Whats your steed :?:

[Fnaar]

I'm bamboozled

 

[Renard]

Aluminium bikes here too

 

[punkypossum]

Alu on the mtb, alu carbon on the road bike and steel on the bmx...

 

[Mr Pig]

It'll be a sad day when we can't choose between what's available.

I agree but I do wish there were more steel bike on the market. It is dominated by aluminium. When I wanted a steel mountain bike I found that the shop I usually buy from, Dales in Glasgow, didn't stock a single one! And Dales is quite a big shop. Cost them a sale.

Yes, you can get steel but you have to look for it. Many shops, especially the big high-street ones, are saturated by aluminium, especially at the low to mid range. So most people end up on aluminium bikes because that's all they see.

I'm not saying aluminium is terrible, if you like it fair enough, but if you've never tried a steel bike I would encourage you do do so. I wouldn't buy another aluminium bike.

 

[Arch]

What happens if a bamboo bike gets wet? Surely there is a danger of it warping.

Not really, it's cured and treated to prevent it. Just as a wooden boat doesn't warp just from being in the water.... As DavidC says, in some parts of the world they use it for scaffolding. The canes we tie runner beans to don't compare with an inch or two thick stem...

 

[top-tube]

Steel - Aluminium frames a classic example of a solution for a problem which was never there. Only in my opinion of course.

 

[Fnaar]

The Alu/Steel thing... guess I'm coming from a perspective of not knowing any better. I bought my alu mtb cos it was a bike, and it was only £30 off someone at work, and it looked OK and felt nice to ride. I bought my alu roadie cos it was a roadie and I could afford the £300 or so it cost. Didn't even consider the materials.

For the sake of comparison, I like olive oil on my salad, or to fry onions in prior to making a pasta sauce. I would never dream of using sunflower oil for the same things. But I can understand why someone would say "well, it's oil, isn't it?".

So to all you steelies, I'm open to 'conversion', as it were, just never tried a steel bike (or I probably did when I was younger, I guess...)

 

[TVC]

Alu today, but as from tomorrow it will be carbon.

 

[Bigtwin]

I can live with Al with carbon forks and rear (and do), but Ultra Foco it ain't!

Can't imagine anything coming close to the 531 Galaxy for tourer use either.

That said, when I got my first all Al bike, I just put 25 tyres on it, and it was ok. 23s were horrible though.

 

[simon_brooke]

What type/kind of frame do you ride ?

Currently I have one all-carbon, four aluminium (one with carbon forks) and one all steel.

In future I might buy a really nice vintage steel frame, but only as a vintage bike. I might but a metal frame with a carbon rear triangle. But for choice it's carbon all the way - it's just better. Stiffer, stronger, AND more comfortable. I used to be influenced by the view that carbon wasn't very good in because crash damage may not be visible, but having now had a very bad crash with a carbon bike I know that's not an issue - carbon survives crashes that no other material would. Yes, you need to send it back to the maker to be stress-checked, but that's almost inevitably cheaper than a repair.

And now it isn't any longer more expensive, why would anyone bother with any other material?

 

[Bigtwin]

And now it isn't any longer more expensive, why would anyone bother with any other material?

Because high-end steel bikes tend to be beautiful.

 

[Arch]

And now it isn't any longer more expensive, why would anyone bother with any other material?

Ease of repair, recyclability?

Oh, I'm three steel, one Al, I think.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Alu today, but as from tomorrow it will be carbon.

Ribbletastic!!!

 

[Davidc]

I agree but I do wish there were more steel bike on the market. It is dominated by aluminium. When I wanted a steel mountain bike I found that the shop I usually buy from, Dales in Glasgow, didn't stock a single one! And Dales is quite a big shop. Cost them a sale.

Yes, you can get steel but you have to look for it. Many shops, especially the big high-street ones, are saturated by aluminium, especially at the low to mid range. So most people end up on aluminium bikes because that's all they see.

I'm not saying aluminium is terrible, if you like it fair enough, but if you've never tried a steel bike I would encourage you do do so. I wouldn't buy another aluminium bike.

It comes down to cost and margins, and that most bikes are sold to people who just want a metal one.

Availability of Al probably means that more people buy a bike, which is good. Even though you and I prefer steel there are nonetheless good Al bikes (and evidently some people even prefer them to steel).

Steel is sufficiently expensive that I can't afford a new steel bike (violins please), but my budget has just gone up so there's more hope than before in the 2nd hand market . Most people buying a bike won't pay new what I'll pay 2nd hand, so many bike shops simply won't stock bikes I would choose.


I have no doubt that Ti and C bikes may have something to offer - but the price means there's as much chance of me owning one as there is of most people moving up from a low to medium price off-the-shelf Al bike from the LBS! Anyway I'm now probably too old to appreciate them.

 

[Davidc]

Shouldn't Mr Pig get a bike made from pig iron?