Lightest, stiffest most rigid steel frame ever

[pete_mcc]

Try being more careful with how you word your responses then. That guy raised a valid point - light, stiff and rigid don't go hand in hand. A yeti is stiff and rigid but not light, a P22 is light but not stiff or rigid.

Personally I love my Roberts:

Sort of stiff & rigid in the right places, compliant in others and lighter than cast iron but not as good as titanium. It's the perfect compromise, a bike to ride all day. Now on its third respray and rebuild as it does get used and used...

 

[yo-eddy]

Grove Hard Core by a landslide as it comes to stiffness and rigidity .... not the lightest though....
I challenge anyone to find a stiffer frame

 

[Chopper the ex Copper]

sexier names of the time like Muddy Pox, Saracen etc.

Was that a typo or a dig.

A playful dig

 

[legrandefromage]

Peugeot Teamline 2000 - Columbus Nivacrom. It was far too nice for a big lump like me to be riding round on. I almost wept when I rode it.

 

[legrandefromage]

Try being more careful with how you word your responses then. That guy raised a valid point - light, stiff and rigid don't go hand in hand. A yeti is stiff and rigid but not light, a P22 is light but not stiff or rigid.

Personally I love my Roberts:

Sort of stiff & rigid in the right places, compliant in others and lighter than cast iron but not as good as titanium. It's the perfect compromise, a bike to ride all day. Now on its third respray and rebuild as it does get used and used...

As an aside: Do any of your bikes have worn rims? My Zaskar is just about the only bike with good anodising as I ran an early Hope disc for many years.

 

[shogun700]

Already posted this in the similar thread on the other site, might as well add it here-I think Columbus Nivacrom fits the bill, but I'm biased:

I suppose fillet brazing adds some weight but certainly doesn't hurt stiffness....

Some info on Columbus Max Nivacrom and the Santana Moda. Interesting that the tubes are drawn ovalized, and not squashed round tubes:

 

[pete_mcc]

As an aside: Do any of your bikes have worn rims? My Zaskar is just about the only bike with good anodising as I ran an early Hope disc for many years.

Ha! They do but I would never photo them after the brakes hit the rims and ruin the impression that I have an endless supply! I've just finished this one's rebuild after its latest respray and have moved from the old mavic group that was on it to a NOS Suntour XC Pro group I found under the sofa.

 

[Blackstar]

My favourite steel frame is IONIC

who needs paint?

 

[merckx]

Ritchey P Series frames. take your pick, for mine, the team series P21

 

[doctor-bond]

There is an element of 'horses for courses' to this question. The qualities that are desirable for a race frame aren't necessarily what you'd want from an expedition bike or an all rounder.

The best handling frame I've ridden was a 753 Roberts: stiff but not too light, so the frame mass gave some compliance and predictability. However, still a bit too unforgiving for my non-racing needs.




Also had a road frame made of 653 record: ie a 753 rear end and an ultra thin-walled 531 front triangle (653 was apparently developed with Eddy Merckx who found pure 753 frames too stiff for tour riding). Great power transfer but comfortable and lively.

Yet for all round usability and making you want to ride a bit further, Tange Prestige still gets my vote.


So if I were to try and produce the 'best' steel retro frame, I'd get a master builder to produce a frame of around 5lb in weight; out of heat treated cro-mo, with a stiff rear triangle and a thin-walled, pingy front. (The new breed of super alloyed steels are probably awesome, but if it wasn't available in the 80's it's out for me.)

And being a dinosaur, I'd also suggest that aesthetics are important, so to be the best, I'd want the frame to look like a Swallow and be lugged and fillet brazed.