carleton

"Steel in real" is what custom steel bike manufacturers tell you so you will buy their sh*t. It's all a game.

Other things the steel crew will say to scare you into buying steel:

"Steel flexes and comes back. Aluminum flexes and breaks. You wouldn't want that to happen at 30MPH"

"You're a big dude. You'd crush an aluminum bike. You should ride steel."

"Aluminum is sooooooo harsh on anything over a mile ride. Steel is like riding in a Cadillac...if I rode in cars...which I don't."



Any of that sound familiar?

Ivandarken

All this talk about things that don't really matter. Go to bed.

Wake up tomorrow and ride whatever you have. Unless you are a champion cyclist, a good quality bike is just as good as a better quality bike. The academic exercise is fine, but the material of your bike really just doesn't matter... as long as it is steel.

carleton

Hahahaha

kiMBos

All I know is there are many MTB bikes made of aluminum ridden hard. Few in steel. I wonder why.

Steel will bend before aluminum tube will crack. Steel is not as stiff as aluminum. Actually steel will flex a bit when riding hard.

But I like steel for it's good looks and ride quality.

Yan 

Thin steel tubing looks better than fat aluminum tubing.

CharneK

I wonder what a magnesium frame/fork would feel like...? I'm also surprised I haven't heard anything regarding nanotubes yet. Longboarders are already using it.

Though if you want to be super hip and cool, you build a frame out of pure bronze or wicker

jhaber

I prefer wood frames or for you purists out there I might recommend bamboo.

the_don

Easton already use them in their CNT (carbon nanotube) composite components.
https://www.eastonbike.com/PRODUCTS/T.../tech_cnt.html

CharneK

Ah, I knew someone had to be using it. Magnesium though? or is this just to crazy expensive or something. I could be grossly mistaken but I thought I remembered it being something like twice as light and 4 times stronger than AL. Anyone?

queerpunk

I've bent my IRO's fork back into shape. A buddy of mine got a steel road bike and ruined a fork in a crash, got the frame bent back into shape. A guy I know nearly ruined a de rosa thanks to a pothole in the wrong place... bent it back into shape.

Anyway, this thread is amusing because it's full of half-truths followed by no-you're-wrongs.

tcs

Before Klein, aluminum bikes (ALAN) were known for noodlely handling and cushy rides. This was all before you were born.

https://www.paketabike.com/

And Kirk Precision, of course.

Reynolds can fix you up with a magnesium tube set.

tcs

SUPER STEVE

I ride my aluminum frame 20+ miles all of the time. Now my seat is the reason I don't ride longer. It doesn't get along with my taint.

etothepii

I like my old Technium frame. Holding up well so far

queerpunk

That was very different technology. Frames were being built like they were steel frames from the time - thin tubes, thick tube walls. Once people realized that alu could be made thinner, things got relevant - because the walls could be made thinner, the tubes could be made larger, and it would still be lighter.

aidy

There's one area where steel isn't 'Redundant, duhh!!' and that's touring. Outside of that it matters little what your bike is made of.

norskagent

Won't see them because they are out there failing, or it hasn't been 20 years yet? I've seen both aluminum and steel frames fail from fatique, stress, or whatever. Should we sell our aluminum frames now before they reach their half-life?

devilshaircut

For the general posting population of this board, I think steel is favored for the following reasons:

- It is very durable.
- It is very (very) cheap.
- Availability ... many options for steel frames.
- Conversions are popular and popular conversion frames are often steel.
- The quality of a steel ride is (generally) more comfortable on the streets.
- Historically, it is steel frames that are are associated with craft and artistry.
- Steel has a popular look.

I think most people here eschew aluminum because it is less comfortable (mostly due to the construction methods involved but also the material itself), less durable, rarer, etc.

That having been said though, aluminum frames are more than capable of handling the streets wonderfully. Just because steel is more durable than aluminum doesn't mean that aluminum isn't durable. It is. Personally, I have 2 aluminum bikes and they work fine for the streets. I won't be riding either of them for polo though because they are more expensive than my steel bikes.

queerpunk

I wouldn't like my TK2 for all-around uses for a few reasons. It's a bike built for racing, and that means that the wheelbase is very, very short, and that it's pretty stiff. The ride is jarring and that's no fun on a 25mi rt commute on crappy streets (my COG is so high and the wheelbase so short that when I go over rough pavement I feel as though my wheels are barely on the ground). I don't like locking it up because the wrong toss against a pole and I've got a nice dent in my thin downtube.

Interestingly enough, in the road scene, alu has the reputation for rugged durability. But that's a very different use for the bike.

As people have said, material is far from the be all and end all about how a bike feels. Geometry and shape of the tubing come in to play a whole bunch, as well as quality of tubing. Throw a carbon fork and seatpost into the equation to change it up further.

devilshaircut

I've noticed that the shape of tubing makes the most marked difference. My friend has an aluminum bike with large diameter, round tubing, very similar to the aluminum used on my tandem. The ride of these two bikes is much less jarring than my aero aluminum frame. I think the carbon fork helps mitigate this though.

elTwitcho

I can't understand what drives some members to get hostile over someone's choice in frame material, that's just childish.


Anyway, the reason you see a lot of steel is in part because fixed riders are generally utility riders, not racers. Track racers or road racers don't use steel as much as this forum, but they also don't commute on their bikes, don't lock them up, and don't find themselves in situations that leave their bike as banged up as a rider who uses their bike for transportation. To say that the needs of a person commuting in the city (the majority of ssfg riders I believe) are the same as a person who is racing on a closed course is misguided.

Not surprisingly, steel remains popular among the touring crowd

devilshaircut

Pretty sure half the bike paraphernalia choices people make around here cause people to get hostile. Hell, there is a blazing argument taking place right now over whether or not it is okay to steal possibly abandoned bikes. People with argue over anything and it's pretty clear that people who ride steel love their steel bikes. Even BSNYC devotes entire articles to ripping on things like bike lights.

I think people enjoy the arguments or at least get something informational out of them, perhaps a new perspective. I dunno.

The Octopus 

My aluminum IRO Jamie Roy frame handled just fine on the 254-mile ride I took it on a week and a half ago. Not at all what that bike was designed for, but it performed just fine: it didn't blow up from fatigue, it didn't cause my junk to go numb, and it wasn't any noisier than a carbon road bike with gears.

PedallingATX

Carleton--I think some of your statements are exaggerated/false. First of all, when I go to my LBS, I see some really really nice steel frames. Ever heard of Salsa, Independent Fabrications, and Surly? They all make great bikes that are steel.

Sure, aluminum and CF are better for racing (on track OR road), but they are bothworse for city riding. I have an aluminum/CF mix road bike AND a 631 steel FG bike, and the FG is much more comfortable in the city. Trust me, I LOVE my road bike, but I usually ride it on long stretches of highway in rural Texas. I don't ride it in the city where the pavement changes consistency every 10 feet and there are big potholes and stuff.

It's impossible to say which material is the best. Actually, it's not. Titanium is the best, but I can't afford it. Steel and aluminum both have obvious strengths and weaknesses. This argument is pointless.

mustang1

I'm not a strong rider. I need m bike to be as light as possible. I also don't have a bunch of cash so I need low end stuff. Low end Al is lighter than low end steel. So that's what I get.

devilshaircut

I've read some discussions and editorials online that have asserted that some of the newer steels are about as good as titanium in terms of weight and stiffness. Not sure if that is true or not ... pretty curious about that if that is the case.

At any rate, I thought scandium and magnesium were considered the high end metal frame materials, not titanium?