have there been any advances in metal bikes in the last decade?

[AngryScientist]

Someone mentioned in another thread about buying a 2005 bike, and it just occurred to me that was 12 years ago!

has anything changed in the last decade for metal bikes, aside from surface treatment (like anodizing logos...) ? anything really new in the world of available tubesets, swaging, butting, joining, etc?

a state of the art carbon bike from 12 years ago, i would expect to be quite a bit different than a state of the art 2017 model bike, but has anything gotten significantly better for metal bikes in the last 10 years or so?

in other words, if you had an experienced framebuilder who works with metal, and he/she built you their very best bike in 2007, how would the bike they built today be any different?

just pondering...

[colker]

Big fat chainstays. Fat headtubes.

[nmrt]

That is a great question! I wonder about the same thing too.
I think the "advancements" may be fatter tubes in Ti bikes. And thats it.

Swaging: I think no current metal ti bike has the same level of swaging and tube manipulation that Serotta had on the Legend. Moots RSL chainstay are swaged though.
Butting: I have not seen any advancements in butting.

So, I'd say apart from the fat tubes, nothing much has happened. I love love to ride a fat tubes bike and compare it to my "normal" Seven.

[spoonrobot]

Seems like a huge portion of production aluminum bikes feature non-round hydroformed tubing. Whether this has a noticeable affect is up in the air.

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by nmrt

That is a great question! I wonder about the same thing too.
I think the "advancements" may be fatter tubes in Ti bikes. And thats it.

Swaging: I think no current metal ti bike has the same level of swaging and tube manipulation that Serotta had on the Legend. Moots RSL chainstay are swaged though.
Butting: I have not seen any advancements in butting.

So, I'd say apart from the fat tubes, nothing much has happened. I love love to ride a fat tubes bike and compare it to my "normal" Seven.

Aren't you going to mention Helix tubing?

[benb]

Not to discount any real innovations but for sure there has been marketing progress that has helped the comeback.

The steel bikes were totally fine in 2005, Ti was just about at it's peak, and Carbon was still iffy in some cases (Carbon was already light but IMO was not flat out amazing in every way like it can be today), but the metal bikes were seemingly less highly regarded at that point, for no real good reason other then marketing.

I'd argue gravel/all-roads/all-terrain/whatever has also helped metal bikes as there is still a perceived and/or real durability advantage once you're banging the bike off of gravel/rocks, etc..

[gemship]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

Someone mentioned in another thread about buying a 2005 bike, and it just occurred to me that was 12 years ago!

has anything changed in the last decade for metal bikes, aside from surface treatment (like anodizing logos...) ? anything really new in the world of available tubesets, swaging, butting, joining, etc?

a state of the art carbon bike from 12 years ago, i would expect to be quite a bit different than a state of the art 2017 model bike, but has anything gotten significantly better for metal bikes in the last 10 years or so?

in other words, if you had an experienced framebuilder who works with metal, and he/she built you their very best bike in 2007, how would the bike they built today be any different?

just pondering...

You like em, nuff said. As you have demonstrated your love for the material you genre will listen and thus starts a rebirth of the "steel is real" movement. It goes way beyond that old hipster craze.

I'm being somewhat sarcastic but seriously if folks buy more and more steel bikes then it will be the new envogue bike frame material.

[Tickdoc]

Ima just say no.

[bicycletricycle]

more widespread use of big tubing, especially in steel, double oversize or bigger. Some of it was available back then but it is more common now.

also, while not directly related to the technology of the frame material itself. Some standards have obviously started to migrate (headtube, BB, brakes, thru axles, even tire clearance).

[colker]

Painting? Pegorettis are the most beautifull bikes ever.

[thirdgenbird]

Gaulzetti is using friction stir welding.

[bfd]

Stainless steel tubing? Reynolds 953 appears to have come out around 2006:

http://www.reynoldstechnology.biz/wp...al_history.pdf

Columbus Xcr came out a little later like 2010-12?

Then there's KVA stainless steel tubing. That's been around a lot longer.

Good Luck!

[pdmtong]

Rob English comes to mind as a builder fabricating highly differentiated designs relative to the general incarnation of the metal frame both past and present

[CNY rider]

Originally Posted by colker

Big fat chainstays. Fat headtubes.

He asked about advances......big fat head tubes on steel bikes are the stupidest, ugliest looking things I have ever seen especially on bicycles the size that AS and I ride.

[wallymann]

Originally Posted by thirdgenbird

Gaulzetti is using friction stir welding.

really? this process requires such tight control it only seems to be practical when joining flat or round materials where the interface for the weld is completely understood for the precise control required of the "welding" tool. i need to google what gaulzetti is doing!