KillRamsey
Hall of Famer
- Location
- Hood River, OR
- Name
- Kyle
It’s hard to generalize too much. Steel is, overall, more supple and forgiving. Aluminum is stiffer, so it requires a different attitude from the engineers to let it flex a little better (vertically ovalized chain stays, horizontally ovalized seat stays so it is stiff pedaling but the seat tube can flex a little when hitting bumps). It’s a LOT easier to make a LIGHT frame cheaply out of AL, period. To make steel close to that light, you’ve got to use high quality tubing that’s been double or triple butted, which ain’t cheap. So when we’re talking about the lower end of the price spectrum (bikes that retail new for under $1,400), then AL frames let the manufacturer up the drivetrain, brakes, etc a level or two and hold the same $ point. Even then, the steel bike is gonna be a pound or two heavier. But, plenty of high end steel bikes come in at like 22 or 23 pounds… that’s not HEAVY unless you’re a wilting violet who can’t get anything north of 17 lbs up a hill.
Now amongst those $1,400 bikes with AL frames, they’re not all the same. If you look for things like ideally a nice carbon fork that’s super light and absorbs bumps somewhat better than AL… those are better than big, round, stiff tubes all around. And the big thing that internet geniuses never talk about is the fact that your tire size / model has WAY more impact on your ride quality than the frame material. If you’re riding on 25s, sure, every little bit of supple helps. But when you’re floating on 35s, 40s? Honestly it doesn’t matter.
In summary, the alleged harshness of Aluminum really hasn’t ever bugged me. And if I love everything else about a steel bike, and I’m not trying to race it, then it’s a great bike. My wife’s beloved 70s Peugot single speed, that she rode loaded with front bags from Pittsburgh to DC on a mix of pavement and gravel, is the cheapest plain-gauge (one thickness, no butting) steel tubing there is. It’s relatively heavy, and it sags and wiggles more than other bikes when loaded and ridden hard. But she LOVES it. That thick tubing is indestructible. It takes a heavy load juuuuust fine.
Now amongst those $1,400 bikes with AL frames, they’re not all the same. If you look for things like ideally a nice carbon fork that’s super light and absorbs bumps somewhat better than AL… those are better than big, round, stiff tubes all around. And the big thing that internet geniuses never talk about is the fact that your tire size / model has WAY more impact on your ride quality than the frame material. If you’re riding on 25s, sure, every little bit of supple helps. But when you’re floating on 35s, 40s? Honestly it doesn’t matter.
In summary, the alleged harshness of Aluminum really hasn’t ever bugged me. And if I love everything else about a steel bike, and I’m not trying to race it, then it’s a great bike. My wife’s beloved 70s Peugot single speed, that she rode loaded with front bags from Pittsburgh to DC on a mix of pavement and gravel, is the cheapest plain-gauge (one thickness, no butting) steel tubing there is. It’s relatively heavy, and it sags and wiggles more than other bikes when loaded and ridden hard. But she LOVES it. That thick tubing is indestructible. It takes a heavy load juuuuust fine.