Suggestions for lightweight, steel road bikes
02-17-21, 03:32 PM
#26
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Waterford/Gunnar make a fine product.
02-17-21, 05:22 PM
#27
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I paid $5000 plus for this frame and and it has been one of my biggest regrets. While waiting for this to be built I purchased a Trek Domane and it rides like a dream. I built this steel frame up, rode it for 26 miles and knew it wasn't for me. I have been trying to off load it but the best offer I have gotten is $680. (American dollars). Even during a pandemic I can't give this away. Not saying steel bikes are bad, just pick the right builder if you go custom.
02-17-21, 05:27 PM
#28
Clark W. Griswold
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I paid $5000 plus for this frame and and it has been one of my biggest regrets. While waiting for this to be built I purchased a Trek Domane and it rides like a dream. I built this steel frame up, rode it for 26 miles and knew it wasn't for me. I have been trying to off load it but the best offer I have gotten is $680. (American dollars). Even during a pandemic I can't give this away. Not saying steel bikes are bad, just pick the right builder if you go custom.
02-17-21, 05:48 PM
#29
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Get that bike, Clark! It’d be sweet to have in the stable!
02-17-21, 06:13 PM
#30
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I use a 6º stem on mine and the bars are about 1/2" lower than the saddle with 20mm of spacers. I still have space to put in 10mm more spacers if needed.
02-18-21, 07:13 AM
#31
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Isnt it interesting that when you can have anything you want, you cant attain it. Conversely when you have no means you covet the most basic of things.
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02-18-21, 07:52 AM
#32
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I paid $5000 plus for this frame and and it has been one of my biggest regrets. While waiting for this to be built I purchased a Trek Domane and it rides like a dream. I built this steel frame up, rode it for 26 miles and knew it wasn't for me. I have been trying to off load it but the best offer I have gotten is $680. (American dollars). Even during a pandemic I can't give this away. Not saying steel bikes are bad, just pick the right builder if you go custom.
02-18-21, 10:19 AM
#33
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My Speedvagen, roughly a 52cm, built up by me when they still sold only framesets comes in at 16lbs 4oz including pedals and cages. I think that’s pretty good and I didn’t really do anything that would be real weight weenie-esque. The carbon seat tube is said to shave a few grams. Standard would be a steel seat tube.
no chance in heck that you could come in at that price point but you might want to look at their ready made disc’s. Stunning bikes where while not fully custom, still maintain all the traits of a custom Speedvagen and include having the seat tube cut to your proper measurements. I believe their disc bikes come in well below 18lbs and have the clearance you seem to be looking for.
no chance in heck that you could come in at that price point but you might want to look at their ready made disc’s. Stunning bikes where while not fully custom, still maintain all the traits of a custom Speedvagen and include having the seat tube cut to your proper measurements. I believe their disc bikes come in well below 18lbs and have the clearance you seem to be looking for.
02-18-21, 10:27 AM
#34
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I have always thought that for my first custom steel bike I'll go with Mike Terraferma in Miami. I met him once and he does great work out of his garage.
02-18-21, 11:24 AM
#35
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Also, is that with a steel or carbon fork?
02-18-21, 12:03 PM
#36
Sunshine
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I wonder what the folk in the Framebuilders part of Bike Forums would have to say about the disk brake mounts, particularly the fork mounts, given the pictures I've seen of such bikes where mounts were added to similarly slender steel forks, resulting in fork failures and crashes.
fork blades below are the same outside diameter, but the left blade is thicker tubing.
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02-18-21, 11:19 PM
#37
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Fairlight Strael 2.0
- Sizing is available in a wide range that allows for 2 different fits(endurance or race, to make it simple).
- You can fit a 32mm tire.
- The frame is a mix of shaped 853 main tubes and 631 plus 725 stays. Main triangle has 7/5/7 and 7/4/7 butting. 631 chainstays are 8/6 butted. 725 heat treated seat stays are 14mm .6 and not tapered.
- 105 hydraulic build is $2700usd and an Ultegra hydraulic build is $3225usd. The frame, fork, headset, and thru axles are $1500.
- Frame geometry is built for spirited riding. 418mm chainstays and heat tube as well as seat tube angles that are more traditional(vs trendy relaxed hta).
- Frames are built in Europe with a mix of clean tig welding on the main triangle and brass brazed rear triangle plus brazeons.
- Ports for di2 or hub generated lighting. External cables for easy setup and maintenance.
https://fairlightcycles.com/product/deposit/?v=79cba1185463
https://fairlightcycles.com/strael-c...v=79cba1185463
Fairlight's frames are ISO tested, so just like all production frames they will not be as light as custom builders who don't have ISO tested frames. But based on tube selection, this frame will be among the lightest production frames you can find. A 56 frame was designed to weight 1900g. You can email them and ask for size specific weight- they were very willing to talk with me about design decisions and details when I bought a Secan gravel frame from them.
The only downside is lead time since they do production batches. But it may not be any longer than some custom builders.
Look at the lookbook pdf for build options and frame details.
- Sizing is available in a wide range that allows for 2 different fits(endurance or race, to make it simple).
- You can fit a 32mm tire.
- The frame is a mix of shaped 853 main tubes and 631 plus 725 stays. Main triangle has 7/5/7 and 7/4/7 butting. 631 chainstays are 8/6 butted. 725 heat treated seat stays are 14mm .6 and not tapered.
- 105 hydraulic build is $2700usd and an Ultegra hydraulic build is $3225usd. The frame, fork, headset, and thru axles are $1500.
- Frame geometry is built for spirited riding. 418mm chainstays and heat tube as well as seat tube angles that are more traditional(vs trendy relaxed hta).
- Frames are built in Europe with a mix of clean tig welding on the main triangle and brass brazed rear triangle plus brazeons.
- Ports for di2 or hub generated lighting. External cables for easy setup and maintenance.
https://fairlightcycles.com/product/deposit/?v=79cba1185463
https://fairlightcycles.com/strael-c...v=79cba1185463
Fairlight's frames are ISO tested, so just like all production frames they will not be as light as custom builders who don't have ISO tested frames. But based on tube selection, this frame will be among the lightest production frames you can find. A 56 frame was designed to weight 1900g. You can email them and ask for size specific weight- they were very willing to talk with me about design decisions and details when I bought a Secan gravel frame from them.
The only downside is lead time since they do production batches. But it may not be any longer than some custom builders.
Look at the lookbook pdf for build options and frame details.
02-20-21, 09:28 PM
#38
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carbon fork from enve, the wheels are Light Bicycle 46mm deep rims laced to industry nine torch hubs. Not super light, if I remember right around 1450gm for the set
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02-22-21, 10:29 AM
#40
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Do a search for British steel bikes. Condor makes the Fratello (https://road.cc/content/review/condo...rameset-277287) and Mason makes the Resolution (https://masoncycles.cc/products/resolution-frameset) There are others too.
The Resolution has my attention now. Thank you for posting the link as I'm somewhat in the same boat as the OP in wanting to build up a steel frameset. For me personally, this would be my first steel build/bike.
02-22-21, 11:16 AM
#41
HarborBandS
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The ride feels buttery smooth, but I’m unsure how much of that is due to the frame, carbon bars/seatpost, or 32mm tubeless tires.
02-22-21, 04:54 PM
#42
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@HarborBandS, that Resolution is a great looking build.
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02-24-21, 08:41 AM
#43
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I only have one ride on mine (finished build in late December in Chicago), but it was considerably less “noodly” than the vintage steel bikes I’ve previously owned. It responded nicely to out-of-the-saddle climbing efforts.
The ride feels buttery smooth, but I’m unsure how much of that is due to the frame, carbon bars/seatpost, or 32mm tubeless tires.
The ride feels buttery smooth, but I’m unsure how much of that is due to the frame, carbon bars/seatpost, or 32mm tubeless tires.
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02-24-21, 09:24 AM
#44
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I only have one ride on mine (finished build in late December in Chicago), but it was considerably less “noodly” than the vintage steel bikes I’ve previously owned. It responded nicely to out-of-the-saddle climbing efforts.
The ride feels buttery smooth, but I’m unsure how much of that is due to the frame, carbon bars/seatpost, or 32mm tubeless tires.
The ride feels buttery smooth, but I’m unsure how much of that is due to the frame, carbon bars/seatpost, or 32mm tubeless tires.
02-24-21, 10:32 AM
#45
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As many have said, Waterford and Gunnar are good options. Buy a used bike or frame and upgrade -- I got a great Waterford for $800 used and have been upgrading components. Or consider a Rivendell.
02-24-21, 03:07 PM
#46
Sunshine
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I started this a few months ago in search of basically the same thing.
I am pretty sure the tires on that Mason are WTB Expanse which is a 32mm tire with some obligatory tread on the edge near the wall.
The WTB Exposure is then a 30mm tire.
Based on everything Ive read, neither has a lick of puncture technology. No barrier, not even just under the tread. WTB sidewalls are notoriously leaky like a pasta strainer, but if you ride with tubes that eliminates the sidewall leaking concern. WTB recently introduced 'SG2' which is a tire option that doesnt have leaky sidewalls and has some sort of puncture technology. Its available for some of their tires, but not all. The Expanse and Exposure dont have an SG2 option yet.
I really want to want some Exposure tires because they look super nice. But reviews from WTB's site and most everywhere on the internet arent very kind to the tire.
Conti just released GP5k with a natural brown sidewall, but only up to 28mm. Why? Why not the 32mm size too?
02-24-21, 03:48 PM
#47
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Here's what I can say so far:
Pros: I was able to seat the bead on my Hunt Aero Wide wheels with just a regular floor pump. The front tire holds air very well and has no leakage through the sidewalls--comparable to my tires with tubes. Even though there is some minimal tread on the tire, they seemed fast-rolling on asphalt, and the ride was very smooth at the lower pressure. I'll definitely play with the pressure a bit on different surfaces after the weather improves around here.
Cons: The rear tire had to be warrantied after just one ride. There was a line through the sidewall that didn't look like much, but it just leaked too much sealant. I sent a picture to WTB customer service, and they immediately sent me a new tire, on the condition that I destroyed the old tire. A+ for WTB customer service.
I chose this tire because I often ride on a mix of roads and crushed limestone bike paths (hard-packed with no chunky stuff). This tire seemed ideal for this. We shall see if the lack of puncture protection is a problem or not. My previous tires for these trails were 700x38c Challenge Gravel Grinders with butyl tubes, and I've never had a flat once with this setup (different bike).
Last edited by HarborBandS; 02-24-21 at 03:55 PM.
02-24-21, 03:59 PM
#48
Junior Member
I started this a few months ago in search of basically the same thing.
I am pretty sure the tires on that Mason are WTB Expanse which is a 32mm tire with some obligatory tread on the edge near the wall.
The WTB Exposure is then a 30mm tire.
Based on everything Ive read, neither has a lick of puncture technology. No barrier, not even just under the tread. WTB sidewalls are notoriously leaky like a pasta strainer, but if you ride with tubes that eliminates the sidewall leaking concern. WTB recently introduced 'SG2' which is a tire option that doesnt have leaky sidewalls and has some sort of puncture technology. Its available for some of their tires, but not all. The Expanse and Exposure dont have an SG2 option yet.
I really want to want some Exposure tires because they look super nice. But reviews from WTB's site and most everywhere on the internet arent very kind to the tire.
Conti just released GP5k with a natural brown sidewall, but only up to 28mm. Why? Why not the 32mm size too?
Back to the main topic of this thread, I know that the Ritchey Road Logic Disc is nice and light, I haven't seen a bad review of a Ritchey Logic, so I purchased it without being able to try it. I know Ritchey logic's already been mentioned here, so this is a moot point, I guess.
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02-25-21, 09:29 PM
#49
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You may want to have a look at Cicli Casati in Italy. They’re not outrageously expensive.
I have a 20-year old NOS frame and steel fork that I recently built with a Campy Potenza group. The bike is very lively and comes in at 20 lbs. without any carbon anywhere.
I have a 20-year old NOS frame and steel fork that I recently built with a Campy Potenza group. The bike is very lively and comes in at 20 lbs. without any carbon anywhere.
02-26-21, 05:26 AM
#50
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Let’s see, lightweight, upright position, hydraulic disc brakes, ability to take wider tires, sounds exactly like your carbon gravel bike.
If the goal is a fast road bike, and you want to stay within your $3000 budget, you’d be better off with a second set of light, aero carbon wheels with fast road tires.
Dollars to donuts that will be faster, and likely lighter than what you can buy in steel for $3000.
And you can spend the left over money for some weight weenie parts if you really care about weight.
I know this doesn’t answer the question you asked, but it does address your stated goal.
So you may need to be honest with yourself that you just want a pretty new steel bike, which is fine, just don’t kid yourself in thinking it will be faster than your gravel bike is, or could be with some road bike specific wheels and tires.
If the goal is a fast road bike, and you want to stay within your $3000 budget, you’d be better off with a second set of light, aero carbon wheels with fast road tires.
Dollars to donuts that will be faster, and likely lighter than what you can buy in steel for $3000.
And you can spend the left over money for some weight weenie parts if you really care about weight.
I know this doesn’t answer the question you asked, but it does address your stated goal.
So you may need to be honest with yourself that you just want a pretty new steel bike, which is fine, just don’t kid yourself in thinking it will be faster than your gravel bike is, or could be with some road bike specific wheels and tires.
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