indyfabz

Cut off its food supply.

jamesdak 

I love my steel for sure but....

This 32 year old C.F. bike is still on the road and going strong.

jamesdak 

Is it really an improvement though? This is mid 90's steel. As built in the picture it's 17 lbs, 14 ozs. That's with an old school quill stem, alloy handlebars, pedals, bottle cages, etc. This too would be a cinch to get under 17 lbs with a few carbon bits. Excell Podium steel tubing that date back several years before this one was even built.

GreatDane84

Still riding my custom steel Land Shark. A beautiful smooth ride.

RidesaCarlton

One of my favorite bikes has a Swiss bottom bracket. You ain't going to find a replacement for that on E-Bay.
The seat post is 26.8. Those can be found.
The headset is Swiss as well, but I think a French will fit.
Oh yea, it is a Estermann. I think it was build in 1963. It was a state of the art sprint bike.

Mulberry20

Spoke to a custom builder in Queens NY today. Only works in steel, at least a one year wait, so I guess steel is in favor with some. He stressed at least one year.

guy153

Custom builders often only work in steel, partly because it's the easiest to work with without mass-production facilities. But if it didn't also make a great bike they wouldn't get away with it.

rydabent

And both would be true.

Johnk3

Many of the well known custom steel frame makers in the US have long wait times, some even in years and a few are not even taking new orders. That is one of the reasons I chose Cicli Barco. Their turn around time was about 4 months. And, they do beautiful work at a far cheaper price than US builders.

Mulberry20

I am speaking to Gianluca tomorrow. Did you go with their beautiful fork or carbon?

Johnk3

I went with the Viva fork with the carbon steering tube. It saves a lot of weight over the steel tube version. I also went with direct mount brakes which are a big improvement over regular rim brakes and far better looking than disc brakes( UGLY) far easier to maintain, and cheaper.

Mulberry20

can you post a picture of the whole bike? I am looking at 3/4 paint job with the Cangiante paint.

Johnk3

Look at their Facebook page and Instagram pages for photos of all the XCr frames they have made. There are lots of options to consider. Barco can put together the whole bike for you as well. They gave me a very good price on Campy group set. I had them get WR Composoti CF parts ( made to order in Italy and available in matching paint if you want. WR makes CF parts for Ferrari and Lamborghini) WR makes wheels and bike frames and saddles as well as handlebars, stems and seatposts. Their prices are quite reasonable.

By the way, Campy has a new 13 speed groupset with single chainring for gravel bikes it is called "Ekar."

Mulberry20

lovely!!!!! very tasteful bike.

rebel1916

There is no could be about it.

jay4usc

Thats a gorgeous bike. What kind of steel is that and bikes total weight ?

Mulberry20

I would love to know the weight too. One of the Barco sons who I am working with said without disk brakes they could get it below 17lbs with the WR carbon that is on that bike as well as carbon wheels. There is a review of a bike like that online where it came in at 17.8lbs even with the stainless fork.

That frame is Columbus XCR stainless but they do them in Spirit and steel/carbon tubing combinations as well. It is such a great story. Mom cuts and miters and dad and the uncle weld.

Mulberry20

This is the steel/carbon frame. Drooling.

Johnk3

The bike is made of TIG welded Columbus XCr stainless steel. It is one of Columbus's newest steels, only available for about 12 years and as steel tube sets go, it is pretty expensive, I believe the MSRP for a tube set is about $900. It is very thin, very strong, triple butted, cold drawn and seamless, not rolled and welded. It is made in Italy.

My bike weighs 18.675 lbs with the pedals. It is a size 58.5 cm and has a stainless steel fork with a carbon fiber steering tube that is Barco's own design and invention. I could have cut off more weight by getting a carbon saddle and light weight wheels, but I weigh about 215 lbs and ride on some rough country roads with cattle guards, so delicate wheels were out of the question. .

BlazingPedals

I've never heard of Campy being described as "cheaper," but it is definitely a nice-looking setup.Stainless steel is unusual for a fork.

Mulberry20

The price of the frame is about $4,000 with that fork in XCR, correct?

Koyote

Nice bike. As another option, a person could go for a tig-welded frame made of the latest heat-treated and air-hardened steel and a cf fork and get to within a pound of that weight -- and for a lot less money. Even lugged construction would get you there for less dough. But I admit that SS does have its appeal.

Johnk3

Barco makes steel frames of anything you want. They like to use stainless steel for lugs to avoid weight and problems with chrome. They will also use CF forks. BUT, if you are getting a custom made bike with all that makes possible, cutting corners may not give you what will ultimately make you happy. You may be surprised at how affordable Barco is. I started off wanting a classic lugged frame, but in stainless. Then I realized, I already have two classic lugged steel Italian bikes. So, I decided to go fully modern and up to date with the best and lightest metal and technique. That is TIG welded Columbus XCr, their Viva fork and direct mount brakes. I believe you will soon start seeing direct mount brakes replacing disc brakes for a lot of reasons.

Johnk3

My frame was $3,600 including shipping, the Viva fork with CF steering tube, Chris King headset, direct mount brakes, name plaque, Italian shield, nickel head badge and extra paint colors. I'm not sure if I could have had any more options other than exotic paint. But, I ordered my frame almost a year ago so prices may have changed.

Mulberry20

[QUOTE=Johnk3;21723540]My frame was $3,600 including shipping, the Viva fork with CF steering tube, Chris King headset, direct mount brakes, name plaque, Italian shield, nickel head badge and extra paint colors. I'm not sure if I could have had any more options other than exotic paint. But, I ordered my frame almost a year ago so prices may have changed.[/

Thanks