Steel frame bikes

[Mr Haematocrit]

so they would replace a broken frame no matter how old as long as the owner was not negligent in their use of the frame assuming its original owner and proof of purchase would be required. Does that also mean that there is no reason a bike shop should not be receiving 20 or 30 year old carbon frame bikes for repair in the ? I'm interested because I'd love to get many more years from my bikes.
Don't trek also offer life time warranty on their frames?

You are correct that Trek also offers life time warrenty.
Last year Specialized had a 1980's frame which was warrenty and they gave the customer a complete new bike and repaired the 1980's frame and restored the bike which they have as a display momento.

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

very interesting but Parlee bikes ain't cheap and for most bike manufactures a Chinese factory builds the frames for them. The same factory could and often is building bikes for several bike companies. It could be that a steel bike builder has their tubes made to their own spec and then they build the bike which is more or less the same thing.

Just because frames are built in the same location, it does not mean that the layup method used is the same. Some frames are open molds and others are not due to the complexity of the design and although a steel bike builder could as you state have tubes made to their own spec, I'm not sure that any foundry would change their tooling and pprocess for a small volume production run. As such I expect the cost would make it prohibitive for a bike builder which is why its not done. I also think the steel enthusiast gets comfort from known grades of tubing such as Reynolds 531.

 

[mustang1]

Respected bike builder Bob Parlee recently stated in an interview with cycling magazine "People used to say steel is real, but look at the process we go through. When I started building bikes I just had sheets of carbon fibre, and I built my own madrels to roll the carbon fibre onto so I could manipulate it. I can make it stiff, I can make it compliment, I can make it lightweight, I can make it strong, I can manipulate the tube to do anything, within reason, that I want to do. A steel builder or a titanium builder or a aluminium builder has to go and buy a tube from somebody that everybody in the industry buys tubes from. Its the same tube, so what can they do to manipulate that material for performance? The only 'real' material out there is carbon."

Thought it was a interesting perspective

that covers question 5 then.

 

[Gravity Aided]

This little exchange on road cc makes one wonder:
http://road.cc/content/forum/52254-them-cheap-carbon-frames-ebay

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

This little exchange on road cc makes one wonder:
http://road.cc/content/forum/52254-them-cheap-carbon-frames-ebay

What does it make one wonder about?

 

[Gravity Aided]

About the quality and constitution of many frames, as well as the quality of the carbon involved and the resins used in their production, as well as the quality control inherent in their manufacture. Do not get me wrong, many steel frames historically have had problems as well, and also been of poor design and manufacture. But it does give one pause. And for the larger rider like myself, I feel more confident on steel and aluminum. Keep drinking soda pop, I may need a new aluminum frame one day.

 

[alecstilleyedye]

my one carbon bike is only a few months old, so no idea how it will fare in the future;

my one alu road bike is nearly 10 years old and is still going strong

my two steel bikes are from 1958 and 1951, and both still give a satisfying ride…

aluminium fatigue on a mass scale was predicted when aluminium first came in, and that hasn't happened. carbon has been similarly demonised as an accident waiting to happen. the one material that concerns me is titanium; i've a club mate who has several titanium frames break without crashing them, and so have a few on here.

steel can break, and bend beyond use. another club mate even snapped a steel frame on a paris roubaix sportive. i've also known people who have written off aluminium frames in crashes.

 

[Gravity Aided]

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KBi4rzlcPI

http://www.bustedcarbon.com/search?updated-min=2010-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&updated-max=2011-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&max-results=3

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

Don't know what your video is supposed to prove or suggest, but here is bmx frame failing, the brazing on it suggests its not carbon, every material can fail.

here is an interesting test of carbon frames vs traditional materials with data.

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

About the quality and constitution of many frames, as well as the quality of the carbon involved and the resins used in their production, as well as the quality control inherent in their manufacture. Do not get me wrong, many steel frames historically have had problems as well, and also been of poor design and manufacture. But it does give one pause. And for the larger rider like myself, I feel more confident on steel and aluminum. Keep drinking soda pop, I may need a new aluminum frame one day.

So a post of a link discussing 'cheap carbon frames found on ebay' makes you wonder about the quality and constructions of many frames? - by this statement do you mean cheap unbranded frames not from a reputable source which could be made anywhere or those manufactured for specialized, trek, pinerello or similar as well?

Do you not have the same concerns for steel, aluminium and titanium bikes as if these tubes are not joined by a skilled craftmen they are in danger of having localized weakness caused by the heat from welding and brazing. High quality welding and brazing demands extreme levels of purity and cleanness, any oil, grease or coatings will be taken into the weld and have weakness.
Does this make you wonder about steel, aluminium and titanium frames?

 

[Hacienda71]

Ultimately if a frame material was not fit for purpose, then frames would not be made from it. All of the main frame materials are used in far more stressed engineering scenarios than bike frames.

 

[biggs682]

steel is real .

@mustang1 i have never ridden a modern carbon bike so cant comment , i have ridden a few alloy framed ones some with steel fork others with alloy forks and a couple with carbon forks , but i always enjoy and prefer steel bikes , feel free to come up to Wellingborough and try a good old retro steelie .

thanks @Fab Foodie

 

[mcshroom]

It is noticeable that on shorter audax rides aluminium and carbon bikes are quite well represented, but when you start getting to the 400+ level the bikes are more and more likely to be steel. Whether that says more about the riders or the material properties I don't know, but I have heard from a few experienced audaxers that they prefer their steel bikes (even though heavier) over their carbon ones when they are using them for long periods of time as they are more comfortable.

 

[Cyclist33]

I've recently returned to steel via a 1982 531 Holdsworth courtesy of Biggs industries. And I love it after 8 years of very good Aluminium/Carbon Forked TCR.
The frame weight is neither here nor there for me within reason, wheel weight is quite another matter.
The ride of steel is simply nice! Fillings stay intact, the tarmac becomes instantly smoother and the bike has more of an overall 'zing' that makes the TCR feel efficient but ultimately lifeless in comparison
I'm planning a new bike build for after Christmas and it WILL be steel. There is a lot of choice out there, but this will be my first test-ride. Reviews suggest it's exactly the qualities I'm looking for in a best bike.

http://cycletechreview.com/2013/reviews/ritchey-road-logic-review/

OK, I'm not doing the white saddle or bar tape etc, but the same wheels but with silver rims and my existing Ultegra triple. ....

View attachment 32971

Now that is a seriously good looking bike.

 

[Dusty Bin]

steel is real .

@mustang1 i have never ridden a modern carbon bike so cant comment , i have ridden a few alloy framed ones some with steel fork others with alloy forks and a couple with carbon forks , but i always enjoy and prefer steel bikes , feel free to come up to Wellingborough and try a good old retro steelie .

thanks @Fab Foodie

So you've never ridden a carbon bike, but you prefer steel..??

I had a custom 653 race frame made for me in 1993 which I raced until I retired (for the first time) in 1998. There is simply no comparison between that bike and my Tarmac, and if you ever do get round to riding a modern CF frame, you will see just how far bicycle engineering and design has come in the last 20 years. You can't go bigging-up steel if you have nothing to compare it to.