Why 'STEEL IS REAL' - the science bit!

[shaun]

...........although I do recall picture of the predecessor being made from wood.

...some still are, this is a mahogany RENOVO frame I kid you not. :shock: Never ridden one, but I bet the ride feels a little 'WOODEN'.

 

[shaun]

Is it just me, but do you also find it a bit scary when you see composite seatposts snapped in half and cracked frames on the net! :shock:

 

[We_are_Stevo]

We don't all possess your rapier wit.

Thank god.

That wasn't meant to be derogatory; I was in bed and couldn't keep my eyes open much longer...

...anyway, if money was no object and I was having a custom frame built I would spec steel every time, for all the same reasons as the OP.

I also prefer the aesthetics of a slim-tubed steel frame; Ti is ultimately too fragile; aluminium too stiff (for a rigid/hardtail); all composites break (F1 is a prime example; truckloads of spares to replace bits that fall to pieces because they are built for a purpose, and when they fail they've served that purpose); and apart from anything else, very few modern bikes have any 'individuality' - they all look pretty much alike, bit boring really...

 

[highlandsflyer]

Well, er, you are actually kidding me if you are telling me that is mahogany!

 

[We_are_Stevo]

Fascinating! :shock:

 

[hamster]

Stevo I can't agree that all composites break - there are an amazing number of 1960's GRP boats around...

But composites do have the nasty habit of failing without warning and usually catastrophically. Personally I wouldn't ride a bike with a carbon steerer or seatpost.

Too much of the material story is shaped by lazy journalism that steel is springy, Alu is stiff, Ti is magic etc.

You can make a steel frame as stiff as a board, but steel bikes are often springy because the can be - springy Alu bikes usually fail from fatigue.

 

[We_are_Stevo]

There is a huge difference between a modern composite anything and a half inch thick fibreglass boat hull...

I remember the first time I went fishing in Windboats Marine boatyard in Norfolk as a teenager and seeing a concrete hull...

...you could say the 'ultimate' composite!

Also, who else remembers watching the TV program BiTD about Caroline Alexander's (I think??) monocoque carbon fibre bike development, and how many of them kept breaking?

 

[highlandsflyer]

We don't all possess your rapier wit.

Thank god.

That wasn't meant to be derogatory; I was in bed and couldn't keep my eyes open much longer...

I was not being derogatory either.

How would I get anything done if I was constantly pausing to laugh?

I don't buy some of the claims for those wooden bikes, and they seem to address a need that is cosmetic and aspirational rather that anything else.

Like I have said elsewhere, I don't see any need to pick between materials in this way.

I use titanium where it is cheap and practical.

I use composites similarly.

I like aluminium, being light and cheap it features on most of my frames.

Steel is the most primal of the common frame materials.

It connects with my psyche.

Poor steel. Give it a break.

Don't worry about the rest, they will all give themselves a break. When you least expect it.

 

[novekili]

Well, er, you are actually kidding me if you are telling me that is mahogany!

I've been road riding my wooden rims for ages and they still hold well

 

[highlandsflyer]

I am going to bet they are not mahogany either.