rosefarts

How much weight have you lost so far? If you've gotten around 200, you probably could enjoy a really nice light bike.

I think you'd love a relatively new steel bike built for performance. A LHT is built almost exclusively for those who loudly proclaim that they're slow, need to lose weight, steel is real, and some notion about riding from Alaska to Argentina and only needing repairs in villages of 1000 people or less. A company so intent on being slow, they go out of their way to be slow. It's time to move on.

Your bikes from the 80's are fun but absolutely pale compared to something newer. I know, I have a full Dura Ace Spectrum from 84'!

Lots of good suggestions here, at all prices.

fietsbob

You are seeking a brand name bike made by the thousands in a big company (Like Maxway Ltd TW)

I'm suggesting an individual that makes bikes one at a time ... like, say, Eugene Oregon's Rob English https://www.englishcycles.com/

greatscott

My 84 Fuji Club is a 58cm bike

RH Clark

I weigh right about 175lbs now. I've LOST nearly 200lbs. I bought the LHT with the idea to ride across the country and preach a new message of health and truth. I got it real cheap .All my bikes are inexpensive.

I really do appreciate the advice and I'm trying to learn more every day. I road and considered a very nice titanium bike with Ultegra throughout. Problem was it would only take possibly 28mm tires. I have terrible rough roads where I ride and some dirt if I get adventurous. I have 26X 2.1 MBT tires on the Trucker now. I just embraced the slow loaded all roads look-about mentality with that bike. I have a Trek 400 steel that is aggressive and lovely. I call her Christine because she gets newer every day all on her own. It is kind of spooky. I paid $25 for her and started polishing. She runs like a fine precision instrument now. Shifting is better than on my new Trucker.

I guess I'll keep learning for now,building my engine and saving for a complete new build the way I want it. I've been looking at reviews on the New Ritchey Outback. That is getting close to what I think I want. That frame with a high end light weight groupset where I can ride rough pavement and hard packed gravel but still get some speed on the road with just a possible tire change.

himespau 

Something to consider might be getting two wheelsets. Set one up with gravel tires, the other with something more road-like. Faster and easier than changing tires. Jan Heine would claim that you should just get a supple, high end, ~38-42 mm tire that you can run in both conditions (that he'd be happy to sell you), and he may be right. It'd be cheaper than a second wheelset for sure, but I couldn't really say how much slower it'd be when you mainly ride roads.

BSmooth

Hey RH

I have a shared interest in lightweight steel bikes, and your post caught my attention.

While I have not been active on this forum, I have worked within the bike industry in the past and have built/owned/sold many sub 20lbs steel bikes in your size. Given my background, I am in the position to build and evaluate a range of wheel/frame options that would be cost-prohibitive to many riders.

You haven’t mentioned a gearing preference. Do you prefer single (1x) or double (2x) cranksets?

Jumping into a custom frame/build may be overkill and unnecessary unless you desire to pursue the lightest possible solution. If ultimate weight savings is your primary focus, the English/Rodriguez options mentioned previously are worth pursuing.

As others have said, there are several production steel frames offered that may well suit your ambitions while being more budget-friendly if less aspirational choices.

Currently, I have two large tired sub 20-pound steel bikes—one with disk brakes and the other with traditional caliper brakes.

The road bike, a SOMA Fabrications 58cm Smoothie, is built with 650bx38 tires, uses a carbon fork, but alloy bar/stem/seat post/rims and a heavy Brooks saddle. Ready to ride, it is 19.5lbs. I built up the SOMA from parts I had laying about but built the wheels from new components to evaluate the 650b road concept. I intended the SOMA to be a stop-gap replacement for a much-loved stolen steel Serotta road bike. All in I have spent less than $3k on the build, but keep in mind that excludes labor and time researching component choices. The resulting ride has left me to question if I should spend the cash on a custom frame, it’s a surprisingly good performing frame for the money.

I also have a 17.5” 29er Gunnar Rockhound hardtail MTB frame with a Ninner carbon rigid fork that I built as a drop bar gravel bike. It is set up with carbon wheels and 29x2.35 tires, a 2x drive train. Ready to ride it is 20.5 lbs with pump, seat bag, pedals etc. Many of the parts for the build I picked up at fire-sale discounts and have less than $4k tied up in it. If I had to replace it today, the cost would be closer to $7.5k.

Something else to keep in mind when swapping between narrow and wide tires is their effect on the handling of the bike. For example, on the SOMA Smoothie, I choose a fork with an offset/rake dimension that ensured the tire choice would minimally change the mechanical trail of the frame.

All-City offers their Cosmic Stallion gravel bike with variable fork rake/trail and clearance for 700x47c tires. It is one of the few production steel bikes built that allows an easy adjustment to compensate for the effects of changing from a 700x25 to a 700x47 tire on the same frame.

While the Ritchey Outback is a solid choice, it may be a tad overbuilt if you favor performance over carrying capacity. I am a big fan of Ritchey and am in the early stages of building a Swiss Cross for the upcoming (pending) cross season.

BSmooth

Lovely machine. Is that the laser blue? I have fond memories of my old Cinelli Supercorsa, sadly the fit wasn't quite right and I sold it on. Should have kept it as a wall hanging.

kansukee

Thank you and yes, it’s the laser blue.

RH Clark

I would be OK with anything that would accept 32mm tires though I would prefer larger. What frames should I look into that may be less overkill than the Outback. I honestly want the strength and durability of steel but more of a road bike than gravel. I have bikes for the gravel adventures. I want one that is 90% road but isn't dangerous just coming down my mile long country gravel driveway. I live in rural Alabama which means holes in roads that have been patched over for years. I can ride them on 25mm tires and have but 32's are much more comfortable on the local pavement.

Any older vintage bikes that would accept modern components would be right up my facebooking alley. I'm trying to learn more of the older steel bikes that fit my needs but I'm still a 2 year cycling newby,though I ride every day and haven't missed more than a handful of days in the last 2 years.

BSmooth

RH thanks for the clarification,


The vast majority of vintage steel road bikes with performance-oriented tubbing and geometry are very limited on tire size options unless you find something from the 70/80's with long reach brakes. Medici and Woodrup are two brands that offered frames with that exact setup. Tire size trends from the 80's through 2015 favored sub 25c tire widths and brake caliper manufacturers built brakes with very limited tire clearance as a result. There are a few exceptions, the Bridgestone RB-1 had clearance for 28c tires as I recall. In 1999 Serotta offered a sport touring frame called the 'Rapid Tour' that had clearance for at least 28's. Specialized's original 1980's Sequoia also had clearance for something larger than a 25c though I don't remember exactly how large. The majority of vintage steel bikes with large tire clearance were touring bikes. Most used heavy gauge tubing and cantilever brakes, and geometry intended to offer greater stability while loaded, not a great combination for a fast road ride. Finding any of these models in your size and good condition is likely going to be a needle/haystack type challenge. It is possible to covert a vintage road steel bike from 700c to 650b but it should not be attempted unless one has a solid understanding of the process and possible clearance/geometry pitfalls.


SOMA Fabrications offers two models that appear to be well suited to your objectives. Both frames are under $1k, offer vintage looks, affordable pricing, light gauge tubbing, and geometry suited to sprinted road riding, not gravel. The PESCADERO uses rim brakes and has clearance for 700x42 tires with the appropriate brake caliper. If you prefer disks then take a look at the Fog Cutter. It uses road geometry but also has clearance for 700x38 tires with fenders or something a bit larger sans fenders. Carbon forks can be added to either one to limit weight. While neither of these choices will equal a fully custom English they will be superior to something like a Surly or another budget thick tubed frame and the majority of vintage steel choices. I'd post links but am too much of a newbie here to do so.

thehammerdog

I had a great ( metal) framed bike in 8th grade.
Columbia...2 wheeling Columbia 5 speeds of smooth metal.
ahhhhhh ride it daily to the b ball court.
35lbs all day.

satrain18

Keep in mind that back then, a pro road cyclist can go though a bunch of frames during a Grand Tour race.

satrain18

But isn’t your steerer tube, stem, handle bars, and seat post is made our of carbon fiber instead of steel and aluminum respectfully? Speaking of steel lasting longer than carbon fiber: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/rinard/...tigue_test.htm

capt_velo

That's 16.8 lbs.

They're pricy but light!

https://www.speedvagen.com/order-readymade

63rickert

I wonder how these stories get started.

Some pros do use a lot of bikes. Biggest example would be Eddy Merckx. Using a lot of bikes is real different than wearing out a lot of bikes. Eddy always had a quiver of bikes going because he hoped a change-up would relieve his hip problem. There is a very active collector market in old Eddy bikes, and in old pro bikes generally. The ones with battle scars are worth a lot more than pristine spares. And you can still ride them.

Pro bikes get crashed. They are in the work stand every day.They get thrown in the team truck and on the team car. They plain get handled a lot. It’s a hard life and it takes a toll. Small stuff like a busted braze-on or carbon glue-on might not be fixed on the spot so the bike is sidelined. But the bike is not dead.

Roughest looking bunch of team bikes I ever saw was with a squad of Soviet track riders who visited Northbrook and Kenosha and then on west. (At height of Cold War it was easier for Soviets to travel here than it would be for Russians now.) Their old Cinellis were dented and rippled end to end. Replaced dropouts. Sleeve patches. Not many frames ever get a sleeve patch and it always looks like a blacksmith did it. And it works. The Soviets had no problem winning on those very old and very well used bikes

mstateglfr 

I stumbled on this thread from a different area and just enjoyed reading through it again. Its everything BF is- tons of suggestions and advice while missing significant info that effectively makes most suggestions worthless.

RH Clark - what did you end up with?

ridinginjeans

i heard about those Soviets. They found a way to keep using such bikes because at the end of the day, talent trumps style. All this talk of bikes wearing out only applies to a few bikes here or there. Most bikes will last longer than you think.

I bought a Concorde on eBay a few years ago and the paint is chipped, dull, and mostly in poor shape. The frame, however, is straight, solid, and a pleasure to ride. And will be for a long time.

fishboat

Just watched the documentary Icarus last night.."talent" in a bottle.

I too would like to know what RH Clark ended up with.

63rickert

The better Concordes were built by Pelizolli. You have a gem. Enjoy.

whojammyflip

I bought a 1996 dated Ciocc Aquila (Pelizolli's company, but probably not built by him) this summer. Its made of Columbus Genius, which is custom butted and the more modern Columbus alloy containing vanadium and niobium. The frame in size 20.5" or 52cm weighs 1730g with 105 5500 headset cups still in. Paintwork is nice, pretty chromed rear stays with pearl paint and Ciocc graphics. The fork is 580g, also Columbus Genius, fully chromed. The frame is a mix of fillet brazing around the head tube and lugged around the seat and bottom bracket. I've not built it up yet, but given I have a 7.0kg carbon bike with a 1.3kg frame and fork, it seems reasonable to think I could build the Ciocc up to be around 8kg. I was looking to get the frame stripped, and the chrome removed, to get the weight down, but I am undecided on this as the paint is nice and original

I tried posting a link to a blog by "bikeretrogrouch", from 2014, but its blocked as I have not posted enough, so here is a quote about these 1990's Columbus tubesets:

"Around 1990 or so, Columbus introduced their Nivacrom steel tubing, using vanadium and niobium as alloying agents. With names and designations like Genius, MAX, and EL, one of the things that distinguishes Nivacrom from the older chrome-moly tubing is that it is better formulated for welding. More recently, just as Reynolds did with their 953 stainless steel, Columbus has released a seamless, butted stainless steel called XCr. All of these newer tube sets boast much higher tensile strength than the chrome-moly that was used through the 1980s, and can therefore be drawn with thinner walls to save weight compared to earlier tube sets."

In the UK, its possible to get a custom 853 from Rourke for under a grand, and 953 for a bit more. I think the 853 would weigh the same as the Ciocc and the 953 around 200g less, but then they would have a carbon fork. I saw a 953 Rourke at a sportive in the Peaks this summer. It was a thing of beauty with stainless graphics and rear stays, and chameleon paint.

RH Clark

I bought a Lemond Croix de Fer. It is a USA True Temper OX Platinum frame with carbon stem,fork, bars, cranks,and seat post . Dura Ace equipped, King headset, Bontrager Race X Lite wheels and Dura Ace downtube shifters and 2X10 drivetrain. It weighs 18lbs and is in near mint condition. I looked a long time and drove 6 hours one way to pick it up. It is a gem owned by a former bike mechanic. I bought it for a steal of $550

It will only take up to 25mm tires but I decided on multiple bikes rather than one that tries to do it all.

mstateglfr 

Multiple bikes is a great approach. It's why my half of the garage is bikes and my car sits outside, but it's a great approach nonetheless.

To get what you initially wanted would have meant custom, and it could have been really nice, but buying 2 or 3 production bikes for varying disciplines instead of 1 customs bike can be be really fun approach to the hobby too.

fishboat

What he said.. Nice choice on the Lemond and multiple bikes...pretty much my route also. Lemond bikes are hard to beat in very nice steel bikes that are readily available and built up well..if stock(except for the wheels..for me at least). It always surprises me how many are still like new. I did a 6hr (one way) drive for my Maillot Jaune..in showroom condition..long day, but I'd do it again.

I'm also surprised the CdF doesn't take 28mm tires at least. Both my road bikes run 28mm GK slicks(that tend to run a little over 27mm).

Road Fan

And in that case you essentially asking "can a steel 650b bike be built that is 20 # or less, not can a steel bike be built which is less than 20#.

venturi95

You will never ride it like a steroid pumped freak, please leave it original.