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Why do you ride that old steel road bike?

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Why do you ride that old steel road bike?

Old 03-29-13, 12:33 AM
  #126  
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Bike and rider, It's a vintage/classic, by now!


[soundtrack; Sinatra singing: "It Was a very good year"]

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Old 03-29-13, 01:55 AM
  #127  
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Originally Posted by TheDavid
The ride of steel is great. And I am not allowed to buy a carbon bike - the Wife's decree. I stumbled into www.bustedcarbon.com, showed her some pictures and she said "Aww hell no homie".
She really is perfect.

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Old 03-29-13, 08:18 AM
  #128  
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Originally Posted by TheDavid
The ride of steel is great. And I am not allowed to buy a carbon bike - the Wife's decree. I stumbled into www.bustedcarbon.com, showed her some pictures and she said "Aww hell no homie".
Had I ever met a woman with such sensibility, I would have married her, too!
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Old 03-29-13, 08:22 AM
  #129  
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Casual Observer: Why don't you ride your old steel bike?

Me: Because the damn thing is a tank.
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Old 03-30-13, 12:27 AM
  #130  
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Quite simply, because it's the bike that I have. My budget doesn't allow me the luxury of some super high-end road bike, and admittedly I'm new enough to road bikes that I'd be hesitant to drop a ton of money one one even if I had it available. I know that I'm not experienced to fully appreciate and/or utilize something really high end now, and I'm not experienced enough to make sure that I'd actually get what I'd really need. At the time that I was shopping for it, I could have either chosen a new Walmart bike, or a higher end bike with some miles on it. Really, a no-brainer there, IMHO. Plus, there is a certain aesthetic appeal to an "old school" bike that's a decade older than some of my coworkers.
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Old 03-30-13, 12:32 AM
  #131  
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Originally Posted by MetalPedaler
Had I ever met a woman with such sensibility, I would have married her, too!
Between my friend and I, we managed to find two of the finest women on this planet.

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Old 03-30-13, 03:30 AM
  #132  
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Perhaps you mean "old style" steel bikes with the lugs and such. People ride them because they (the bikes) have hella swag. There will never ever be a bike made of anything other than steel, that will have the craftsmanship of a steel frame. Carbon frames; put it in a mold, vuala. Aluminum frames; jig and tig, big whoop. But a lugged steel frame? That stuff needs a creative mind. Look up Columbine cycles.

Also take in account the people who like the ride qualities of a steel frame or just ride a steel frame because they don't want to buy another bike.
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Old 03-30-13, 03:36 AM
  #133  
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Originally Posted by GT4
Perhaps you mean "old style" steel bikes with the lugs and such. People ride them because they (the bikes) have hella swag. There will never ever be a bike made of anything other than steel, that will have the craftsmanship of a steel frame. Carbon frames; put it in a mold, vuala. Aluminum frames; jig and tig, big whoop. But a lugged steel frame? That stuff needs a creative mind. Look up Columbine cycles.

Also take in account the people who like the ride qualities of a steel frame or just ride a steel frame because they don't want to buy another bike.
Filet brazed is also pretty sweet... my Moulden after it got a new formal suit.



It has some nice touches like the guides at the seat tube...



Unique chainstay bridge...

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Old 03-30-13, 07:31 AM
  #134  
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My only road bike is my Bianchi Campione that I got back in '99. It was on the lower end of the Bianchi lineup that I could afford at the time (as a college student). Steel frame and Campy components was a good introduction to road riding and got me into better fitness for the mountain bike racing I was into at the time. I've been to shops and oogled and awed at the cool looking carbon road bikes but just can't past having to stop riding my Campione. It does it's job quite well with no complaints.

I did recently bought a *sorta* new roadie, a Salsa Warbird Ti but it's more of a cross/gravel bike than traditional road bike. And it has disc brakes! If Bianchi put out a carbon road bike with discs brakes I just might put the Campione to pasture.
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Old 03-30-13, 08:48 AM
  #135  
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because they are half the price, twice as tough, ride just as smooth, and just as fast for the average rider.
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Old 03-30-13, 10:10 AM
  #136  
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For what it is worth I personally think some of the mid 80s lugged frame bikes with their down tube shifters were some of the most beautiful and cleanest looking bikes ever built.
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Old 03-30-13, 12:35 PM
  #137  
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Originally Posted by rydabent
For what it is worth I personally think some of the mid 80s lugged frame bikes with their down tube shifters were some of the most beautiful and cleanest looking bikes ever built.
+1
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Old 03-30-13, 02:14 PM
  #138  
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Well I technically no longer have an old steel road bike I have 2 newer steel bikes and an old hybid steel bike . I don't like how aluminum rides and at 300 lbs don't trust lower priced bikes and just don't like carbon, bikes or arrows
Roy
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Old 03-30-13, 04:51 PM
  #139  
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Is a '98 old? I love the way my Rhygin Stainless handles, and it looks as good as the day I built it.
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Old 03-30-13, 11:17 PM
  #140  
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Originally Posted by MetalPedaler
Had I ever met a woman with such sensibility, I would have married her, too!
Here's the best part: she learned how to true wheels before she learned to balance on a bike.

If I bring home a nice steel frame, she won't bat an eye. If I bring home a carbon road bike frame, she'll say 'Get it out of my sight!'. The carbon fork on my Kona Jake the Snake is an exception, mainly because I use it on my rollers most of the time.

Originally Posted by Sixty Fiver
Between my friend and I, we managed to find two of the finest women on this planet.

Indeed.

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Old 03-31-13, 10:10 AM
  #141  
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Other than 8-9-10- speed cassettes, I really don't see any real advances in bike technology to be anything that would make me want to buy it. The more gears in the rear makes for easier/less complicated shifting since more gears available with one chainring, thus relegating a triple crankset obsolete. But even that comes at a price with skinny chains that stretch quicker, break or just wear out faster.

Lightweight frame material? Bah. I crush aluminum beer cans with my bare hands, and a plastic bike - isn't that what they make Tupperware out of? j/k guys...

Yeah, my lugged, butted CroMo frame is twice as heavy as a CF frame, but once the components are bolted on, the 'difference' isn't as great. Oh, and I can load mine down with racks, fenders, panniers and go touring. BTW, I'm no lightweight myself, so the stresses someone of, ummm, err... 'greater stature' and the latest Al or CF frames seem contradictory. That above link 'bustedcarbon' is enough to warn me away - and those are much lighter riders! Hitting the bumps I regularly encounter on the roads around here make me glad I'm on Steel!

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Old 03-31-13, 10:30 AM
  #142  
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I ride them for many reasons. I'm a cheapskate at heart, and like that you can get a high quality steel bike relatively inexpensively. I like to wrench on bikes, so I feel a sense of pride riding a bike that I have brought back from being cast off and neglected to being desired and road worthy. I love the way that lugged steel looks. Finally, a nice riding steel bike is a pleasure to ride.
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Old 03-31-13, 10:34 AM
  #143  
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I prefer old steel bicycles for the same reasons I prefer manual transmissions, well-crafted wooden furniture, analogue audio production, minimally processed food...etc. I like to see the materials & tooling, feel the process & the mechanics, hear the equipment & the room, and taste the ingredients & the textures.

On top of that, I like a connection to history. If I can have these things that nicely represent a genre within an era, then all the better. That really is just an obnoxious way of saying I will often buy used when the need to purchase arises. Cost doesn't really play into the decision, since I have paid more for used high end compared to new and sufficient; even though the final product can often be both better & cheaper if you are willing to search for the older luxury items. Save computers and digital technology, it also feels like so much of the development on the consumer level is incrementally small and largely irrelevant to be meaningful in the real world. A 1/10th of a second improvement or a top speed of 250mph simply doesn't resonate with me.

The search also holds a significant place in the above sentiments. If the journey is just as important as the destination, then learning about and finding these odd bits and pieces can be just as satisfying as the final product. Speed, efficiency and perfection, in and of themselves, don't lead to interesting stories.

Another issue is marketing and advertising. Every industry wants/needs to convince us that we need the newest, most futuristic, manliest thing out there. We feel inadequate and seek to solve the "problem", most often to address the third issue. Any number of businesses present their answers to the invented problem. This phenomena isn't special to bicycles, it exists everywhere to some degree. In a media saturated landscape, we are assaulted by our industry created insecurities all day long. I don't care to be manipulated like this. There is a whole history of intriguing things out there that I would rather waste my time and money on.

Basically, carbon fiber and dual-clutch paddle shifters don't interest me as much as wood, leather and whole grain breads do. Granted, a certain degree of my own preferences are a result of effective marketing. Oh well.

Last edited by jjvw; 03-31-13 at 11:29 AM.
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Old 03-31-13, 10:41 AM
  #144  
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After seeing the CF landing gear fail repeatedly on my uncle's 5-pound radio-control airplanes when they would hit a bump/crack in the runway, and thinking of what that would mean to my 55+ year-old body when it hit the pavement when a CF bike or fork would break... I say 'No F'n way!'
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Old 03-31-13, 11:17 AM
  #145  
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Originally Posted by jjvw
I prefer old steel for the same reasons I prefer manual transmissions, well-crafted wooden furniture, analogue audio production, minimally processed food...etc. I like to see the materials & tooling, feel the process & the mechanics, hear the equipment & the room, and taste the ingredients & the textures.

On top of that, I like a connection to history. If I can have these things that nicely represent a genre within an era, then all the better. That really is just an obnoxious way of saying I will often buy used when the need to purchase arises. Cost doesn't really play into the decision, since I have paid more for used high end compared to new and sufficient; even though the final product can often be both better & cheaper if you are willing to search for the older luxury items. Save computers and digital technology, it also feels like so much of the development on the consumer level is incrementally small and largely irrelevant to be meaningful in the real world. A 1/10th of a second improvement or a top speed of 250mph simply doesn't resonate with me.

The search also holds a significant place in the above sentiments. If the journey is just as important as the destination, then learning about and finding these odd bits and pieces can be just as satisfying as the final product. Speed, efficiency and perfection, in and of themselves, don't lead to interesting stories.

Another issue is marketing and advertising. Every industry wants/needs to convince us that we need the newest, most futuristic thing, manliest out there. We feel inadequate and seek to solve the "problem", most often to address the third issue. Any number of businesses present their answers to the invented problem. This phenomena isn't special to bicycles, it exists everywhere to some degree. In a media saturated landscape, we are assaulted by our industry created insecurities all day long. I don't care to be manipulated like this. There is a whole history of intriguing things out there that I would rather waste my time and money on.

Basically, carbon fiber and dual-clutch paddle shifters don't interest me as much as wood, leather and whole grain breads do. Granted, a certain degree of my own preferences are a result of effective marketing. Oh well.
So well and eloquently stated!

And if I may ad one thing: It is nice to create a unique world around one's self; A world which can not be created by merely doling-out kopecs at an emporium which sells the same offerings available to everyone, all over the world; but rather, a world created by surrounding one's self with possessions which have been preserved and cared for; and which were built with care and purpose (Rather than just to create marketing hype); and which you sought-out and found, sometimes through diligent searching, or sometimes through luck and circumstance, or by just having the eye to recognize something good which you may not have even been aware of before seeing it.

Also, creating a bridge to the good things of the past. Not just for nostalgia, or for the good personal memories associated with past times and things; but to rather experience the quality of the items, and all that they represent.

And to have things which endure; which were built with that purpose in mind, as opposed to planned obsolescence- ....[someone stop me!]
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Old 04-01-13, 01:28 PM
  #146  
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took mine camping last year cuz I didn't want to bring the new expensive bike on the family trip and didn't want to worry about theft
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Old 04-12-13, 05:17 PM
  #147  
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Originally Posted by Velo Dog
Wrong. The world is full of 40-year-old steel bikes. You're never going to see that with carbon.
You do know that steel oxidizes, right? Even if you keep it constantly clean, there is no way to keep water out of the interior tubes, they are not vacuum and when dew point is reached, you can easily get a lot of moisture on the interior of the frame.
Steel is loaded with carbon, BTW.
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Old 04-12-13, 05:32 PM
  #148  
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Originally Posted by christo930
You do know that steel oxidizes, right? Even if you keep it constantly clean, there is no way to keep water out of the interior tubes, they are not vacuum and when dew point is reached, you can easily get a lot of moisture on the interior of the frame.
Steel is loaded with carbon, BTW.
Apparently that oxidation takes longer than 40 years to do any harm, because, as the poster whom you quoted observed, there are still tons of 40 year-old steel bikes in service- many ridden in the rain or stored for decades in damp mangy basements.
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Old 04-12-13, 07:05 PM
  #149  
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steel SCUBA tanks have to be inspected visually inside on a regular basis to check for rust or corrosion
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Old 04-12-13, 08:27 PM
  #150  
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As soon as I start counting on my steel frame to contain 3000 PSI I'll go have it inspected.

Until then, I'm happy just to take a look inside the tubes every few years, to ensure that the Frame Saver is still working.

But just to play devil's advocate, I do have a 30 year old carbon frame which still works as well as it ever did...

Last edited by Six jours; 04-13-13 at 09:33 AM.
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