jamesdak 

LOL,..... Whatever chaadster. I'm not trying to prove anything. I'm answering why I ride old steel. I've only been on strava for around 3 years and made the swap from C.F. before that. So I don't have a single Strava ride with C.F. data. Now I do have it all in my Garmon Connect stuff but really could care less to find it just to "prove" anything to you or anyone else. So yeah I'm all B.S. and "cheap braggadocio" but I'm good with that!

My riding is for me and my enjoyment. Never felt the need to prove anything to anyone else in the past and guess what.....I still don't, LOL!

Oops, dang it I had to come edit this because I realized I just lied. I do have some strava data on a C.F. bike. Just recently picked up an old 2001 Trek 5200 with a Triple setup to build up as a decent climbing machine for me. Still sorting it out but there are a couple of "test" rides on it and one longer climbing ride where I totally blew up. The smoke from the western fires has jacked up my lungs like never before and it got me on that ride.

Of course if I run the highest avg speed on this carbon bike when I get around to it for my "19 mph avg" challenge won't I look silly? Still a little surprised that the Y-Foil hasn't been the fastest because it seems the fastest on the rides.

chaadster

Indeed? I’m pretty certain some Strava data would clarify the matter, but if you don’t have ‘em, you don’t have ‘em…even though it’s weird because when I first suggested you post ‘em you said:
But now it is a problem.

jamesdak 

LOL, It's the times I leave the C & V to play on the General or Road forums that make me so appreciate the C & V. No one on the C & V feels the need to always try to pick fights like here and the road.

You win, I'm full of ****. Now you can feel better. Does that work for you? I will now sell all my steel bikes, get a carbon one and ride it blissfully unaware of what my own actual experiences have been. Thank you Chaadster for making me see the light.

Oh but dang it....smarta$$ remarks aside. There's a lot of rides there on my Y-Foil and it's quite a good ride for old carbon. You can see those on my strava too. But since we're playing games now, you'll have to find that too. I prefer to remain forever known as the guy full of "cheap braggadocio" in your eyes.

It's been entertaining but this old geezer needs some sleep. Nite now Chaadster!

flangehead

Durability.

mstateglfr 

.

Thread killer

Point

I ride classic steel because:

I like the look of smaller tubing and the frame proportions seem right
The BSA bottom bracket isn’t some bizarre proprietary model and I’ll be able to get parts for it down the road. Same for the external headset.
The rear can be cold set if spacing standards change.
It has a pump peg so I can carry a full size frame pump
Durability - within the stresses I’m putting on the frame there aren’t any fatigue limits
The ride is better than any CF or aluminum I’ve ridden
The frame material isn’t holding me back one iota. Nobody has proven any correlation between frame material/stiffness and speed. If I was down to 2% body fat then the minimal weight difference may make a difference on climbs, but since that will never be the case, it’s not even a thought to me

philbob57

I have a very good old bike. I don't think my budget allows spending for an equivalent new bike. If my budget allowed the spending, I don't have space for a 2nd bike. Further, the production bikes I can ride around here would not fit me as well as my current bike does.

I could, perhaps, find a used bike at a low price. I'd rather ride than shop. Hell, I'd rather do almost anything than shop.

If you don't understand why some people rid old steel bikes, do you ever realize that as soon as you roll your new bike out of the store, it's old, no matter what materials are used in making it?

Nniiccoo

The old steel frames are great for learning about how to completely strip and rehab an old beater. Also they make great entry level touring bikes!

DMC707

Drope the hamer

Flatforkcrown

The main reason I ride it… it’s just nice to look at.

KLOSHE

they make the mountains look bigger.

jamesdak 

Looks like a beautiful area to ride!

flangehead

Turn? Again?

cs1

That is a very subjective question. I got my first road bike in 1976. I’m 63 today. I grew up on steel bikes and just prefer them. OTH, indexed shifting and some of the other goodies we take for granted today make steel an even better choice for me personally. If you have ridden on steel, aluminum and carbon you can tell the difference in ride. It’s much more cost effective to go on a diet than spring for a CF bike to save a few pounds. But that’s just my personal opinion

Cougrrcj

A dozen years ago, I came upon a screaming deal ($85) on a very-lightly used Trek 1100 (aluminum frame/700c wheels, etc) at a garage sale. It still had the original tires! Absolutely pristine.




I figured it would be a step up from my only other road bike at the time - my '75 Fuji S-10S.

Nope! I HATED the harsh ride. I sold it at a loss (after spending $$ on new tires/tubes)

and then I joined the enablers at BF.net... so now I have many more Japanese road bikes, but ALL are lugged steel!

Cougrrcj

Mine as well.. Oh, and that's another 63-yr-old's opinion.

rwmct

Because it was the first major purchase I ever made

(about $80 brand new in 1975) and because I still have it, and can't see not taking it out once in a while.

I really ought to give it away but I don't even know how safe it is anymore, there is some pitting in the forks.

(that seat is a padeed one someone gave me and I stuck on. The original seat was hard plastic with no padding at all)

Frank S

Mainly because I don't want to spend the money for a new steel road bike. Not to mention a sexy, bare metal titanium framed bike.

Wildwood 

Why does it need to be one or the other? Steel or CF.

I ride steel (old & new), CF, Ti - and previously Al.


imo, a better Question would be:
Why do you ride just one or two bikes?
or
Given the affordability of vintage bikes, why don’t you ride at least 4 of them? Reynolds, Columbus, Tange, Ishiwata tubing.


You can become a better cyclist faster by riding your bike rather than fixating on the frame material. No nostalgia required.

Inusuit

Because those are the ones I can afford. Oh, wait. My road bike is carbon. Three MTBs are steel.

Point

You left out True Temper

SurferRosa

Cuz plastic bikes are fugly.

JohnDThompson 

Not to mention, Falk, Durifort, Vitus, Accles & Pollock, Phoenix, etc.

Phil_gretz

I'll bite. I still have a few vintage steel bikes. Why?

They resonate with something nostalgic deep inside for me. They're the type of bike that I would not consider spending the money for when I was in high school or college, and got too busy to care in my early career or during the child rearing years. But now, I can re-live those happy simple times when I rode for hours, even if now I ride for maybe an hour and call it good.

The best steel bikes with fine wheels, if properly fit and set up, can ride awfully nicely. They're quite pleasant.

Do they ride better than modern bikes with light, aerodynamic frames and improved ergonomic controls? Um, no, they don't. Modern materials, well made frames, lighter components groupsets and wheels, even modern saddles all contribute to a pretty darn terrific ride.

So, fewer and fewer vintage bikes measure up for me. I keep a few that trigger sentimental memories of my youth and my friends growing up. And that's about it.

rsbob 

I ride steel when it is really windy because I don’t get blown around like I do on my wide carbon tubed bikes. Nice to have a fall-back.