Considering 2 bikes at the moment for commuter use, on and off road, both with disk brakes and very similar geometry. I’ve narrowed it down to the following issues and would be interested in your thoughts or preferences?

Steel Bike:
+ Super comfy, great fit, looks good.
– Heavy, sluggish, bit slow on the off.

Alu Bike:
+ Reasonable light, taper head tube, pretty good fit. Likely more off road orientated.
– Rides like a lump of wood, not as nice in aesthetically.

Down to cost, size and availability (also being a fussy so and so) it’s a question of one or the other for me?
Will i hate riding home tired after a long day on a heavy bike?
Will i detest the dead, wooden feel of the alu frame?

🙂

have you ridden them?

The steel could be made of gaspipe and ride dead whereas the ally could be spritely and awesome!

OK ,owning both I woukld say not all steel bikes are heavy and not all ally bikes feel dead

what models are you looking at?
My Topend alloy frame rides nearly as well as my carbon

Alu isn’t necessarily dead, and steel isn’t necessarily sluggish, and with either the fork and tyres will help with comfort. As long as the tyres are quite fast rolling and run at a decent-ish pressure, then either bike should be swift enough to not be tiring.

I have an alu disc commuter/road bike with a carbon fork (possibly the one you’re thinking of?), and it’s certainly not dead feeling, although the carbon fork is too harsh on bigger bumps.

Yeah, decent alu rides well.

Down to cost, size and availability (also being a fussy so and so) it’s a question of one or the other for me?

Fit is by far the most important factor.

Will i detest the dead, wooden feel of the alu frame?

My alu frame feels far more ‘alive’ than my steel one, but then it’s an old cannondale which always got/gets favourbly reviewed against steel bikes.

Will i hate riding home tired after a long day on a heavy bike?

It’s all in your head. My cannondale feels like a heavy dog if i get caught going into a headwind uphill in the rain afer 100miles.

Sorry, I could have been clearer.

Cheap butted Alu + Cheap double butted steel.
Yes I’ve had a quick spin on both bikes as stock builds, Though i have parts to tweak either one to be better.

The Alu 24.3lb, was noticeably lighter but felt dead (wooden). I’ve owned high end alu MTB’s so i can immediately tell the difference. – Would better wheels and super supply tyres make the difference?

The steel felt smoother and more comfortable than any hard tail I’ve ever ridden. It did however weight 27.5 lbs stock build, which is my main issue, i weight little over 10 stone.

I’m trying to avoid any brand name influence and keep the decision down to either or based on these concerns.

Would better wheels and super supply tyres make the difference

They would certainly make a hell of a lot more difference than frame material per se.

Cheap butted Alu + Cheap double butted steel.

But it depends what and where those butts are. Still can’t compare on the basis one is butted and the other not.

You’re still being way too generic.

What are the bikes? Only you can make a real call on it, but the hive can help if we know what you’re talking about 🙂

How cheap is cheap? As many have said, it’s less about the material per se, more about quality of materials, design, build quality etc. If you’re prepared to forsake the disc brakes then there are some incredible deals out there.

Have a look at the Kinesis Racelight T2 frame and carbon forks. £380.00 for both. Then buy the full build kit from Chain Reaction for £359.00. If you can build it up yourself then that’s £740.00 for a superb bike. If not £80 or so for a mechanic to build it and its still great value for money. The frame is excellent and the default choice for many serious roadies who want a winter training steed. It’ll take mudguards and has rack fixings, so great for a commute bike. It’s what I’ve got and it rides superbly, even compared to the Roberts steel audax bike I used to have…

Very few steel frames actually have the steel feel that people rave about – probably even fewer of them with the new CEN standards. And very very very few cheap steel frames have any real spring to them…

Try them and see but don’t make a decision on the material stereotypes.

27.5lbs is a heavy bike for commuting. Unless you want a Dutch roadster. My steel fixed wheel is 10 kilos with carbon forks, proper rack and muduards. My alloy bike is 8.5 kilos with mudguards, although that does not have a rack and is a race bike.

27lb…my Kona Ute weighs less than that.

**There is an untruth in my comment above.

It would be so much easier if you told us which frames you were looking at.

I didnt find my old steel bike to bad on L`eroica that must weigh about 30lbs+the saddlebag ,most of my bikes are old steel ones though apart from a hardtail ally mtb and my spare cx bike

Sorry, All been traveling and away from the PC:

1. Norco Indie Drop
2. Pinnacle Arkrose

Tried both briefly. Pinnacle (the cheapest in the build options for me) feels very wooden to me, with a nice enough weight though.

It’s all placebo effect anyway