Why is steel out of favour?
#151
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My frame was $3,600 including shipping, the Viva fork with CF steering tube, Chris King headset, direct mount brakes, name plaque, Italian shield, nickel head badge and extra paint colors. I'm not sure if I could have had any more options other than exotic paint. But, I ordered my frame almost a year ago so prices may have changed.
#152
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[QUOTE=Mulberry20;21723546][QUOTE=Johnk3;21723540]My frame was $3,600 including shipping, the Viva fork with CF steering tube, Chris King headset, direct mount brakes, name plaque, Italian shield, nickel head badge and extra paint colors. I'm not sure if I could have had any more options other than exotic paint. But, I ordered my frame almost a year ago so prices may have changed.[/
Actually it was 3,320 euros which with todays' exchange rate comes out to $3,896, but the exchange rate has changed since last year.
Actually it was 3,320 euros which with todays' exchange rate comes out to $3,896, but the exchange rate has changed since last year.
#153
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It was 3,320 euros which was $3,600 last year, today almost $3,900. It did not include the actual brakes, only the extra cost of adding the dual brake mounts. I spent another $3,700 on the group set, seatpost, handlebars, stem, etc. I had the wheels made here. The actual brakes are not expensive, about $85 each.
#154
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I have the paint samples for the Cangiante paint job. There are at least 25 paint choices. That paint job is 500 extra. I might just get Spirit and have that paint on the entire bike. With Chorus I can get the whole bike done with Campi Boras and Deda carbon for about 7k. Or Shamals for a few hundred less.
#156
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The bike is made of TIG welded Columbus XCr stainless steel. It is one of Columbus's newest steels, only available for about 12 years and as steel tube sets go, it is pretty expensive, I believe the MSRP for a tube set is about $900. It is very thin, very strong, triple butted, cold drawn and seamless, not rolled and welded. It is made in Italy.
My bike weighs 18.675 lbs with the pedals. It is a size 58.5 cm and has a stainless steel fork with a carbon fiber steering tube that is Barco's own design and invention. I could have cut off more weight by getting a carbon saddle and light weight wheels, but I weigh about 215 lbs and ride on some rough country roads with cattle guards, so delicate wheels were out of the question. .
My bike weighs 18.675 lbs with the pedals. It is a size 58.5 cm and has a stainless steel fork with a carbon fiber steering tube that is Barco's own design and invention. I could have cut off more weight by getting a carbon saddle and light weight wheels, but I weigh about 215 lbs and ride on some rough country roads with cattle guards, so delicate wheels were out of the question. .
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Nice bike. As another option, a person could go for a tig-welded frame made of the latest heat-treated and air-hardened steel and a cf fork and get to within a pound of that weight -- and for a lot less money. Even lugged construction would get you there for less dough. But I admit that SS does have its appeal.
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Not sure I would agree. The Columbus XCR tube set is fairly new. It is the only seamless, stainless steel tube set available and it is lighter and stronger than any metal tub set. Walls can be a thin as .4 mm. The Cicli Barco reviewd in the link is 17.7 lbs with Barco’s in house stainless fork. A carbon fork would probably bring it to flat 17. That bike is spec’d to the gills and came in at 12k. A new Trek Domane weighs 20lbs.
Honestly, would you pick a 12k Giant, Specialzed or Trek over that gorgeous, custom, handmade Italian beauty?
https://www.cyclist.co.uk/reviews/66...rco-xcr-review
Honestly, would you pick a 12k Giant, Specialzed or Trek over that gorgeous, custom, handmade Italian beauty?
https://www.cyclist.co.uk/reviews/66...rco-xcr-review
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https://www.cyclist.co.uk/trek/doman...-9-2020-review
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A CF frame weighs about 1kg. A respectable but not super high-zoot steel road frame (using e.g. Reynolds 631 or Columbus Zona and .8/.5/.8 tubes-- i.e. not overbuilding the crap out of it like many commercial frames are) is 1.6kg. So if you got the same high-end parts for everything else the steel bike would be about 7.4kg. With realistic mid-range components (Shimano 105 that kind of thing, and aluminium rims and no carbon anything except fork you can easily end up with about 9kg (or 19.8lbs) for the whole bike.
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While the OP may think steel is out of favor, there are some of us that simply would not buy the obscenely priced plastic bikes they are selling these days. Any of the three or four metals that bikes can be made out of is far superior.
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#165
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Care to explain why you have such an opinion?
...and I only own steel frames.
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Three of my five bikes are steel, and even I don't agree with this.
#167
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I have been riding steel bikes for over 45 years and will continue to do so in the future.
Steel is Real!!
Steel is Real!!
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#168
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This is your opinion, not a fact. I've ridden and raced bikes make of steel, aluminum, titanium, and carbon fiber, in the dirt and on the road. The top of my list for favorites is all CF. This is my opinion...and it's worth exactly how much you pay use this site.
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#169
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By the way, you should really poke around on the internet a bit. Carbon Fiber isn't really that expensive. A decent cf-framed road bike will cost about as much as one made of a decent (better than 4130 chromoly) grade of steel.
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But anything lower grade than 4130 like 1020 etc. is certainly something you should look down your nose at.
I'm not riding steel frames if/because they're cheaper though

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4130 is pretty much what all the quality grades are anyway. Columbus Zona is 4130 (well, 25CrMo4 which is the European equivalent) as is Reynolds 525. There's a bit of product differentiation going on with the other tubes in the range being a bit better ("air hardening", heat treatments, etc.) but they don't make a huge amount of difference as the wall thicknesses and butting profiles are mostly about the same. It's a step up when you get to the stainless ones like XCr and 953 but before that point they're basically 4130.
But anything lower grade than 4130 like 1020 etc. is certainly something you should look down your nose at.
I'm not riding steel frames if/because they're cheaper though
But anything lower grade than 4130 like 1020 etc. is certainly something you should look down your nose at.
I'm not riding steel frames if/because they're cheaper though

It's not my job to educate you, since this info is easily found on the interwebs.
#173
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4130 is pretty much what all the quality grades are anyway. Columbus Zona is 4130 (well, 25CrMo4 which is the European equivalent) as is Reynolds 525. There's a bit of product differentiation going on with the other tubes in the range being a bit better ("air hardening", heat treatments, etc.) but they don't make a huge amount of difference as the wall thicknesses and butting profiles are mostly about the same. It's a step up when you get to the stainless ones like XCr and 953 but before that point they're basically 4130.
But anything lower grade than 4130 like 1020 etc. is certainly something you should look down your nose at.
I'm not riding steel frames if/because they're cheaper though
But anything lower grade than 4130 like 1020 etc. is certainly something you should look down your nose at.
I'm not riding steel frames if/because they're cheaper though

And then there is butting profile for which Zona main tubes are different from 4130 tubes I've looked at.
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Metal is metal and plastic is plastic. As I have explained before so call CF bikes are nothing more than carbon fiber reinforced plastic. Plastic makes up most of the weight of a CF bike. Dont get me wrong if you want to blow your money on a plastic bike go right ahead, it is not money out of my wallet, and it is a free country for the most part.