Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > General Cycling Discussion
Reload this Page >

Why was Chromoly phased out?

Notices
General Cycling Discussion Have a cycling related question or comment that doesn't fit in one of the other specialty forums? Drop on in and post in here! When possible, please select the forum above that most fits your post!

Why was Chromoly phased out?

Old 06-26-20, 05:51 AM
  #1  
Snow Dog
Junior Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: May 2020
Location: Midstate Illinois
Posts: 15

Bikes: 1999 Specialized Crossroads

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 21 Post(s)
Liked 5 Times in 4 Posts
Why was Chromoly phased out?

I'm not very educated on the subject but I've noticed that I rarely, if ever, see Chromoly frames offered on new bikes these days. Is there a specific reason that it isn't used anymore?

I'm asking because I have a 1999 Specialized Crossroads with a Chromoly frame and I'm curious why the material isn't used much anymore.
Snow Dog is offline  
Old 06-26-20, 05:52 AM
  #2  
Snow Dog
Junior Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: May 2020
Location: Midstate Illinois
Posts: 15

Bikes: 1999 Specialized Crossroads

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 21 Post(s)
Liked 5 Times in 4 Posts
I had to wait until after I had 10 posts to post a picture.

Snow Dog is offline  
Old 06-26-20, 06:06 AM
  #3  
delbiker1 
Mother Nature's Son
 
delbiker1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Sussex County, Delaware
Posts: 3,111

Bikes: 2014 Orbea Avant MD30, 2004 Airborne Zeppelin TI, 2003 Lemond Poprad, 2001 Lemond Tourmalet, 2014? Soma Smoothie

Mentioned: 14 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 838 Post(s)
Liked 1,414 Times in 801 Posts
I do not think Chromoly was really phased out. Steel is just not used anywhere near as much as it once was. I believe most of the bikes at that level are now aluminum. Higher grades of steel are used for higher quality steel frames. I used to have that exact same bike. I gave to a friend in need, who still has it. It was a nice bike. He accidently ran over it with a vehicle. The fork was ruined and had to be replaced. The frame was straightened by a local bike shop. It is not perfectly aligned, but you have to look real close to see it, and cannot tell when it is being ridden. Can't do that with aluminum or CF, not intending to knock those materials. I am sure others with more knowledge will chime in.
delbiker1 is online now  
Old 06-26-20, 06:16 AM
  #4  
shelbyfv
Expired Member
 
shelbyfv's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: TN
Posts: 11,453
Mentioned: 37 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3634 Post(s)
Liked 5,310 Times in 2,698 Posts
For a given weight, it seems to be cheaper to mass produce bikes in both carbon and aluminum. However, plenty of folks like steel for the aesthetics and ride characteristics. Steel bikes are still readily available if that's what you prefer.
shelbyfv is offline  
Likes For shelbyfv:
Old 06-26-20, 06:39 AM
  #5  
Pop N Wood
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2020
Location: Maryland
Posts: 1,379

Bikes: 1982 Bianchi Sport SX, Rayleigh Tamland 1, Rans V-Rex recumbent, Fuji MTB, 80's Cannondale MTB with BBSHD ebike motor

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 667 Post(s)
Liked 529 Times in 355 Posts
I wouldn't say it has been phase out. Still lots of bikes still being made with chromoly steel. It goes by different brand names, like 4130, Reynolds 853 tubing and what not. Surly has their own name for the chromoly tubing they use, I think it is Natch

From what I have read aluminum frames can be cheaper to manufacture. At the price point of the bike you posted they are probably mostly aluminium frames.

Look for a touring bike and I would guess the majority of them will be steel.
Pop N Wood is offline  
Likes For Pop N Wood:
Old 06-26-20, 07:07 AM
  #6  
livedarklions
Tragically Ignorant
 
livedarklions's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: New England
Posts: 15,613

Bikes: Serotta Atlanta; 1994 Specialized Allez Pro; Giant OCR A1; SOMA Double Cross Disc; 2022 Allez Elite mit der SRAM

Mentioned: 62 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8186 Post(s)
Liked 9,094 Times in 5,053 Posts
Still around, but chromoly is the expensive form of steel, and people who want higher-end bikes to be steel are a bit of a niche market. There's plenty of high-tensile steel bikes being manufactured, many of them sold through the big box stores.

Basically, aluminum can be both fairly light and cheap, while steel needs to be pretty expensive to be light.

I have two bikes with mid-1990s steel frames, and they're absolutely wonderful rides. If you want to get affordable but great chromoly frames, you might want to look for used rather than new.
livedarklions is offline  
Likes For livedarklions:
Old 06-26-20, 07:16 AM
  #7  
Snow Dog
Junior Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: May 2020
Location: Midstate Illinois
Posts: 15

Bikes: 1999 Specialized Crossroads

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 21 Post(s)
Liked 5 Times in 4 Posts
Excellent information here. Thanks for the replies. I'm glad I asked.
Snow Dog is offline  
Likes For Snow Dog:
Old 06-26-20, 07:43 AM
  #8  
Garfield Cat
Senior Member
 
Garfield Cat's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Huntington Beach, CA
Posts: 7,079

Bikes: Cervelo Prodigy

Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 475 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 87 Times in 67 Posts
My old Cervelo Prodigy and the Cervelo Renaissance had chromoly alloy Columbus tubes. The tube shapes were unique at that time. Something the two engineers were tinkering with. If you check with Gerard Vroomen, he still has a fondness for steel alloy frames, the one's the custom builders make.
Garfield Cat is offline  
Old 06-26-20, 08:12 AM
  #9  
PoorInRichfield
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Richfield, WI
Posts: 709

Bikes: Trek Domane SL7 Disc, Cannondale F29

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 385 Post(s)
Liked 321 Times in 182 Posts
Curious as to why you'd be interested in Chro-Mo? It's still very alive and well in BMX bikes, probably because it's tough. However, I have no desire to return to Chro-Mo frames for road biking, other than for nostalgia's sake, as the alternatives are so much better.
PoorInRichfield is offline  
Likes For PoorInRichfield:
Old 06-26-20, 08:17 AM
  #10  
livedarklions
Tragically Ignorant
 
livedarklions's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: New England
Posts: 15,613

Bikes: Serotta Atlanta; 1994 Specialized Allez Pro; Giant OCR A1; SOMA Double Cross Disc; 2022 Allez Elite mit der SRAM

Mentioned: 62 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8186 Post(s)
Liked 9,094 Times in 5,053 Posts
Originally Posted by PoorInRichfield
Curious as to why you'd be interested in Chro-Mo? It's still very alive and well in BMX bikes, probably because it's tough. However, I have no desire to return to Chro-Mo frames for road biking, other than for nostalgia's sake, as the alternatives are so much better.

Now you've done it! Cue endless argument.
livedarklions is offline  
Old 06-26-20, 08:23 AM
  #11  
Snow Dog
Junior Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: May 2020
Location: Midstate Illinois
Posts: 15

Bikes: 1999 Specialized Crossroads

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 21 Post(s)
Liked 5 Times in 4 Posts
Originally Posted by PoorInRichfield
Curious as to why you'd be interested in Chro-Mo? It's still very alive and well in BMX bikes, probably because it's tough. However, I have no desire to return to Chro-Mo frames for road biking, other than for nostalgia's sake, as the alternatives are so much better.
I'm only interested in it because that's what my frame is made of and I was curious about the material. I'm not shopping for a new bike. Just wanted some info on the type of steel that mine is made of.
Snow Dog is offline  
Likes For Snow Dog:
Old 06-26-20, 08:27 AM
  #12  
CAT7RDR
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2017
Location: Hacienda Hgts
Posts: 2,082

Bikes: 1999 Schwinn Peloton Ultegra 10, Kestrel RT-1000 Ultegra, Trek Marlin 6 Deore 29'er

Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 811 Post(s)
Liked 1,945 Times in 935 Posts
I thought my carbon frame bike had some issues when riding downhill on a rough concrete surface. Then, I remembered I was use to riding my Reynolds 853 steel frame down the same rough road and none of the harshness was present. Quality steel just has a better ride quality IMHO.
CAT7RDR is offline  
Old 06-26-20, 08:35 AM
  #13  
indyfabz
Senior Member
 
indyfabz's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 39,045
Mentioned: 210 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18318 Post(s)
Liked 15,261 Times in 7,219 Posts
Steel is real. There. I said it.
indyfabz is offline  
Old 06-26-20, 08:36 AM
  #14  
Ironfish653
Dirty Heathen
 
Ironfish653's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: MC-778, 6250 fsw
Posts: 2,188

Bikes: 1997 Cannondale, 1976 Bridgestone, 1998 SoftRide, 1989 Klein, 1989 Black Lightning #0033

Mentioned: 19 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 889 Post(s)
Liked 906 Times in 534 Posts
Originally Posted by livedarklions

Basically, aluminum can be both fairly light and cheap, while steel needs to be pretty expensive to be light.
^^^^^ This.

Light weight metal framed bikes are expensive.

The rise of automated TIG welding made it easier (cheaper) to mass produce aluminum frames.
A cheap aluminum bike will be lighter than a similarly cheap steel bike, and in most cases, a lighter bike would be preferred, that’s why in the modern bike market, the majority of it is various grades of Aluminum bikes, with steel occupying the only the high-end, and the very cheapest.

Last edited by cb400bill; 06-26-20 at 01:15 PM.
Ironfish653 is offline  
Old 06-26-20, 08:41 AM
  #15  
indyfabz
Senior Member
 
indyfabz's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 39,045
Mentioned: 210 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18318 Post(s)
Liked 15,261 Times in 7,219 Posts
Originally Posted by CAT7RDR
I thought my carbon frame bike had some issues when riding downhill on a rough concrete surface. Then, I remembered I was use to riding my Reynolds 853 steel frame down the same rough road and none of the harshness was present. Quality steel just has a better ride quality IMHO.
I had the same experience when I ditched my incredibly unforgiving aluminum Colnago after it cracked at got an IF steel frame. Rode it home from the shop and went over the bump in my block that I had ridden the Colnago over for more than a year. Felt totally different. And no: It wasn’t the wheels or tires, which were taken from the Colnago. That Colnago was lite and stiff as hell, but you felt every bump.
indyfabz is offline  
Likes For indyfabz:
Old 06-26-20, 08:44 AM
  #16  
phughes
Senior Member
 
phughes's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 3,055
Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1018 Post(s)
Liked 1,244 Times in 717 Posts
Originally Posted by PoorInRichfield
Curious as to why you'd be interested in Chro-Mo? It's still very alive and well in BMX bikes, probably because it's tough. However, I have no desire to return to Chro-Mo frames for road biking, other than for nostalgia's sake, as the alternatives are so much better.
phughes is offline  
Old 06-26-20, 08:46 AM
  #17  
phughes
Senior Member
 
phughes's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 3,055
Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1018 Post(s)
Liked 1,244 Times in 717 Posts
So...

Surly Long Haul Trucker, 100% Surly 4130 CroMoly steel.
phughes is offline  
Likes For phughes:
Old 06-26-20, 09:01 AM
  #18  
cyccommute 
Mad bike riding scientist
 
cyccommute's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 27,274

Bikes: Some silver ones, a red one, a black and orange one, and a few titanium ones

Mentioned: 150 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6147 Post(s)
Liked 4,091 Times in 2,325 Posts
Originally Posted by phughes
So...

Surly Long Haul Trucker, 100% Surly 4130 CroMoly steel.
All of Surly’s bikes are steel but they are the last steel bikes standing...mostly.
__________________
Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!



cyccommute is offline  
Old 06-26-20, 09:02 AM
  #19  
phughes
Senior Member
 
phughes's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 3,055
Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1018 Post(s)
Liked 1,244 Times in 717 Posts
Originally Posted by cyccommute
All of Surly’s bikes are steel but they are the last steel bikes standing...mostly.
Good, they make great bikes. There are plenty of steel bikes around, it is just that now there are many other options as well.
phughes is offline  
Old 06-26-20, 09:09 AM
  #20  
mstateglfr 
Sunshine
 
mstateglfr's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Des Moines, IA
Posts: 16,531

Bikes: '18 class built steel roadbike, '19 Fairlight Secan, '88 Schwinn Premis , Black Mountain Cycles Monstercross V4, '89 Novara Trionfo

Mentioned: 123 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 10897 Post(s)
Liked 7,384 Times in 4,144 Posts
Originally Posted by cyccommute
All of Surly’s bikes are steel but they are the last steel bikes standing...mostly.
Surly, Soma, Black Mountain, All City, Cinelli all deal exclusively or almost entirely in steel frames.
You also have mass produced steel offerings by niner, bianchi, colnago, fuji, fairlight, ribble, ritchey, twin six, and many more.
After that, you come to the higher costing frames that are custom built by dozens of brands across North America and Europe. Dozens.


So yes, besides all the others, Surly is the last steel bikes standing.
mstateglfr is offline  
Old 06-26-20, 09:20 AM
  #21  
phughes
Senior Member
 
phughes's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 3,055
Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1018 Post(s)
Liked 1,244 Times in 717 Posts
Kona Sutra - CroMoly.

Salsa Marrakesh - CroMoly

Salsa Vaya GRX 600 - CroMoly

Trek 520 - CroMoly
phughes is offline  
Likes For phughes:
Old 06-26-20, 09:30 AM
  #22  
rosefarts
With a mighty wind
 
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 2,554
Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1072 Post(s)
Liked 841 Times in 475 Posts
Originally Posted by phughes
So...

Surly Long Haul Trucker, 100% Surly 4130 CroMoly steel.
I thought it was cast iron?
rosefarts is offline  
Likes For rosefarts:
Old 06-26-20, 09:31 AM
  #23  
Digger Goreman
Quidam Bike Super Hero
 
Digger Goreman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: Stone Mountain, GA (Metro Atlanta, East)
Posts: 1,150

Bikes: 1995 Trek 800 Sport, aka, "CamelTrek"

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 331 Post(s)
Liked 415 Times in 282 Posts
Riding mine nearly every day! 95 Cro-Moly strong!!!
Attached Images
File Type: jpg
BikePic28042020a.jpg (23.8 KB, 1023 views)
File Type: jpg
BikePic28042020b.jpg (22.4 KB, 1018 views)
Digger Goreman is offline  
Likes For Digger Goreman:
Old 06-26-20, 09:34 AM
  #24  
Cyclist0108
Occam's Rotor
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 7,248
Mentioned: 61 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2366 Post(s)
Liked 2,331 Times in 1,164 Posts
All of my bikes are steel.

There are pros and cons. Carbon fiber frames, in principle, can be formulated to mimic the properties people like in steel, but it is hard to find ones that say that explicitly.
Cyclist0108 is offline  
Likes For Cyclist0108:
Old 06-26-20, 09:41 AM
  #25  
AlmostTrick
Tortoise Wins by a Hare!
 
AlmostTrick's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Looney Tunes, IL
Posts: 7,398

Bikes: Wabi Special FG, Raleigh Roper, Nashbar AL-1, Miyata One Hundred, '70 Schwinn Lemonator and More!!

Mentioned: 22 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1549 Post(s)
Liked 941 Times in 504 Posts
Originally Posted by Snow Dog
I'm only interested in it because that's what my frame is made of and I was curious about the material. I'm not shopping for a new bike. Just wanted some info on the type of steel that mine is made of.
Now that you know your bikes frame is made of the best material available you can enjoy going for a ride even more!
AlmostTrick is offline  
Likes For AlmostTrick:

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.