I had forgotten, Steel is real!

[oldcolonia]

Recently I paid a $250 for an old lugged steel bike on Craigslist (60 cm '94 Specialized Allez Sport with Shimano RX100 triple drivetrain). Today I took it for a 35 mile ride in the rain. The stated purpose for taking the bike was to keep my "nice bike" a Serotta Legend Ti with a Reynolds Ouzo fork and Dura Ace jewelry throughout clean. I also wanted to give it a shake down cruise prior to starting to use it to commute to work next week. It turned out to be a very nice ride! The steel soaks up the bumps like you would not believe and the frame displayed the right amount of springiness when I got on the pedals hard. All very satisfying. I would up riding with another biker on a Cervelo P something with full SRAM red and power tap hub for a while. We covered a good bit of the bike technology spectrum between the two of us.
I had forgotten that even an old moderately low end steel bike can offer a really nice ride.
keep the rubber side down.

[Steel Israel]

"I had forgotten, Steel is real!"

True dat!

[shinomaster]

Steel gets rusty. ;)

[victoryfactory]

I own one of each:

Steel is real
Atlanta

Ti is fly
Legend

plastic is fantastic
Look

aluminum is....hmmm
Tomac

VF

[3chordwonder]

Steel gets rusty. ;)

It's natures way of butting oldschool straight gauge tubes.

[Lifelover]

It's not the steel but the "steal" you got!

It's about the bike, not the material.

It is amazing how good a cheap bike can ride if it's a good bike.

[Blue Jays]

There are plenty of bicycle artisans working with steel as we speak. Nothing quite feels "right" like the perfect steel fork.

[kgreene10]

I had the same experience last week. My regular ride is a Fierte IT. I put together a Colnago Super with my extra-heavy 1980s components to use as a commuter and for all around fun. The thing feels like a tank compared to the Fierte, but riding it for the first time around the block brought an instant smile to my face. Steel is comforting and intuitive. One of these days I will get an up-to-date all steel beauty.

[Bob Ross]

Steel is real


Ti is fly


plastic is fantastic


aluminum is....hmmm




I prefer "Carbon Gives Me a Hard-On"

[Fixed]

There are plenty of bicycle artisans working with steel as we speak. Nothing quite feels "right" like the perfect steel fork.
we are bros imho
cheers