New steel bike recommendations (under 1k)
 

Hello,

Like the title says, I'm looking for recommendations for a new steel bike under 1k. I currently ride a steel hybrid as my main get-around, fun neighborhood ride bike. I like the way the steel frame rides compared to aluminum bikes I've ridden, so I thought I'd look into that for my first road bike.

I'm not too fussed as far as groupset goes (I'm assuming that for my experience level and price range I'm probably looking at Claris or Tourney anyway); I can always upgrade that later if the bike rides well. Not planning on doing any competitive rides right now, I'm just in it for fun.

The only bikes I'm aware of are the Jamis Quest Sport and the Motobecane Gran Premio S and Elite. If you can point me towards any others, it would help quite a bit.

Thanks,

What about the Jamis Quest Comp? One level above the sport but still under 1000.$.
https://www.jamisbikes.com/usa/questcomp.html

https://www.jamisbikes.com/usa/renegades4.html $1300 a few hundred over, but worth referencing as a comparable for what you get at a slightly higher price- carbon fork, thru axle, etc.

https://www.marinbikes.com/bikes/2021-four-corners $1050 touring, day adventure, commuting, etc.
https://www.evo.com/outlet/gravel/ma...xoC4eYQAvD_BwE for smaller sizes

https://www.marinbikes.com/bikes/2021-nicasio $750 day adventure, commuting, etc.

https://www.jamisbikes.com/usa/questcomp.html $950 road riding with antiquated triple crank

https://www.jamisbikes.com/usa/questsport.html $700 road riding with antiquated triple crank



or dont buy new and get something off craigslist or ebay. Even if you need to update some parts, there is a high likelihood that the resulting bike will be significantly higher spec/quality compared to what you buy new.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll definitely add the Marin to the list; it would be nice to be able to swap on gravel tires and do the sandy mari e forest trails around here.

Go to eBay and get an older classic steel bike such as https://www.ebay.com/itm/Eddy-Merckx...YAAOSwtyVfXmgJ
Bikes to look for: Basso, DeRosa, Eddy Merckx, Lemond (the later Zurich's were particularly good) Mercian, Colnagos are good bikes but generally too expensive because of their reputation and not because they are any better than a Basso. Mercians are great but they are hard to come by. Schwinn made a series of racing bikes under the Paramount "PDG" name that were pretty damn good but the standard model was pretty heavy.

Get a good used steel bike and install whatever groupset you can put together within your budget. Trek, Centurion, Specialized, Miyata, Fuji, Raleigh, Univega (they made one or two decent steel road frames, besides their usual mountain bikes and hybrids), many others made good mid-priced chromoly steel road bikes throughout the 1980s, all very comparable frame quality, groupsets, wheels, etc.

There were also lots of high tensile steel frame bikes from the 1970s-'90s but they'll be heavier and often with other compromises: cheaper groups, maybe steel rims from the 1970s. A giveaway is often the "turkey" lever "safety" brake. Not really as bad as some purists claim (some could be adjusted to get decent leverage for slowing, although I wouldn't rely on them for serious stopping power), but a good indicator of a lower priced bike that often used all or mostly high tensile steel frame and/or fork. The steel rims were worse than the turkey levers -- steel rims don't brake well when wet.

With the pandemic effect on the bike market, good used bikes may be in short supply in some areas and overvalued, but be patient, shop around and pounce quickly when you see a frame with potential.

Availability and price seems to vary depending on region. For a few years the Centurion Ironman was often available for $200 or less in my area (pre-pandemic). I snagged one in 2017 and could have bought another two or three for the same money or less over the next couple of years. The guy I bought from said a batch of 'em were discovered in a warehouse, unsold but in varying condition depending on storage conditions. Mine appeared to be unsold, in good but not great cosmetic condition -- a few paint scuffs, nothing important.

The 1980s groupsets, mostly Shimano and Suntour, were very good if you don't mind downtube shifters. But it's relatively easy to switch to integrated brake/shifter setups from MicroShift, MicroNew and others without changing anything else other than cables.

Most of those came with 6 or 7 speed wheels with freewheels, which limits us to 7 speed cogs at most. I still have one old freewheel wheel but my others are freehubs for cassettes. I can swap wheels without any indexing problems. The bike doesn't care whether it's 7-speed freewheel or cassette, as long as the cog spacing and tooth design are compatible and the cassette spacing is aligned the same as the freewheel.

The most I've upgraded to on my older steel bike is an 8-speed rear derailleur and cassette, with appropriate shifters. Some folks on the C&V forum here have posted pix of some complete overhauls, retaining only the frame but replacing everything else: carbon fiber fork, 10-speed drivetrain, even carbon fiber aero rims. A local friend loves old school high end steel frames -- Merckx, Colnago, others -- but not the downtube shifters and limited 5, 6 and 7 speed groups, so he installs new drivetrains. Sometimes aero rims but not always.

I have a couple of carbon fiber bikes too -- a 1993 Trek 5900 (their flagship model umpteen millennia ago) and 2011 Diamondback Podium. Honestly, the steel bike rides better on our increasingly bad chipseal roads. And I'm not consistently strong enough to notice any differences in average speed over my usual 20-40 mile rides. Maybe a second or two faster on climbs but we don't have many long climbs, mostly rollers with lots of short, steep hillettes of 5-12%. Of the two the old Trek rides nicest, although some folks criticized the older Trek OCLV frames as feeling dead. It's not a crit type frame, but I don't race so I don't care.

If you work for a large corporation like I do you might have some discounts available to you. For instance I can get discounts on Raleigh and Diamondback (same company) and Raleigh offers a steel bike.

Personally I would also go the route of finding an older used bike. Again, use common sense, but steel bikes are the ones to buy used. If there is no rust, bends, cracks, they are basically good as new. Just look for the right componentry obviously. I once had an older (mid 90s i wanna say) Specialized Allez steel bike. That thing was bulletproof, and relatively lite. You can get that frame dirt cheap right now

canklecat , I had a Miyata for 20 years and I’d still have it today if it wasn’t too big for me. If the OP has worked on bikes before an old steel frame with a newer drivetrain is an intriguing choice.

Just go out and buy the best new bike you can afford from a reputable bike shop. The last thing you want is to buy a clapped out old bike with outdated components. New lower tier bikes perform better and have more features than the old stuff recommended. Good luck finding parts for components that have been out of production for a decade or more unless your thrill is searching the eBay auctions with your fingers crossed.

look for a old schwinn peloton... i got one off bay for like 500 in 2000 it has turned out to be a great bike... although i really like the jamis too..

That is quite the dystopian outlook and very much removed from my experience.

Thanks all. I appreciate the suggestions for looking for vintage bikes, but I'm pretty well set on buying new (or at least used but recent production). From what I have seen, the vintage bikes either don't offer modern options I'd like (threadless headsets, modern groups sets, something other than a square taper bb) or would require more modification than I want to bother with. New is easier.

This is my feeling as well.

It seems my options in my price range and requirements are limited. This is probably a good thing, as I'll have fewer bikes to test before making a decision.

When I was riding old steel bikes, I bought into the idea that steel bikes rode the best. While searching for a new bike, I found out that it wasn't true.

You really have to try the different bikes no matter what the frame material. While your experience with a few aluminum bikes may have not been as good as the steel you've tried, you shouldn't rule them out altogether

Carbon bikes are getting less expensive too. And I find none of the drawbacks to my new carbon bike that fearmongering steel devotees love to speak of when comparing their chosen frame material to others.

I'm not opposed to aluminum; I have a few on my list to try. It's more that I was having a much harder time finding viable steel options than I was aluminum ones. Same for carbon, though I find there are little to no options in mt price range for a complete bike. I'll be traveling for this purchase, as my local shops offer little outside of cruisers and comfort bikes, so I'd like to narrow my search as much as id reasonable beforehand.

Ever since I turned fifty-two back in 2010, I'd been wanting a new steel road bike. The only ones I ever found were with low end component groups and heavier than anything I'd want. Even they were more than your $1000 budget. A good quality new steel bike IMO is going to cost more than a very good quality aluminum or carbon framed bike.

Your best bet is to try to find a used All-City Mr. Pink. It'll likely have a modern group on it. Good, quality steel frames, but you'll have to be patient and hunt to try to find one in your budget.

Seems like all roads lead to china or taiwan.

(Silk) Roads

At the end of 2018 I got an Emonda Al4 on sale for around $900.00 They matched a price form me. I had full Ultegra 6800 group that put on on it and switched out the wheelset and tires. For aluminum its a great ride.

Actually looks like a new one comes in just under 1k! What do I win?

If you're comfortable working on mechanical things, by all means get a used bike. If you're not comfortable working on something like your car, just get a new bike. The only decent values in used bikes are ones that need a little TLC. Paying shop labor rates to fix that stuff will easily exceed a comparable new bike. And newer components are significantly better than stuff that's 10-years old.

Check out Ribble. Online only in the US as far as I can tell, but they're a UK brand that has a Reynolds 725 steel frame. Tiagra and mechanical disc brakes for just over $1k, if I recall - the 105 option with hydraulics is $1500. The best part is their custom builder, including frame color - a lot of fun to play with, even if you don't decide to go custom.

What size are you looking for?

Wow, that is a good deal.

The only other optionI can find is this for $1400. This gets you 11 speeds, hydraulic disc brakes and thru axles.

https://www.cinelli-usa.com/vigorell...-disc-bicycle/