thehammerdog

so the new single speed is pure fix hi Ten steel. rides well enough and actually the wheels run smooth fast. I do enjoy the bike but besides weight. both frame and fork steel is the bike worthy of up grades?
new wheelset for sure at some point but do I ride her until I buy new frame or get new fork and cranks to improve the bike. I added nicer bars, brakes...seat. all in box on basement.
had it for about 2 weekends lov it.

Senrab62 

Ride it with standard components until they wear out. Then look into a new complete bike with higher quality frame or to do a build based off of a higher quality frame.

When it comes to hi-ten, it's not the ideal starting point. Keep it as a foul weather/rain/beater bike and get something that will perform better, and be lighter and stiffer. Contact points like saddle and bars can be carried over o your higher quality frame.

Dylansbob 

I've ridden alot of bikes, I"m old. There was a time when almost everything was hiten, even alot of nice bikes have hiten stays. One of my 531 Treks' has hiten stays.

Ride-quality wise, hiten bikes are pretty good. The softer steel absorbs shock better. I'm a little partial to a flexier frame, I think they plane better for me and hiten bikes will usually get to swaying under power.

They are going to weigh more, but hey that's why they'll be cheaper.

coopman

It is my understanding that Hiten steel is not as good as Cromoly. Is that true?

Russ Roth

Cro-moly is much nicer.
I've got a hiten raleigh fixie that I ride at the track, bike is ok but definitely doesn't really feel fast. I've sort of upgraded the wheels since it came with really cheap hubs and a really heavy narrow rim. Swiped the rims from my wife's C-dale caadx tiagra so also nothing special but still an improvement and paired them with Miche hubs. Did make it faster and more lively.

jay4usc

thats the perfect bike if you need to commute short distance and need to lock the bike up. Buy a nicer bike for long rides

TejanoTrackie 

Hiten steel as not as strong as Chromoly, so the tubes need to be thicker to withstand the stresses. This is why hiten steel frames are heavier than chromoly. The material stiffness (modulus of elasticity) is the same, so hiten frames tend to be stiffer, resulting in a harsher ride. Because the tubing is thicker in hiten frames, they are much tougher and more durable, and are ideal for rough use such as delivery bikes. I’ve never seen a hiten frame with a dented tube.

thehammerdog

I understand that from a quality stand point itmay be on lower level but as a guy who owns ti and carbon bike both bianchi I love the ride feel. yes heavy but really fun and fast.

TugaDude

Keep in mind that tubing is only one factor. Overall ride quality is the product of a number of factors coming together. I've ridden chromoly bikes that had a "dead" feel and were zero fun. I've also ridden Hi-Ten bikes that felt lively.
So the build and the geometry have a lot to do with it as well.

thehammerdog

I agree it is a nice fun bike I wish it were super light high end racer but honestly I really just like to ride it.
I will add to it and one day maybe swap all the goodies over.
I was surprised about fit as I ride 56 this is a 54 and fits great.

TugaDude

I think the fit is partly a function of a longish top tube and the bullhorns.

edit: Those colors really pop, by the way.

JohnDThompson 

Chrome-moly has a higher tensile strength than High-Ten steel and thus can be drawn into thinner (lighter) tubes than High-Ten and still be strong enough to ride. High_Ten is also often, but not always straight-gauge tubing, while chrome-moly can be butted at the ends to further reduce weight. All else equal, a chrome-moly frame is likely to feel more "lively" than a high-ten frame, but a lot depends on the individual frame design.

jay4usc

I take it back, don’t lock that bike up, it’s too pretty and will get stolen.

y0x8

I would steal!

Bob the Mech

If it's not broken, don't fix it...

guy153

The hi-ten frame will be stiffer than a cromoly one. Because of the lower strength metal the tubes are thicker. But a less stiff bike feels nicer to ride, at least up to a point.

Senrab62 

Typically chromo has more strength and rigidity than hi-ten, unless you know of a hi-ten that is used that is stronger. I know tensile strength in chromly I superior, even with the thinner guage and butting. I am by no means an expert, do you have literature showing hi-ten to be stronger?

TejanoTrackie 

Strength and rigidity are not the same thing. Strength is the ability to support a load without failing, and is a function of yield and tensile strength of the material. In this case, chromoly steel is the winner over hiten steel. Rigidity is the capacity of a material to support a load without deformation, and it is a function of the modulus of elasticity of the material (Young's modulus). In this case, all steels have pretty much the same modulus of elasticity (about 29,000,000 psi), so there is no appreciable difference between chromo and hiten steel. Since hiten steel tubing is usually thicker than chromo, its geometrical stiffness properties (cross-sectional area and moment of inertia) will be greater, resulting in a stiffer frame. I don't think that @guy153 was suggesting that hiten steel is stronger, but rather that it was more rigid (stiffer) due to the thicker tubing.

Senrab62 

Gotcha. Thanks for the explanation 👍🏾

Makes sense as my non butted chromo frame is my most rigid steel frame. Even though it's generic chromoly.

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guy153

All steel (used in bike frames anyway) has the same material stiffness. Because chromo is stronger you can use thinner tubes and so usually end up with a less stiff frame. You can compensate by going oversize but once the wall is 1/50th the diameter you risk "coke canning", making it not possible in practice to realize the full potential of super-strong alloys like Reynolds 953. .8/.5/.8 with 1" TT is a bit of a sweet spot IMO for ride quality and this can be achieved with any seamless double butted chromo these days. A "hi-ten" frame will be more like 1mm wall, perhaps more, and will probably also be plain-gauge, which would mean the tubes were twice as stiff in the middle for the same diameter.

walnutz

Then why change it? Don't get sucked into upgrade culture. I'm speaking from experience here.

Miele Man

"Don't buy upgrades. Ride up grades." Eddy Merckx.

Cheers