Comparing Steel Brands
 

So, I love my Reynolds 853 bike with a fiery passion. A friend of mine is looking for a bike similar to mine, but it seems the resale (and even new) market for 853 bikes is pretty slim. I know that other companies are making some pretty sweet steel these days as well (Tange, True Temper and Columbus come to mind) but I don't really know much about their products. Could somebody give me a rundown of the steel made by other companies that compare in awesomeness to 853?

Check out their websites and compare the data. That may satisfy the engineers but it tells you nothing of how a bike made from these tubes will feel. For that, you need to ride the bike.

Reynolds makes a 953 steel as their top of the line. It's a stainless steel. They also make the 631 steel tubing. Columbus makes Life and Spirit tubing of niobium steel and Zona of nivachrom steel. True Temper has the popular Ox platinum and S3 tubing. All of these are light, thin, stiff. I believe these are all "air-hardened" steels, meaning there is no need for a heat treatment after welding or brazing to restore the strength of the steel.

Some of these steels are only available to top frame makers as they require a lot of skill when brazing the joints.

Reynolds also makes the 525 and 725 cro-moly steel tubing

I'm not familiar with Tange's tubing lineup but it's most likely very similar.

Columbus

Reynolds

True Temper

What Desperado Cycles says about tubing

Waterford chimes in

You'll see plenty of bikes made from cro-moly 4130. My Bianchi San Jose says double butted, heat-treated Chromo Lite. Their version of 4130 they had some no-name company make to their specs.

If you buy a custom frame, the builder will use whatever tubes he feels is best for you and your riding style. Most frames use a combination of tubes anyway, the chainstays are usually a heavier, thicker steel.



What sort of bike is he thinking of getting? I'd test ride the bikes and get the one I liked the best and not worry about what it's made of. What bike do you ride?

What kind of bike do you have that ignites such a fiery passion between your legs? Sorry, I couldn't help it. Seriously, what are you riding? My main roadbike is a redone 1995 Waterford 1200 with Reynolds 753, see my signature line.


Tim

Deda also makes some lightweight steels.

http://www.dedacciai.com/home_eng.html

Its a 1999 Schwinn Peloton

Very nice frame. I hate to say it but Bikesdirect has welded 853 frame bikes for reasonable money. http://bikesdirect.com/products/merc...erpens2006.htm Very good price for an Ultegra bike with any kind of frame. Good luck

Tim