please help me new steel frame or aluminium

Hi all cant make my my mind up steel frame or aluminium lets have ur feelings on it. i ride aluminium frame at moment but it feels dead i keep hearing that steel feels alive can u help me.

thanks

airbus 387

I’m thinking the same thing. Had loads of bikes over the last 15 years and the two that stick in my mind are a ritchey wcs tubed steel one and a triple butted aluminium Scott racing.I’m definitely going for a steel one and think the only way forward is 853 tubing.Its a Prince Albert or a Cotic Soul. Can’t really see point in you getting another Ali one unless you’re gonna spend megabucks. You’d be better choosing between carbon or steel IMHO.

After having ridden both I would go steel every time definitely more feedback similar to titanium just a little heavier, but some people will prefer the stiffer more direct feel of aluminium specially racers…

It’s not that simple, is the simple answer. Steel can be lumpen, stiff and dead, alu can be flexy and lively. What counts is how it’s made not what it’s made of.

Agree with Northwind, its more about the design of the bike, the components on it and how well it fits you that determines whether I bike feels dead or not.

Ditto Northwind & FunkyDunc. More to do with design, type of steel/alu tubing, wheels, tyres, tyre pressure etc.

steel…

It is not really a question of material as much as it is a question of construction/builder.

You have to remember that any “standard” commercially available bike or frame is going to be built en masse in a factory and even the best of them suffer from an element of sacrificing design elements to aid building.

If you do want a really good riding experience go for a handbuilt frame ( and by handbuilt I mean just that & not a factory bile that is braised/welded by people ) An experienced framebuilder can make both steel & aluminium feel alive, A really good one will talk to you to find out how you ride and then advise you on the best materials for your needs.

One word:

testride.

What is your usual riding place(s) / riding style?
What is your budget?

cynic-al  – Member

One word: testride.

😆 That’s two

My Chumba HX1 is Alu, but feels like a steel bike (without the weight).

My Chumba HX1 is Alu, but feels like a steel bike (without the weight).

crap,

It feels like a Chumba HX1.

I have two Bontragers, both made of steel and the same geometry, one a Privateer and one a Race. Because they are so similar they ride very similarly, but they do not ride the same.
My road bike is a steel Lemond Croix de Fer and it replaced a steel Lemond Tourmalet, again the same geometry but the two bikes feel different.

There is nothing special about a steel bike, there is something special about a good bike! Be it carbon, aluminium, steel, top end bikes feel much better than gas pipe specials.

🙂

ok.

It is more about the frame design then the material. That is unless you go carbon, guaranteed to make you 8.97% faster.

Hi all thanks for your replys so far.I have riden many different materials that have been used for my road frames in the past and built by some famous names Dave yates Bob jackson ellis briggs mercian colnago somec to name a few.And have riden materials like 531 531SL 753R and 753T ishiwata017 columbusSL columbusKL Dural979 and not forgetting carbon as road frames.But my mtbs have always been alu and im not sure about the feelback i get from them.They feel dead and lifless so was think about going back to steel for my mtb.The best mtb i had was the canonndale F800 lefty i know that was made in alu but there was somthing about the feedback and the way it rode.

As others have said (and my misunderstood post), it’s the design not the material. Traditionally you think of Steel as springy,lively,heavier. Alu as rigid, stiff and lighter. Some manufacturers though have designed some “give” into the Alu frames.

Steel. The flex makes it work and gives it character.
I ride an 853 Niner and it’s awesome
I would only use alloy if it was a suspension bike.

Those 853 Niners are exceptionally springy, I demo’d a rigid SIR9, and there was loads of spring in it. Not at the expense of power either, it shot up climbs. (BTW, cheers for the stickers, Charlie)

As for the OP, all I’d say is – get a Soul, it really is a brilliant frame.

Steel framed bike an feel “dead” and Alu alloy framed bikes an feel “dead” also. Get the right frame steel or alu and choose the right components and enjoy the ride.

I really like the Orange Evo2 frame for a alloy job, not to sure what the newer versions are like, though. Old marin steel frames feel great as do modern Pipedream framed bikes. The parts are needed though.

As others have said (and my misunderstood post), it’s the design not the material. Traditionally you think of Steel as springy,lively,heavier. Alu as rigid, stiff and lighter. Some manufacturers though have designed some “give” into the Alu frames.

Agreed, i just get wound up by people saying that steel is special and has a certain something about it.

It can, but to compare a Ritchey p20 and an On One inbred. Both steel but nothing like each other. You can’t really say steel, 853/EOM/953/Platinum OX etc, ride very differently from gas pipe, but two 853 frames won’t feel the same, what tube diameters, what chain/seat stays design etc. it all matters.