride what you feel comfortable with - and to hell with what other people think.

SteelThisBike

OP, like you I'm learning about the bikes. I've had my "steel is real" realizations. One regards ruggedness, when I appreciated the Cinelli MB I'd bought as a kickaround last winter was a bike I can ride off curbs and off road and whatever and not worry about. I overload it with groceries and hit things and couldn't care less. As far as the "cork sniffer" aspects I finally got that with the Stowe I bought last year. Columbus SLX, lugs, all hand-made with tubular tires. It has a nice, springy feel without being wishy-washy. It has a really lovely feel to it. Really unique. Jazzed about that bike I bought a Pashley, also lugged, with Reynolds tubing and drum brakes and a Brooks saddle. Lots of character but not tooo heavy. Steel is wonderful, and it lends itself to the aesthetics I'm really drawn to. A lot of it has to do with that look, thinner tubing and lugs with a nice paint job.

Bobjackson

Metal for me and steel is real. Bicycles from the 70s and early 80s made of steel show the real craft of making bicycles. Aside from their innate beauty they rode swell. Blasting down Sheridan Road in Chicago on the way to Evanston, steel frames were the way. A full Campy Colnago of the day wasn't that heavy.😎

79pmooney

Huh? I've owned 14 bikes, 12 steel, 2 titanium; all with threaded bottom brackets. I've never needed that tool. A shop used their tool(s) once on a very old frame I picked up.

Those 14 bikes have gone 210,000 under me. One just turned 50,000 miles. Enough miles to justify that ~$600 tool. But I can pay a shop $30 to have them use theirs. At once every 50 years, I'd have to be Methuselah to justify the purchase.

And no, I do not know anyone not a framebuilder who owns that tool.

Ben

le mans

Steel is real for me because what i collect for free & keep for myself the frames are made out of light weight steel. I find the old stuff more interesting too plus..you can't cold bend aluminum or carbon fiber if you're into modifying them.
Though my Cannondale is a lot lighter than my steel frame bikes, and doesn't take much effort to get up to speed - it's such a sweet ride. I love all my bikes in their own way.

Ed333

For me, it is the comfort. Aluminum rattles my bones. As a Senior Citizen, that becomes more important all the time.

dkatz1

I have a steel framed bike...and of course, it's not as light as carbon or titanium...but it is, in fact, lighter than many aluminum frames (it's a an Independent Fabrication club racer), I don't find the weight an issue...was not a cheap bike....the frame cost (in 2007) $1800 I think, I spent close to $4000 for the bike....but I've rode it constantly since 2007 and it has a great feel. Previous bike was a steel framed LeMonde come to think of it...

rsquailia

I just got off three 50 Mile days on a 26 lb alum CF bike. real nice but after the first 20 every day I could feel what I never did with chromoly. Aware how much I was steering to keep it going, seemed like every bump in the road came through.
Somewhere is a compromise. That just wasn't mine.
I'll take a little heavier bike and keep my weight low!

Nartker

I’m riding a 40+ year old Reynolds frame rebuilt with contemporary wheels and components. It is now, and has always been the most comfortable frame in my stable.

i bought the bike new, when in high school, rode it through college, replaced it several times with more fashionable builds but I’ve kept going back to it.

these days, I’m retired and it’s my only wheels around town.

cyclomuter

Steel is real, but plastic is fantastic!