Steel vs Aluminium.....HELP!

[vernon]

I'd say get the one that meets your needs.

FWIW
I've had two steel frames break on me - both of them Dawes Galaxies, both of indeteminate age, both at the rear drive side drop out.. One I had repaired within the hour and went on to complete a LEJOG ride. The other was in France and I abandoned it and bought an aluminium framed hybrid/tourer from Decathlon. It matched the Galaxy for comfort, speed and was excellent value for money.

 

[jamesxyz]

Voyager seemed fine to me - I checked it out but eventualy went for the more expensive Panorama but that's not because I didn't like it.

Somene sent me a link once to a blog where two guys were doing a world tour - one on a panorma and the other on a voyager so it can't be that bad can it?

can't find the link btw - sorry

 

[Domestique]

Would an aluminium frame, esp the top tube, be more prone to dents than a steel one ?
Only saying this as yesterday when I leant my ally framed road bike against a wall, then it fell over just missing the corner/end of a brick wall.
Are ally touring bikes a heavier gauge tube than a road bike ?
I have a steel framed touring bike and I am very happy it.

 

[Muddyfox]

Have you been out on yet JD? Mine's on order so lookign forward to giving it a test run ... if the snow ever stops

Hi James .. i have'nt been out on a very long ride yet as the weather here is'nt the best either, but i've had a spin around a 20 mile loop that i normally ride the cannondale on, and my first impressions are good although i still need to tweak my riding position abit, it is a lot comfier than the cannondale and the gear change is very quiet and slick, i have'nt ridden drops for nearly 30 years so i think i will probably spend most of the time on the hoods, and it took me a little while to get used to the brake lever/gear changing the extra brakes on the top of the bars are surprisingly good but i'm looking forward to a sunny dry day to get out and have a proper ride on it

Good Luck with yours when it arrives ... i hope you enjoy it

Simon

 

[Ricd11]

Groovemachine - I have the new Voyage and am very happy with it so far. I have not been on a tour on it yet though, will be in a few short months. So I can't give any info on how it shapes up in a tour situation.

What I can say is from spending a fair few hours in the saddle cycling is that the ride is comfortable (I have little to compare it too, but it seems to suit me well), the top set of brake levers is very handy IMO especially when cruising, the frame pump is pretty useful so you can just stick it on and forget about it.

I have done short journeys carrying some serious weight in my rear 56L panniers, carrying laptop, textbooks, clothes, toiletries etc. back and forth to uni and home for holidays - it dealt with it no problem.

Budget was one of the main reasons for buying it, got it 600 in a LBS, but I love the colour and the fact that it is British

Rich

 

[chris667]

Almost no mass produced bikes are British. They all come from one of a couple of enormous factories in the far east. Bianchi one week, Dawes the next, and Ridgeback the week after that. I think an aluminium frame is fine, so long as it fits you. The difference between steel and aluminium is aluminium is generally disposable, where steel is more easily repaired. But then, a lot of steel frames are hard or even impossible to repair. If you want a bike that you can share your adventures with for a long time, a not-too-light steel tourer is probably best. Secondhand can be just as good as new if you pick the right thing. After a year of heavy use, my Raleigh Clubman has been retired from service for refinishing. It's 62 years old!

 

[friedel]

Warranty? travel insurance would cover it, i didn't say warranty

Is there a particular policy you recommend? Some insurers don't cover bike touring (bike touring coverage for a long multi-continent trip is particularly tricky to find) and there's usually a limited coverage for sporting equipment, that often doesn't reach the cost of a new frame.

Also, you'd have to take into account the time involved to source the frame, ship it, collect and clear it through customs. This could be easy in one country and very difficult in another. It might involve extra customs charges too.

I don't know if you follow Going Slowly (http://goingslowly.com/) but the first time they had to get new rims it took about 5 days from the time of ordering and the 2nd time it was a considerable delay. The rims got held up by the US post office, among other issues.

By contrast, it took us 2 days in Cambodia to find a good welder and get a crack fixed up on Andrew's frame so we could carry on. Cost? $25 U.S.

I've no doubt that aluminium frames are probably fine for shorter trips or ones where you know you're quite likely to find a good welder who can weld aluminium, but for longer trips I'd much prefer to have a steel frame that can at least take a commonly made reinforcement patch until I get to somewhere with more services.

 

[bauldbairn]

After a year of heavy use, my Raleigh Clubman has been retired from service for refinishing. It's 62 years old!

That's shocking, it still has another three years to go - the official retiring age is 65, the lazy devil! -

 

[Paul_Smith SRCC]

This thread may be of interest

Paul_Smith
www.corridori.co.uk

 

[greenmark]

I always thought that the welding of broken steel frames was a load of old bunkum. When you cycle past any remote town in Asia, you can see that the quality of welding might be jsut good enough for making a hand cart but not for keeping a bicycle together. It might hold your frame together til you get to the next town, but maybe it won't. Not only that but the frame is almost cerntainly not going to be aligned properly

The welding of broken frames might be worthwhile if you happen to break down next to Paul Hewitt or Thorn Bicycles, where there is a chance someone will know what they're doing. Problem is that these custom welders and their equipment aren't very often touring remote villages at the same time you might be.

 

[andym]

Is there a particular policy you recommend? Some insurers don't cover bike touring (bike touring coverage for a long multi-continent trip is particularly tricky to find) and there's usually a limited coverage for sporting equipment, that often doesn't reach the cost of a new frame.

There was a thread not long ago with lots of agonising about insurance. I think the 'conclusion' was that for shorter tours CTC insurance and ActivCard (both I think underwritten by Fortis) were good bets, while for longer tours then look at the British Mountaineering Council.

 

[friedel]

I always thought that the welding of broken steel frames was a load of old bunkum. When you cycle past any remote town in Asia, you can see that the quality of welding might be jsut good enough for making a hand cart but not for keeping a bicycle together. It might hold your frame together til you get to the next town, but maybe it won't. Not only that but the frame is almost cerntainly not going to be aligned properly

The welding of broken frames might be worthwhile if you happen to break down next to Paul Hewitt or Thorn Bicycles, where there is a chance someone will know what they're doing. Problem is that these custom welders and their equipment aren't very often touring remote villages at the same time you might be.

I can only speak for our experience. I'm sure latching onto a good welder depends on luck to a certain extent and then there's the question of how serious the repair is. We managed to get welding jobs done twice on tour in remote areas, once in Central Asia and once in Cambodia. We were very pleased (surprisingly so!) with the results. When we got to Australia and a frame builder, we had some more work done on the bikes and we asked about the previous work. While it wasn't 100% perfect, the conclusion from the bike shop in Australia was that the work certainly wasn't bad and didn't damage the bike at all.

 

[friedel]

There was a thread not long ago with lots of agonising about insurance. I think the 'conclusion' was that for shorter tours CTC insurance and ActivCard (both I think underwritten by Fortis) were good bets, while for longer tours then look at the British Mountaineering Council.

Yes, we went with the BMC and found them very helpful, at least on the phone (we never had to claim). Their medical and general theft/damage cover is fine but in the case of damage to the bike, they wouldn't have been much use.

The coverage only extends to 350 pounds for any one item - not much if you have to buy a frame and get it shipped out to somewhere remote. Also, the bike isn't covered if it's damaged while you're using it.

In our experience, getting an insurance policy that provides any meaningful cover for long-distance bike tours is impossible.

 

[Tony Martin]

Do your homework

Don't be fooled by so called touring bikes just because they have eyelets for racks and stuff, alot of them are agricultural equipment.
It's a matter of what sort of touring you want to do. Round the world stuff, check out the Koga websight. High speed light touring, see Condor, Dolan or even Mercian. It's the old " Yer pays yer money" after that. Cheap bikes in general are a bad idea coz after you've patted yourself on the for the bargain price, your'll spend twice as long felling bitter about lack of quality and weight.
Regards
Tony M.

 

[vernon]

The welding of broken frames might be worthwhile if you happen to break down next to Paul Hewitt or Thorn Bicycles, where there is a chance someone will know what they're doing. Problem is that these custom welders and their equipment aren't very often touring remote villages at the same time you might be.

Funny you should mention that. When my Dawes Galaxy rear drop out fractured, six miles from a newly made friendss address in Chorley, I was ferried to Bill Nickson., bike shop owner and winner of the 1976 Tour of Britain. I was back on the road within the hour.

Bill wasn't prepared to guarantee the repair though. I couldn't quibble as he didn't charge me.

When I had a repeat fracture in the same place but on a different Galaxy frame in Orleans last year I decided that it would be more expedient to buy a suitable replacement and settled for a Decathlon aluminium framed hybrid. The frame material did not figure in my selection criteria.