My mate has 3 Indy Fabs ,a hardtail ,a single speed and a carbon and Ti fixed wheel road bike

brian rourke, made to measure, and painted to your whim thats what I got

Or for under £200 get the real thing, old as the hills but goes like stink.

have you got deep pockets ?

well you lot have got me thinking into getting my 20 year old Argos 531c bike back on the road with full campag 9speed all the bits are in my shed

It always handled realy nicely far better than the litespeed that replaced it and got sold on

Any ideas to where I can get some 1″ stronglight roller bearings from

beej that is a crackin build

ok Pegoretti

http://www.pegoretticicli.com/frames/type/love-3?page=1

he built frames for Indurain and Pantani, they take ages to build but that’s not because of the waiting list nor that he can’t be bothrered but there isn’t enough tube produced fast enough

There is nothing wrong with low end steel. 4130 double butted/531 tubesetsmaybe low end and is not that light (my 59x59cm is nearly 5lbs in weight) but the ride is fantastic. It is by far the most comfortable bike I have ever riden. The whole bike may weighs in at 22.6lbs and with mudguards, full bottle, saddle bag and computor it is 25lbs but I really don’t care as it so nice to ride.

The frame I use is a Traitor Exile. http://www.traitorcycles.com/Bikes_Exile.cfm

I have it built up with Cmapag Veloce, Thompsen post, Cinelli bars and stem, miche hubs, rigida Chrina rims, Sapim spokes, Sella Itali C2 saddle.

Since when has 531 been low end ? it may have been superceeded but its not low end .How many tour de France winners rode 531?

Since when has 531 been low end ? it may have been superceeded but its not low end .How many tour de France winners rode 531?

it was introduced in 1934, it’s way out of date.

a steel like columbus spirit with it’s .5- .38 butted oversize tubes, 853 or deda eom etc are all far superior in strength, weight and available tube dimensions.

ok Pegoretti

i would say they are o.k. too 8)

I know the others are better and lighter but its still not low end tubing .It was the benchmark for about 50 years .Its not made now but it still rides really nice

That the point I was making. “low end” tubing still rides well. I say 531 is “low end” because it is not made anymore but it equivelents produced by other manufacturers is and this “531” equivelent used in the Traitor Exile frame for example.

A steel frame does not need to be made from R853 or its equivelents for it to be a good frame. The strength and fatique resistance provided by lower grade tubing is quite sufficent if the frame is well made.

I have riden a few 531 frames and love them.

But

“low end” tubing still rides well

it is not what it is made of it is how well it is put together, look at On Ones they may be made of gas pipes but they ride well

Just because a bike has 853 sticker on the tubes it can still be a dog

it is not what it is made of it is how well it is put together, look at On Ones they may be made of gas pipes but they ride well

No its both, take a well put together high end tube set and a well put together cheap tube set and the difference is noticeable. The details matter, what are the stays made of? that is the sort of question to ask.

Here’s my old 1981 steel road bike (built from NOS bits)

If I was going to buy new I’d go for one of these

Why not buy second hand. You can get some nice 531 or Columbus equivilant for under 200 quid. Half that if you want to paint it. Try Hilary Stone. I would suggest that a 531 frame will be nicer than any modern chrome moly thing eg my Kaffenback or Cotic X. A generalisation I know but on the whole if a tubing isn’t identified as a recognised brand it won’t be 1st rate. Forks will be hefty.

Well thanks for all the input, and some lovely looking bike pics too.

Its not just the ride I am after, its probably a bike I will have around for a long long time, I had it in my head that I didn’t want a budget carbon racer, tour lookalike type bike, but one that would still look nice in 10 years time.

That Felt at Wiggle is a steel, steal. Cant see much that can match that even at the right price it was fair, now if I could just find the Campag equipped one with a similar huge discount!

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/fs-kona-honky-tonk-like-new-450

😉

Cheap bike that Kona, too big for me…

On that note, having never bought a road bike before at 5ft 9″ with a 32″ leg, I rekon I need a 54cm…

Is that about right?

(well I did buy one but it was a fiver from the tip, Raleigh Pursuit, my nephew is still riding it)

PEople forget that as far as stiffness goes, steel is steel. The difference in ride quality comes about mostly from tube gauge (wall thickness having much less effect).

853 is no stiffer than the steel used in a Pompino (which rides well IMO, esp at the price), but is oversized and thinner gauge, making it stiffer (which isn’t for everyone, I hated my Mojo) and lighter.

531 rides well too, an old 531frame with ahead forks is a performance/price high point IMO.

Kona do make good road bikes. My Kona Kapu below. Rutand Cycles have a new old stock 2010 Kona Haole in a 53cm.It was listed on Ebay recently at a reduced price- also a very nice road bike.

039 by Bikes2010, on Flickr

Its not just the ride I am after, its probably a bike I will have around for a long long time, I had it in my head that I didn’t want a budget carbon racer, tour lookalike type bike, but one that would still look nice in 10 years time.

Like my carbon road bike, 10 years old this year?

Gunnar Roadie gives a good ride, and handles well.

That Kona is lovely. And I need a 56 🙁

Like my carbon road bike, 10 years old this year?

7 for mine, and no obvious reason to change a single thing about it (except the rider).

Gunnar Roadie gives a good ride, and handles well

The Gunnars and the S3 Waterford didn’t jump out at me at the Bristol show, but on closer inspection they looked wonderful. Subtle but beautifully made with good tube size selection.

The thing is (and Al’s right) that a road frame at £300 can have 90% of the ride feel of a top-end steel frame, it’s all about tube dimensions and you don’t really need teh strength of the super-steels unless you’re going really thin on walls or diameter, not always a good idea imo. I’ve ridden 520 and 953 frames of the same tube ODs and very similar geo back-to-back enough to say that I notice the weight most (+/- 10oz I think) and that’s not really so noticeable anyway, a minor, subtle improvement in feel (a bit smoother / flexier in a good way) too – but it really is diminishing returns if the cheaper frame is a good one. Cheap steel frames can be very good, ‘basic’ 4130 steel is nice stuff and not expensive.

Would I still spend £1000-odd on a Waterford S3, £1600 on a Rourke 953, or silly £ on a Master X-lite build? Yes if I had the cash, but not for the gain in ride quality really, mainly for the fact that there’s no bike as lovely as a nice steel road bike.

Those Cinelli frames make me go week at the knee’s