Six jours

Even taking the rider out of the picture, a top quality steel bike from the mid-to-late eighties is going to give very nearly the same performance as the very latest carbon bike. The weight difference is going to be 5-7 pounds, which will make a slight difference on long and/or steep hills. And that's about it. (Ignoring, of course, the nonsense from the guy who just dropped $10,000 and is sure that his bike is "way better than anything I've ever ridden!!!")

But as an answer to "Why do you ride that old thing?", well, "Because the only difference between this bike and the latest carbon bike is weight, and that amounts to so little under real world conditions that I'm not really concerned about it" is a bit of a mouthful on the bike path. So I generally abbreviate it to "**** you".

Tuc

For me, it is simple, I can both afford and have ridden the latest, greatest techno marvels that belong to my friends with stunted appendages and the only negative thing I have to say about those gorgeously beautiful works of art is that they squeak like a little terrified mouse when you ride them anywhere but on butter pavement. And my friends all say, yes, but I was going to take it back to the shop to get rid of that noise,.... Steel is real.

cyclist2000

I don't think that you know anything about a good steel bike. Since yours are adoptees, I assume that they are more on the heavy crap side of the fence and not a classic italian steel frame.

But to answer your question, I have a carbon frame and an aluminum bike, and lots of steel frames. I don't ride the aluminum bike or one of the steel bikes not because of the frame but because they have straight handlebars and I don't find that comfortable for long rides. I like steel bikes because my older ones have nice lug work and I think they look really nice and different from the bikes that all the new riders are riding today.

jon c. 

Nothing else feels like old, quality steel. And it looks better too.

mprelaw

Bovine fecal matter.

IthaDan 

Because I haven't found anything using "modern" materials that replicates the magic carpet ride of steel. I have aluminum bikes and those get theirs as well, but for just cruising, especially with slower riders in the pack, it's tough to beat the comfort that steel affords.

N+1, steel has its place.

Jeff Wills

This is a steel frame bike. So much for that idea:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/bikepor...7607671768898/

Burton

Some bikes are junk when they're new and just further deteriorate with lack of attention. Some bikes are amazing examples of craftsmanship and engineering and with proper care and maintenaince, are still great rides 40 years later.

chasm54

The question was not "why do you ride a cheap bike?" it was "why do you ride that old steel bike?"

But if economy is your goal, steel road bikes from thirty or forty years ago are sometimes of excellent quality and fairly cheap. I have a Raleigh Royal from the early eighties that has a Reynolds 531 frameset and cost me less than $150. It's a terrific bike. I also have a Giant TCR carbon road bike that cost over $2000. It too is a terrific bike. I ride the Raleigh more often that the Giant. It's a more versatile bike and just as nice to ride.

MightyLegnano

I own an Italian Legnano Corsa road bike with original components (down to the bolts), a french Mercier Special Tour De France road bike with new components, an Ideal Target mountain bike/tourer with new components and a high end modern full suspension alluminium Ideal Vsr Pro. I've rolled on them for hundreds of thousands of miles all around my country (races, touring, commuting). The 3 of 4 bikes are made of steel as you may already know. The best steel available at the time. So, I may not be a frame builder but I've ridden on good steel ALL my life. So, I'm sorry but I know about good steel bikes.

And I think you've got wrong my intentions. My original post wasn't written in a literal sense, more in a poetic exaggerated way to make us all externalize our adoration for the beauty of great old bikes.

big chainring 

Because I am a loner, a rebel.

Velo Dog

There it is. For some reason, when people bash steel bikes, they seem to be talking about the steel bikes made in about 1955.
And if I worried whether my bike looked "manly," I'd be worried.

Velo Dog

Wrong. The world is full of 40-year-old steel bikes. You're never going to see that with carbon.

oldskoolwrench

I just like the compliant, comfortable ride a steel frame gives me. It's predictable.

Alan

fietsbob

What do you mean, old steel bike?, it was new back when I bought it

Booger1

Because it has broke yet?

Doohickie

It's good enough.

plodderslusk

As a nice weather commuter my Team Miyata from 87 is just great. Fast and fun and absolutely the cheapest way to get a great ride to work.

JohnDThompson 

The Viscount frame was straight-gauge chrome-moly, and quite thin walled, which made it more flexy than high-end frames built using double-butted tubing. But it was quite a bargain in its day.

Reynolds 531 first hit the market in 1935 and dominated high end steel frames for half a century. The new alloys are not necessarily stronger than 531, but rather more amenable to modern manufacturing methods -- e.g. TIG welding and automated processes rather than low temperature hand brazing.

JohnDThompson 

I don't know. With a username like "MightyLegnano" I suspect he might know a thing or two about classic Italian steel frames.

bobotech

I like all bikes. I have both aluminum and steel and enjoy both. I honestly feel more secure on a steel frame only because of my size (big clyde). But I don't worry on my aluminum framed bike. I enjoy the "bouncy" ride that my steel bikes give me.

rumrunn6

riding my Varsity is surprisingly enjoyable.

martianone

i am fortunate to own several bikes ranging from an "old steel" to a "carbon wonder", including a "modern steel" frame; selecting the right tool for the job analogy fits when deciding what to ride. often the old steel just feels nicer, i also like my bamboo fly rod, prefer a manual transmission in my car and still use a slide rule - all because they please me.

Northwestrider

+1 oh and cost

rsacilotto

+1 :-)