steel? carbon? or steel/carbon combo?

[caligurl]

which is best? all steel? all carbon? or a combination of steel and carbon?

[SadieKate]

Geez, it depends. How are you planning to use the bike? What kind of riding do you do? What are your likes/dislikes about your current frame? I assume from all your other questions, you are talking road?

[caligurl]

sorry! yes... road! i normally do rides between 20 and 40 miles... but i also like to so longer (metric century's) and plan to do some real centuries!

i don't really have any complaints about my current bike ride-wise... (aluminum with carbon fork and seat post) but i know i've read a LOT about steel and full carbon!

[massbikebabe]

Carbon...just love the stuff...never been on a sweeter ride, and I've owned steel aluminium, ti, and carbon is by far the best
Pricey, but best..

karen

[sarahfixit]

If you can afford all carbon then do it. Otherwise I would say steel/carbon.

[Veronica]

How long does carbon last?

V.

[doc]

The new lightweight steel is supposed to be amazing. Steel will definitely outlast carbon which can crack. Steel is also felt to be more flexible and provide a less stiff, more comfortable ride than carbon. Of course both are superior to aluminum which is light but completely inflexible.

[Trek420]

I looooove my steel bike, the ride, the way it handles. Every so often I wish it was a little stiffer, if I'm feeling frisky on a hill I might lust after a few more fancy carbon bits. But I love steel. :p

[Veronica]

I too love steel. And descending on my bike is pretty close to heaven. Whatever line I pick on a twisty descent, the bike follows. No wobbles, nothing.

I asked about the durability of carbon because my personal feeling is that if I'm going to spend a couple K on a bike, I want it to last a decade or two. We have such a throw away society these days. And I know, steel bikes do get thrown away, but not by me. :p

Veronica

[sarahfixit]

Asuming no abuse, carbon will outlast any of the materials, but it is vulnderable to cracking from impacts.
I can attest to the feel of steel. I only have one AL bike if that says anything ;)
My Sedona actually let me finish a trail race after sustaining a 1.5 inch kink in one of the tubes! That was with rocks and climbs and all for 7miles. Did not even know until it was over. Then there is the other cool thing with steel, I fixed it. Welded a new tube in and now Im painting it up. Can't do that too well with the other materials.
That being said, Carbon has come a long way to being tough. As long as you are carful to look for deep pits and scratches it is good stuff.

[ctwirlee]

Love my Gunnar Roadie, and the "classic" steel frame -- but everything else on my bike is carbon (Easton and FSA) except the saddle and pedals. Oh, and my rims are alloy not carbon, but superlight handmades.

Carbon just smoothes out the already ultra-smooth ride of the steel (especially the handlebars) and shaves off weight. It's a nice combo.

[MightyMitre]

Steel/Carbon - intersting combination. Not seen much over here. Steel is generally thought of as a bit 'old skool' - although there's LOADs of people who swear by it. My winter bike is steel and I love it.

Alu/Carbon is the most common combination here. Leading Italian frame builders like De Rosa and Pinarello have started doing very groovey things with the stuff .

Check this out.
http://www.derosanews.com/ Click on Products/Bike de Rosa then have a squint at the Merak. ( Sorry - it wouldn't let me do a direct link)

They use a special process on the alloy and the top tube has this cool sculpted effect.

[SadieKate]

One thing I like about steel (other than the wonderful ride) is that it is repairable, customizable, etc. You want another bottle cage, you have a crash and need a fix, you're tired of the color and you want it re-powdered? Voila! Done!

I have never ridden an all carbon frame, but hubby who has a steel bike and a carbon bike says the carbon has a nice ride but feels "numb" compared to steel. It doesn't have the liveliness of steel. He feels a bit disconnected from the road on the carbon. When we go on long rides or rough roads, he takes the steel.

Me? I have 1980's old-school lugged steel Mercian which cannot really be compared with today's steel frames (though she ain't bad!). But I can compare a modern day steel cross Kelly Knobby X and a Litespeed Tuscany Ti road frame. The Kelly has an incredible feel, light, lively, quick and painted in my choice color. The new steel tubing and the frame/fork geometry makes it a real lightweight winner.

For the price of a nice custom or semi-custom steel frame, you'd have a superb one of a kind bike (go Waterford, Rivendell, Kelly, you name it). There is a plethora of fine American builders.

One last thought: these materials all behave differently under different weight loads. Carbon and Alu can be stiff and harsh under a lightweight rider unless you have just the right tubing and frame design. Before you buy a frame from one of these, try to talk to riders of a similar weight to see what they think.

[MightyMitre]

One thing I like about steel (other than the wonderful ride) is that it is repairable, customizable, etc. You want another bottle cage, you have a crash and need a fix, you're tired of the color and you want it re-powdered?

Good point Sadiekate - there's still a big place in the world for steel. :)

[caligurl]

i asked about steel cuz margo (luna) uses steel.. but she has options of adding some carbon parts (fork and another area... the rear) or i could have all steel.

if i went carbon.. it would more than likely be a "cookie cutter" bike as in a premade giant or trek...

i'm leaning more to the custom fit to me luna! :)

also... i'm small (which is why i feel the custom is really important) i'm only 5'2" and weigh *gaps* am i putting this on the internet!?! 111 pounds (112 on a bad day :mad: )

i have (so i've been told) long legs for my height

i know i've read a LOT of good things about steel!

[admiral finch]

I agree with everything that has been said about steel. Currently, I'm riding an 02 lemond Buenos Aires (her name is Hen) that is all steel. I switched the steel fork for carbon and I've been exceedingly satisfied with the improvement of the handling and, especially on decents. I'm having a new frame built for me--I'm also short and I have weird proportions, like an extra long torso for my height-- and I had the option of getting either a steel or a carbon frame. I chose to go with a Waterford steel frame and I'm really excited to get the bike! Not only will it be built for me, but I'll be able to put what I want on it, and... the best part... it is the color I wanted--a fade from light yellow to vanilla--and I had the carbon fork painted to match. WOO. Yah, I'm girlie right now, I know. I'm stoked on the whole color thing because I didn't want the standard black and gray.
I'll be putting a carbon seat post on, but using an aluminum Ritchey stem and aluminum bars. If I were to crash, those two items would be most likely to need replacing if they were carbon.
Another thing about steel that you'll want to pay attention to is the grade of steel--531, 631, 753, 853, etc... and what tubing is made of what grade.
For instance, I thought the lemond was 753 throughout, but it's really only 753 on the seat tube and is 531 on the rest of the frame. I really don't know too much about what the different grades are, but I did find this site that could be helpful:

https://vault2.secured-url.com/reynolds/steel531.html

So. Those are my two cents. Good luck!

A.F.

[MightyMitre]

Love 531 tubing. Do you know why?

Because Reynolds is my surname!!

Gives me a chuckle when I ride my steel bike because the tubing has my name on it.:p

[Veronica]

Okay so I weighed 111 when I was in 6th grade.

V.

[massbikebabe]

Veronica:

hahahahhahahahahaha...you read my mind. I would not post my weight anywhere these days even if you had a rifle to my head:D Maybe in May after I get my most serious miles in...

karen

[spazzdog]

Have you seen the 2005 Bianchi 928 L'UNA Record?

Very expensive, but goddess is it gorgeous... all white carbon (though it looks gray in the photo).

Go to http://www.bianchiusa.com/548.html for a peek.

Another great photo at the Interbike 2005 show is at
http://www.sammamishcycle.com/interbike/Interbike-086.jpg

[caligurl]

that bianchi is gorgeous! my hubby actually emailed me the links from work the other day (and one of a gorgeous white bike with red handlebar tape! flashy!)

[admiral finch]

Oh wow, I agree. My shop guys all wanted that when they came back from Interbike. They pushed me to get it when I was looking for the new bike. so pretty....

[emily_in_nc]

Originally posted by caligurl
which is best? all steel? all carbon? or a combination of steel and carbon?

Hi caligurl,

I have an all-carbon bike (Aegis Swift), all steel (Bike Friday Petite Pocket Crusoe), and steel with carbon fork (Terry Isis), and they are all great bikes and very comfortable rides. There is a noticeable difference in weight between most steel and carbon bikes, though. My Aegis comes in at 18.5 lbs including saddle, pedals, wb cages, and small seat bag. The Bike Friday, about 21 lbs, and the Terry, about 23 lbs.

When you're small like us (I'm 5'2" and lightweight also), bike weight is more important than in larger riders, because every lb. you add or subtract from the bike is a higher percentage of your body weight. And when you're already as light as you are, it's not like you can lose another 10 lbs off your body to "lighten up" as many riders could afford to.

If you ride mostly the flats, you might not notice a difference, but for hills, I do better on my lightest bike. I can achieve a higher average speed on that bike than the others. Of course, my Friday has wider tires, which slows me down, but the Terry also has 23c tires. For a given route and effort level, I was about 1 mph slower on my Terry than I am on my Aegis, which is why the Terry is on my trainer now!

However, my Terry is a 2001 model. I expect a brand new Luna with part carbon would be lighter, especially if you equip it with light components, use light wheels, and the like. I have heard wonderful things about Luna and would certainly consider one myself if I were in the market for a custom bike. I've read and agree that frame material is just one of many components to consider when buying a new bike, and that all have their pros and cons. I personally suspect you'd be happy with either carbon or a steel/carbon mix as long as the bike fits you and is beautiful - and I am sure it will be!

Good luck and let us know what you decide...

Emily