Has the "golden age" of custom steel bikes passed?
 

No Richard Sachs, no Tom Kellog, no Dario Pegoretti, no Ben Serotta, no Brent Steelman ...
Not sure about Sacha White, Kelly Bradford...

I think you haven't been spending enough time on the internet. There are plenty of lust-worthy steel frames out there.

Yeah. Tons of great steel builders out there. Tommasini, Battaglin, Hampsten, Vanilla, Bishop, IF, etc. So many too choose from.

Add DeSalvo, Cicli Barco, long waits record demand. Demand for bikes from Pegoretti’s shop is higher now actually.

With the popularization of air-hardened steels like Reynolds 853, even tig-welded frames are more than strong enough for a lifetime of hard use...Which has made possible much more economical options in both off-the-rack and custom steel frames. And if you want decorative lugs, there are plenty of great builders doing that, too.

If anything, it seems like we are -right now - in a golden age for steel bike frames.

What about my Della Santa? Rides great for me, especially as a climber. That’s why I bought it. Test ride from Orinda Cycle and straight up the hill as far as I could go up the hill until I really couldn’t go any farther. What a bike! Sorry your ideas are so limited

But how many of the current generation of steel frame builders have had the opportunity to work closely with professional/olympic-class racers and have had their designs tested in races, as the "old guard" did? Does that affect the quality of the design and the skill of the builder?

No... I ride a Waterford RS33 Campy Record. Best bike I have ever ridden in over sixty years of riding. Great company... phenomenal workmanship, ride quality, performance and customer service.

This thread lacks imagination.

1) I don't know.
2) No.

Picture?

Those old frame builders were working with racers to build the best no-holds-barred racing bikes possible, because racing bikes were steel. That space has been taken over by CF, and generally "off the peg" CF at that. Steel frame builders are now building bespoke cruisers for the well-heeled "civilian" cyclist - not saying that these aren't lightweight, well-handling bikes, often rolling works of art, but they're not balls-to-the-wall racing bikes, so input from actual racers is irrelevant. Racers aren't interested in pretty steel bikes, they want light, bordering-on-disposible, plastic bikes.

That is a beauty. I bet the bottom bracket and seat post don’t squeak. 😂

You would win your bet with that one.

Tell me you won't rub one out to this

Waterford's Latest Lightest R33 Frameset from Yellow Jersey

You are correct that carbon fiber frames now dominate the racing scene… But there are still plenty of custom builders who are producing relatively light steel frames targeted toward racers. As a mature technology, any decent builder, who is interested in doing so, can build such a frame.

Interesting. This sounds like fan boy Kool-Aid but it's not impossible. Anyone know of any racer inspired/ builder specific design changes that would be relevant on a bike for today's enthusiast?

I won’t, but whatever floats your boat.

Those guys need to hire a bike fitter! Can't believe they are selling custom bikes with skyscraper stems! Not to mention MTB seatpost extension. Isn't the purpose of custom to get a fit w/o kludges....?

Not even an angry one.

Also, no mention of Baum in this thread. For shame.

I like Waterford, but that is a fugly bike.

Here is a good example of how steel can still be a viable option in the peloton:

https://cyclingtips.com/2018/11/bike...ife-in-girona/

Bike racing is a dying sport. I always thought that building bikes for racers was overblown anyway. Lots of builders out there building nice bikes for people that actually pay for their bikes.