The problem most teams trying to develop steel bikes have is stiffness, the test riders generaly couldn’t give a stuff about weight once it’s at the limit, but trying to get it stiff is much harder.

Early Volares were a bit too stiff according to their team guys and they slimmed them down a fair bit. The current bikes look more like regular steel frame proportions imo. Very pretty bikes too.
35-40mm OD steel tubes can be pretty damn stiff, the weight seems to be the only hang-up. Perhaps that and the way even a stiff bike by steel standards will have some flex in it overall, compared to a carbon bike that can be made so rigid in one direction that there really is no perception of anything budging. It won’t necessarily make it faster, but feel/feedback and actual performance are often confused by the rider. We all do it.

bikebouy – Member
Hmmm.. if someone built a steel frame & fork that weighed less than 1.2kgs I guess it’d be good to race on, thing is I’m not sure anyone does….

To add to the weight debate my 60cm Waterford r33 bike weighs 6.7kg so what’s your problem re bike weights???

steelsreal waves at a fellow Waterford owner 😀

ha I wish!

Just a fan, and browser at rock and road…there’s always Gunnars as well…

I used to ride/race an old Colnago Master years ago, nice bike and all that but I was glad when alloy then carbon came around and have been riding a Parlee for 4 years now. I have a mate who recently bought a Coly Master reissue and it’s still a nice looking bike and rides nice, but it’s heavy. We swapped bikes on a rideout late last year just so I could relive the past, as nice as it was its a Sunday pootle bike at best nowadays and I was glad to get back on my Parlee..

Nothing against steel, but to race on I think you are putting yourself at an unfair disadvantage before you start. Even Condor/Rapha only use their Super Acciaios for specific races… But bloody hell they’re nice bikes, they’ve one in their shop at the moment and it’s kitted out with Red and Kys and it’s a damn fine looking bike indeed. I was tempted have to say, very tempted but i wouldn’t race it, sportives yes or Alps trips or hacking the Doli’s for a fortnight of climbing or maybe do the Massive Central trip to Nice…

I don’t think it matters.

A good steel frame will be equal to a good carbon.

A poor frame will still be a poor frame no matter what its made of.

Why would you handicap yourself riding a heavy or flexible frame if you didn’t have to.

I think it would be okay if you are a) pretty good b)just doing shorter races and c)not 100% concerned about winning.

I thought about it, but it was the weight that was the biggest issue. When you’re trying to eek out everything you can from a frame why go for heavier.
Stiffness? big deal, alloys stiff. People are clueless, carbon is engineered to perform in a certain way, look how carbon frames are often different on each side, they almost react to rider input. Just because it’s stiff and carbon doesn’t mean to say it’s a good frame. And narrow steel tubes are not as aero as large aero carbon tubes.
Right now if someone said that a steel frame is far greater technically than carbon and that I’d do better on one then maybe I’d be tempted.
I fancied steel as I wasn’t sure how much longer I’d be racing.

Good build BTW for a 3.2lb frame only steel bike.

Not all steel frames are the same, there’s a massive difference in modern oversize Columbus spirit (butted .5 – .38 – .5) in 40mm 0/d and a frame made in stovepipe 531.

Just ordered one of these (without the gold bits) to stop trashing the pegoretti over winter same tube set but half the price 😀 it’s not exactly going to be a heavy bike.

Where did you order that from MrSmith? Is it coming all the over from Italy?!

thisisnotaspoon – Member

Nope, round tubes aren’t very aero at all, you can make considerably bigger, but more aerodynamic shapes quite easily.

thing is, even on a simple frame, with round tubes, there aren’t many that are presented to the air-flow perfectly transverse.

think of the downtube, it’s at around 45 degrees, which has the effect of elongating the section in the horizontal distance. it’s still 32mm wide (or whatever) but the cross section is much longer – in essence, it’s become an oval – not a bad shape at all.

what’s wrong with Alloy for short races (crits) where comfort is of no use?

isn’t alloy stiff,stiff,stiff?

apart from apparent harshness….does alloy have any other disadvantages?

it’s not exactly going to be a heavy bike.

Yeah, but at €1500 for a frame and fork it will be significantly heavier than an equivalent price carbon bike, which is the point.

Droooooooolllllllll…. 😆

Where did you order that from MrSmith? Is it coming all the over from Italy?!

Comtat bikes in London will be importing them

Yeah, but at €1500 for a frame and fork it will be significantly heavier than an equivalent price carbon bike, which is the point.

not for me it isn’t. 🙄
as long as the bike is under 18lb with decent wheels it doesn’t ride heavy (IME, having ridden a fair few road bikes)