[Closed] Sunday best steel road bikes

They're lovely, a real pleasure, but you notice the extra kilo plus if you're out with others.

My Sunday best is a classic bike which is having a respray soon, metalic amber. Already bought the electric blue Bennoto tape 😳

Retro/vintage/whatever is an option if you allow for a bit of tidying up?

Doesn't have to be heavy. My Columbus Spirit Scapin is v close to 17lbs with a Chorus groupset & A23/Strada/C-Xray wheels.

Not all steel bikes are created equal. an oversize thin walled tigged with a good carbon forked bike will ride better than a stovepipe cheapie with poor tubing choice with small O/D's

Good steel bikes don't ride heavy even if they carry an extra 1lb and half , as long as its under 19lb you really aren't going to notice, it's only 20lb bikes with their 2kg wheelsets that feel sluggish to ride.
Personally I would prefer a sorted alloy bike if my budget was limited and you couldn't stretch to a rourke, scapin, pegoretti etc.

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one of each please 😉

Thanks guys - more to think about. Has geometry changed much over say the last 30 years? I like the idea of a vintage projects, but not if the angles are all wrong. I know it may sound like a stupid question, but we have grown taller and fatter over that period, I'd expect the geometry to change too?

Moda have just realised a couple of lovely steel bikes and I reckon Genesis won't be long with a retail version of the team bike.

I have an Equilibrium and love it but defo want to lose some weight on it this spring. New wheels will be the start point.

A bit, 30 years ago I'd be on a bigger frame than I use now, that's because they were square and you'd have far less post.
My 86 steel race bike is very compact, lovely to ride though and a joy to just look at. Beautiful cut out lugs, slotted bottom bracket and internal rear brake routing (it's not a new idea kids)

A modern Giant Defy is going to be a lot more forgiving than a 30 yr old bike, regardless of material

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Enigma make lovely looking bikes.

Seem to be pretty consistently well reviewed, too.

I do think about a new road bike from time to time. My Equilibrium does the job just fine (OK I'm biased..) and makes a great bike for winter miles, would happily ride it year-round, but I do look up S/H Master X-lites from time to time - just a gorgeous bike but I wonder if the ride lives up to the looks / price.
Otherwise, I don't think a Rourke 953 custom can be beat for £1600. 953 can make a stunning road bike and Rourkes are a bit above the rest in that area imo. Looked at a lot of bikes at the Bristol shows and they really were a stand-out both years. Waterford would be another nice option for S3 or 853 - really well put together.

thomthumb, the Master looks a bit wrong nowadays. Perhaps it's the OS stem or the huge Ergos?

iainc, I don't find myself agreeing with that. I got back my old Gios that I used to race, the Campagnolo and Cinelli was S H one T by modern standards, but the frame was a delight. As is my SL tubed frame I have now, it can still show it's colours if you put the hammer down.

This is my favorite Master, shame you can't still buy one in Molteni Orange.
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Give Paul Hewitt a ring, he makes some very nice Alpine steel frames, quite light as well

James - so the equilibrium is one of your designs?
Anything similar in the pipeline under a different brand name perhaps?

De Rosa.

I have Gios steel road bike it's a great ride and not harsh at all
:0)

By no means a posh steel bike, but I do like the look of the Ribble winter bike. [img] [/img]

geoffj, it was.. don't let that put you off! ) Just had to declare my bias. The original proto frame was built up with my old road bike's parts and is hiding in a cellar in Provence, waiting for a long trip over Ventoux and down to the coast. Been doing more things along those lines but prob a bit OT to discuss.

For dry/summer 50 milers, buy something that appeals to the soul ) Like having a classic 60's 911 in cream and chrome for summer evenings..

Be aware that many modern steel frame suppliers are cagey about the steel they use. All sorts of fancy names can't hide the fact that some or little more than gas pipe as we used to call it. Eg Planet X say lovely things about my Kaffenback and it rides fine but its noticeably heavier than my older and bigger 531c frame. Ditto my Cotic X. Weighs a ton. Weight isn't every thing of course.Save a few pounds with a light groupset and wheels? Reynolds 520 isn't anything special and steel forks that are not identifeid are always hefty. 725 is nicer.
Of course the new super steels and wonderful.
You could happily buy a classic 531 tubed bike and enjoy it for decades.

James, I already have more of your bikes than is probably good for me; one more can only be a good thing 🙂
The 725 Equilibrium does look [i]very [/i]nice.

I like the look of this Enigma Elite.

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That enigma is a visual delight!! I've got an etape, but I'm on the look out for an elite to go with it

I've got a salsa pistola, but if I was buying now I would get this:
http://www.charliethebikemonger.com/ritchey-wcs-road-logic-frameset-3394-p.asp

Not really my thing, but I do really like these:

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Pedals, saddle, stem and wheels have changed but this is mine...

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Nice De Rosa but needs silver seat pin and stem/bars. 😆

You might well be right there.

Mine

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This was when first built, lot different now.

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What's the Rourke up to these days? Still a favorite of mine.

This is my old steel bike. For 2013 it'll be getting a long overdue paint job and a bit of tarting up.
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Looking for someone to make some frame transfers.

[img] http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/download/file.php?id=38741 [/img]

Mine says hello
Was originally more modern stis etc, and did loads of miles, but had to put the old 7400 dura ace on it.

oldgit - I'm trying to work out which is shinier, the bike or your cooker.

[i]Looking for someone to make some frame transfers. [/i]

I'd stick with the 'R'.

I would swap the R for a T

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this is mine

or take the 'n' off and add part of it to the 'p'

[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8445/7997391673_66234df40f_z.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8445/7997391673_66234df40f_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/shandcycles/7997391673/ ]Shand Skinnymalinky[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/shandcycles/ ]shandcycles[/url], on Flickr

Finicketty I know, but doesn't modern rubber look awful on skinny steel frames?

Mine is a Tom ritchey road logic....

This is mine (red stem has now gone)

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This is what they look like it you are trying to sell them..

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Handling is lovely, impeccable manners. You can wind it up easily, but it also does an excellent job of shrugging off our crappy road surfaces. I got it for 50 to 100 mile runs (partly because less than 50 is not long enough) and it delivers comfort and speed. I am crap at sticking to tarmac, and this bike sees a lot of dirt and gravel, which its pretty good at if you ride fast and light, pick a good line. I am very fond of this bike. Seriously the last road bike I will probably ever buy for myself.

And here is a link... http://www.charliethebikemonger.com/ritchey-wcs-road-logic-frameset-3394-p.asp

Someone should ban that Shand fella! 🙂 After clicking on another of his traps I now [b]HAVE[/b] to have a rigid custom built 29er belt driven Rohloff mountain bike and one of those ^ as well.

mine a 89 gios compact pro,most of london hipster fix wheel are buying vintage bikes,as they are so rare an £££ = trendy

Not really my Sunday best, it's got race blades and winter wheels on at the mo and I ride it all year round.
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Here's my Sunday best, in fact it's my everyday best.
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One day I'll have a fancy plastic bike.

Been there done it, prefer the carbon

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Not sure whether I want the English or the Enigma more. You know what, sod it, I'll have both.

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Finicketty I know, but doesn't modern rubber look awful on skinny steel frames?

I think it because the bar tape on the Shand is fairly anemic, it needs to be darker to match the saddle. Otherwise it looks nice.

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here's mine. Frame is actually pretty light, current build not so much....

I'm seriously coming round to the thinking of considering a road bike despite years of riding my old mtb frame done up as a ss roadie and telling myself a road bike wouldn't be any better, thing is i would never consider a plastic bike as i dislike plastic bikes of all description despite selling them in the shop, i could even get one for trade price but i'd hate it, and alloy for a road bike frame? - Nah, soulless and horrible chunky welds.

So that leaves one (three actually) option, custom 953 stainless or steel or titanium, I'd need to go custom as my spine is ****ed and fused in so many places that i find it hard enough to get down to the hoods of a roadbike never mind attempting the drops and it'd be the sort of bike that i buy once and once only - i'm not one for chopping/changing every few months like some folk.

I really like the look of the shands and i've spent many an hr or two browsing their gallery of bikes, also enigma with their ti frames is another option...perhaps next time i'm up in the central belt i'll give shands a ring and pop round - see what they could do with regard to my ungainly (stif-arsed) position on a roadbike

i would never consider a plastic bike as i dislike plastic bikes of all description despite selling them in the shop, i could even get one for trade price but i'd hate it, and alloy for a road bike frame? - Nah, soulless and horrible chunky welds.

See, to me it depends who's riding it.

If it's plastic you need the legs to justify it othrwise you're just a balding man in a 911 soft top.

If it's steel then you have to be balding and middle aged (or downright old) but have been riding since you were 3 months old and casualy humiliate everyone in the town sign sprints by leisurly spinning past everyone and off the front, or knocking centuries every weekend, double centruies are mandatory if you mention it's smooth/comfortable/gliding/zing. Otherwise you're a fixie poseur with gears.

Aluminium just hard as nails and the owner probably races crits.

Lovely Shand.

Aluminium just hard as nails and the owner probably races crits.

thanks.

ctually it's the cheapest boardman on b2w, but i like your description better 😉

I literally just got hold of a Ribble steel winter bike. First impressions are it's heavy, but it is pretty! The ride quality is actually really good, I was worried it was going to be a tad rough and feel cheap, but it doesn't. Handling seems good too. For the money I don't think you can complain really. All that's going to happen to it is it's going to get trashed on the roads up here.

Yeah it's no Baum or Enigma, but not too bad.

I've got an equilibrium and it is a lovely winter/training bike that I ride a lot. It's comfy on crap roads, the handling is relaxed which is fun in a cruising sort of way, and it descends brilliantly. But it is heavy and clearly not as quick as my sunday best plastic bike.

Would love to try a proper top quality steel bike that was a bit racier.

If it's plastic you need the legs to justify it othrwise you're just a balding man in a 911 soft top.

thisisnotaspoon - But i don't fit into any of those categories so i'll tick "none of the above" on your checklist, i almost fit into the middle-aged man section but i've just turned 41 so i don't consider myself middle-aged just yet - i like to think of myself as "run-in correctly and fit for thrashing" 🙂 , I'm not fat as i've still got the same waist size i had when i was 16 and i'm definitely not balding or anywhere near it, i ain't no fixie poseur either.

The young boy who rides for the shop has just took delivery of his new Lapierre Xelious 400, personally i thin it looks gopping as it's a walking billboard of stickers and acronyms, yeah it's incredibly light but it doesn't have an element of soul or beauty about it, you know it's came out of a jelly mould and is the same as any other mass-market led bike that anyone else can buy - i'm sure he'll win races on it though so it's the perfect bike for him but it leaves me cold, i spent more time Ooing/Ahhing over a 25yr old rusty brompton that someone brought into the shop than the £2.5k carbon Lapierre.

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or

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^ want that one

I've got an equilibrium... It's comfy on crap roads

Try a ti seatpost - I broke mine and changed to carbon and then realised that it was the seatpost (USE) that was providing most of the 'spring' in the ride.

i've one of these:
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not much to compare it to but i'm happy enough ( and it was a stonking deal! ). original, [i]gopping[/i] saddle has gone though!

I've one of these

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not used it much over the last year, seem to spend more time on the plastic road bike. Some nice bikes on this thread but I'm defo not a fan of straight steel forks

I ride this most often on the grey stuff...

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Loved my Lemond La Sarthe. many years of service. replaced it with a Croix de Fer (725) hate it.. stripingit down and going back to my beloved Lemond..
looking at Gunnars or Waterfords as well.

Liking that Shand a lot.

There are two on here that tickle my fancy, the Colnago Master in Orange and the Condor in Black and White. I have pondered on more than on occasion on boring Saturday afternoons when the weathers been appalling and I've meandered on over Clerkenwell way..
£6.5 in that build..
Tempting.

looking at Gunnars or Waterfords as well.

Well since you ask, here are my two

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Oh and a couple owned by friends of mine.(sorry poor photo though)

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and

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I'm tempted to dig out my old 853 raleigh frame to post on here... it was a nice ride but to be honest, I actually preferred a cheap alu Airborne frame (the thunder bolt) I had at the time as it was comfier, livelier and faster. I only stopped riding the Airborne because the top tube was a bit flexy when going up anything steeper than 15% out of the saddle.

I now mostly ride a Giant OCR and a Defy on the road and they are both very good bikes.

Speedvagen sex wee..............

or
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^^ nice that ^^

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Its an old piccy, and the garden was not mine etc but:

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Wanted a Cielo, could afford a Surly.

[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/23544219@N06/7459007864/ ]Surly Pacer[/url]

I'd like one of the new Salsas
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that Baum is loverly

have tried googling Brum but come up with nowt

Baum

[url= http://www.baumcycles.com/ ]http://www.baumcycles.com/[/url]

ta, looked like and 'R' 😳

they are very nice bikes I must say

My bit of Real Steel

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Another Pego, though used all year to the tune of 15000km a year. When I bought it they were half the price they are now, if I were to buy again I'd have that Condor on page one.
From Sunday, doing some long bottom gear [s]climbs[/s] grovels..

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Although this happened yesterday, also gouged the seatstay and bent the hanger.

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I'd like one of the new Salsas

so would i but the warbird is alu - so get it off the steel thread 😉

Would still love a Peg 8)

I've got a skinny tubed Dave Yates 653 brazed and lugged with 10sp record. It was my first proper race bike in the mid nineties. Absolutely fine ride for pootling but not too stiff. I've also got a Dave Yates 853 with oversize tubing which rides beautifully. I like them as much as my plastic bikes in another way.