Crust recently released the canti Lightning Bolt:- https://crustbikes.com/products/lightning-bolt-5/ which has a weight limit.

Designed around a 650b x 48; which is about 700x32.

Looking forward to the BQ review on that Crust.

I have the older rim brake MC.

As for the Carbon fork swap on yours, the biggest issue would be a difference in trail.
Your fork has 60mm of offset and the Whiskey fork that would work on your frame has 45mm of offset.
https://whiskyparts.co/forks/no.9-cx-disc-12-straight

So with 650b 47mm tires, the bike has 48mm of trail in it's current setup.
If you swap to the Carbon fork, it would jump to 64mm of trail, assuming the same wheels and tires.

That's a big difference in steering response. Itll slow the steering down.
everyone has different preferences. Some are good with 64mm and some want faster feeling steering / less input needed to turn.

They talk about frame flex. I had a Landshark years ago made from Tange Prestige and it was way too flexy for me. Then I was 220# and I figured it would break if I kept riding it. I sold it to a skinny friend.

A Taiwan built canti brake steel frame and fork for $1150?
Seems about $300-500 higher than similar comparables.
if its BQ tubing, or tubing comparable to BQ's, it's 7/4/7 heat treated tubing. So what, like $60 more than 7/5/7 columbus tubing and $100 more than 8/5/8 tubing?

Interesting offering.

More choices here...

https://gunnarbikes.com

https://www.reillycycleworks.com/collections/frames >>> titanium frames

Always liked the look of the Condor lineup..eg
stainless
https://www.condorcycles.com/collect...nless-frameset
or not
https://www.condorcycles.com/collect...ciaio-frameset

Get a ti frame, have it painted, slap a Columbus sticker on it and tell everyone it's steel...
Wanting a light steel bike is like wanting the "dancer" you marry after knowing her for 3 weeks to be faithful, nothing but $$$ and disappointment...

I don't agree, necessarily ... but that was funny enough that I had to respond somehow.

Ditto. Condors look tantalizing.

They're beautiful! Almost 5 grand for a frameset though.

My Waterford RS33 was custom built in 2008 with air hardened True Temper S3 lightweight steel and front carbon fork. Still rides like a dream and handles like a race car.

I guess that depends on what you consider "light" to be and how light you need a bike to be. My Guru Sidero (which I have posted here) weighs approx. 17 lb 10 oz w/Ksyrium Elite USTs and SRAM Red. That works for me.

I have to take issue with their marketing there. Columbus's Niobium alloy is the natural competitor to Reynolds 853. Both are about the same strength and are non-stainless HSLA alloys. The Columbus product that's closest to 953 is XCr which is stainless, super strong and expensive.

Those stainless alloys are actually stronger than you really need and they can't make them as thin as their strength would theoretically justify for practical reasons. So they're pretty cool but you will be saving as much weight by not painting them as the thinner gauges available are giving you.

Anything from Reynolds or Columbus is a quality tube and will make a great bike, as will double-butted standard 4130 or 25CrMo4 (which is exactly what Cromor, Zona and 525 are).

You can have a nice and affordable frame at Marinoni with the option of custom gιomιtrie and custom paint. I have the Piuma but i change the standard headtube for the 44mm. Here the link of my bike (approximately 18 lbs) on PedalRoom : Marinoni Piuma

Cycles Marinoni

That's beautiful. What components?

Thanks !

Components : Dura-Ace R9100 Groupset + pedals, 4iiii powermeter, Deda Zero100 42 cm handlebar / 110mm Deda Zero100 Stem, Fizik Antares R1 Open / Deda Superleggero RS seatpost and Prime Black Edition 50mm with Coninental GP5000 tubeless.

I may opt for a Soma ES frame and add a carbon fork to it... mstateglfr

There seem to be some decent deals on them now and they weight about 4ish pounds. Only thing is that I would need long reach brake calipers.

Appreciate everyone's input.

I like the TRP 957. Ive read they are stiffer than the Tektro and Shimano long reach options, but havent tried those before. Velo Orange has a well regarded long reach caliper too.
The TRP 957s are relatively light, well finished, have a lot or adjustment built in. Note that the cutout on the top of the arm in the linked picture doesnt seem to exist on ones that are for sale. Its all over the internet for some reason.
Below is a pic of a front caliper mounted.
https://www.probikekit.com/bicycle-b...B&gclsrc=aw.ds

The Jamis Quest. Your choice of 4130, Reynolds 520, or Reynolds 631. The Reynolds 631 Jamis Quest Elite comes in at 20 pounds they say.

https://www.jamisbikes.com/usa/questseries.html

Try a custom Columbus XCr frame built by Cicli Barco. It will probably be the lightest steel frame you can get. One big difference would be whether you get a steel fork or a carbon fork. Barco has both. They have a very sexy stainless steel fork with a carbon steerer tube for lightness (+ 250 euro). They just finished making a frame for me which will be shipped tomorrow. Gianluca Barco is quite fluent in English and very responsive by email. Here is their basic all stainless bike. There are many options. For a lugged frame the cost is a little higher, but they offer about 6 different fork crown styles as well as lots of lug options.

Here is a review of the frame by an English bike magazine. https://www.cyclist.co.uk/reviews/66...rco-xcr-review

TIG
Custom Road geometry
Barco stainless steel dropouts QR with interchangeable hanger
Interchangeable or braze on front derailleur
External derailleur cable routing with Wing support
Brake cable on top tube, external or internal (no extra price)
Seat clamp bolt integrated on seat stays
BSA bottom bracket
1 1/8” head tube
31,6mm or 27,2mm seat post
Stainless steel fork with curved blades
Engravings: BB, dropouts, fork crown, fork ends
Barco classic head badge
Italian badge on top tube (optional)
Customer name plate on top tube (optional)
Mirror or brushed finish included
One color paintjob or sandblasted decals included
Price: 2.620,00€ (no VAT included) (about $3,000)

My frame has every possible option and came in at 3,320 Euros including Chris King headset and shipping.

Brushed XCr stainless steel TIG welded

Stainless fork with carbon tube

Direct mount brakes

Stainless nameplate


Barco stainless fork with carbon tube

A friend has a Soma road bike and he says it rides as nice as his Moots. High praise.

True- there is a lot of value for the money with Jamis and the Quest line.
$1750 for full 105 drivetrain, Ritchey cockpit and wheels, and full carbon fork.

The geometry in the largest size is fantastic too- nice and neutral...except for the insane 66.5mm BB drop. What?!? Its a road bike- why is there such little drop? Thatd be interesting to understand.

Please tell me you're building this up with SR.

Absolutely! Full Campy Super Record 12 x 2 groupset with direct mount brakes. And, Italian made carbon seatpost, stem, handlebars from WR Compositi and a Selle SMP Pro saddle with carbon rails. The wheels however are HED Belgium Plus with White Industries T11 hubs and Vittoria Corsa Control tubeless tires. The pedals are Look Keo Blade Carbon Ceramic Ti. I'm guessing it will be about 19 lbs. Not bad for a steel fork bike. I really don't see much point in getting a steel frame and then ruining the lines with a carbon fork. The frame would last forever, but the fork...who knows.