Is this for real?

[sandra]

:eek: a STAINLESS STEEL bike (http://cgi.ebay.com/Kabuki-bicycle-stainless-steel-vintage_W0QQitemZ290175478830QQihZ019QQcategoryZ98084QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)?

[mimitabby]

yup. a lot of custom bikes have some stainless tubing.
it's harder/stronger metal..

[Trek420]

It's beautiful, and goes with my flatware ;-)

Not my size but Knott is drooling over it.

[sandra]

Of course I want it too. :D I have yet to see a bike that I didn't love and want.

Yesterday we made a trip to the LBS. They take a lot of bikes on trade and fix them up and sell them. There was a really OLD bright yellow Schwinn that I fell in love with. It was not in great shape. There was nothing special about the bike. I just loved that it was still hanging in there. Had a yellow and white seat and still had the bright yellow hand grips! I wanted it too!

[7rider]

The new Reynolds 953 (http://reynoldscycles.co.uk/steel953.html), as used in the new Independent Fabrications 953 (http://www.ifbikes.com/frames2/953.shtml), is a stainless steel.
Swooooon!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

So what's the downside of a stainless steel frame- any?

[Triskeliongirl]

This talks a bit about reynolds 953 steel. It sounds like the advantages are light weight and corrosion resistance, rivaling high end aluminum, while the disadvantages are that its still hard to work with and in the development stages. But they do say that for folks that know what they are doing (IF) some nice bikes have been made with it.

http://www.bikemag.com/news/newsarchive/110305_dain/

p.s. Lisa, do understand that not all 'stainless steel' will have the properties of reynolds 953, that is just one particular alloy. It has a very high strength to weight ratio, so the tubing can be very thin and therefore light. But some of the older 'stainless steel' bikes, like that vintage one on ebay are quite heavy. When discussing frame materials, its best to discuss particular alloys, as we well know there are many different flavors of 'steel'. I personally *love* reynolds 853 steel, but never had the opporunity to try 953, although it sounds quite exciting.

[elk]

that bike sold for $89.00!!

[sandra]

that bike sold for $89.00!!
Yeah, but $75 to ship it. I don't think it will actually cost that much to ship it. There were 17 bids. One person really wanted it, but someone swooped in in the last 5 seconds and go it. :eek: I think there is some type of program that does that last minute bidding like that.

[emily_in_nc]

Yeah, but $75 to ship it. I don't think it will actually cost that much to ship it. There were 17 bids. One person really wanted it, but someone swooped in in the last 5 seconds and go it. :eek: I think there is some type of program that does that last minute bidding like that.

Yep, there are several such services, like esnipe (dot com). I use it when I really, really need to win an ebay auction and won't be around near the end (for example, it ends after I'll be in bed, or during the workday, or on a weekend when I'll be out of town.)

Emily

[tulip]

My Jamis Coda is unpainted steel--does that make it stainless steel? It's very pretty. It's a 2003 model.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

My Jamis Coda is unpainted steel--does that make it stainless steel? It's very pretty. It's a 2003 model.

Probably not SS, I'd say. Probably has a sealant clearcoat of some sort on it to prevent rust.

[sandra]

My Jamis Coda is unpainted steel--does that make it stainless steel? It's very pretty. It's a 2003 model.

Would love to see a picture of it!