European Steel or American Alloy
- Thread starter john
- Start date
until 12 years ago i was all over for slim italian steel, chrome, nice lugs and rode them alot. i just never liked the not really stiff ride (i'm 6'4" and not overly skinny...) and they scared me more than once on fast descends. a buddy recommended to try a Cannondale. i liked the stiffer ride and more efficient power transfer but not the geometry so i somewhen test rode a Klein Quantum and was sold. i never looked back and still have my Quantum Race i have bought in late 96 and love it. a few others followed... and they look good too 
that's one i have built for a friend
that's one i have built for a friend
European every day of the week. Specializeds, Treks, C'Dales have no soul whatsoever.
Any handbuilt bike has bags of soul regardless of where it was made.
'Tis why I swing my leg over a Dolan built Cougar every day*
*not strictly true, I bought the Cougar not fully aware of what I was buying (NOS). Great paint job, Ultegra & D Ace finishing kit but most importnatly a killer price. Whilst waiting for it to be built up I discovered that the frame alone was probably worth 50% more than what I was paying for the whole build!
Any handbuilt bike has bags of soul regardless of where it was made.
'Tis why I swing my leg over a Dolan built Cougar every day*
*not strictly true, I bought the Cougar not fully aware of what I was buying (NOS). Great paint job, Ultegra & D Ace finishing kit but most importnatly a killer price. Whilst waiting for it to be built up I discovered that the frame alone was probably worth 50% more than what I was paying for the whole build!
i'm not surprised to see steel on top here. until recently alloy was all but unrideable, IMHO. but my Al frame of reference includes only a ~1990 klein quantum and a late-90s cannondale (w/carbon fork). so it's probably not a fair contest against the steel bikes i've owned, a 1990 sachs and a 1992 scapin el-os.
not to knock modern materials (and material science) though...carbon and carbon/metal 'skeleton' frames are some seriously engineered gear, and lowly old ti still gives a great ride.
not to knock modern materials (and material science) though...carbon and carbon/metal 'skeleton' frames are some seriously engineered gear, and lowly old ti still gives a great ride.
