What steel frames do you ride or are thinking of?

With all the talk of carbon this and carbon that there has been talk of people going back to steel frames so  i was wondering what people are rolling on. Old, new, reclaimed, road, mtb ......

I have 

'86(?) Colnago Super Sprint

late 90s Fausto Coppi as the work horse

Surly 1x1 SS race mtb

Shogun Trail Breaker SS - Wet weather special

Projects/lying around

Raleigh Super Course MK2

Malvern Star 5 Star from way back in the day, plucked out of someones garden - insanely light for its age

Tags: building, retro, steel

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Permalink Reply by David Southern on July 11, 2012 at 19:33

You could cut the stem off with a hacksaw, after removing the bolt that holds the wedge.  Then disassemble the headset, and renove the fork from the bike.  That should make it easier to file the stem stump from the inside.

Whether using a file or a hacksaw blade, care is needed to avoid cutting into the steerer tube.

It may be possible to use the headset locknut as a "lifter" by carefully packing the space between the locknut and the underside of the gooseneck part of the stem, and then unscrewing the locknut with a suitable spanner.

Another possibility, if height is not a serious problem, would be to cut the stem off leaving sufficient space for an A-head stem/gooseneck, and use a shorter bolt and a washer to secure the stem wedge.

Permalink Reply by Trevor Hill on July 13, 2012 at 10:08


A mix of some of my steel bikes, photo taken a few years ago, some have been sold. Bike on far right is a Malvern Star with the 3 speed top tube shifter.

The green bike also was sold a few years ago. Modified 10 speed to be a skid kid type bike or early MTB.

Permalink Reply by David Butcher on July 17, 2012 at 15:10

I've been riding an 80's Ricardo Tri Series for last 8 years...enjoyed it so much that have done a reno as couldnt face replacing it with a lesser but more modern ride, only to have it hanging in the rafters. Had so much fun sourcing and building and now riding it again...cost about $800 in parts (new and second hand) but couldnt get a new bike that would appeal to me as much as this one does.


Also have an Avanti Kiss 29er (4130 cromo) with 8 speed Alfine which has also been lots of fun

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Permalink Reply by Ian Mawbey on July 17, 2012 at 23:08

David, how easy was it to convert to the Alfine?

Permalink Reply by David Butcher on July 18, 2012 at 13:32

Very easy...ordered hub, new rim and shifter from On One and got LBS to lace up the hub to rim. Need to specify what type of drop outs when ordering the hub so that you get the right spacers (these are the bits that lock the axle to prevent it turning in the dropouts).

The new wheel and hub went on the bike in place of the original single speed wheel...I used the same sprocket size (32t on front and 20t rear)so did not need to change chain length.

The chain line for the Alfine is a few mm narrower than for the original hub, but not enough to cause any visual or mechanical problems...have been using now for 18 months and still on original chain and sprockets. Works really well and turns a great single speed bike into a great all rounder.

Permalink Reply by Ian Mawbey on July 18, 2012 at 19:20

+1

Cheers David :)

Permalink Reply by Benno on July 18, 2012 at 14:06

Steel frames are very nice to ride, if you like your comfort!, thanks to Peter McDonald for this Scapin

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Permalink Reply by Peter Macdonald on July 18, 2012 at 18:14

Great effort on restoration Ben. Glad to see you are enjoying the bike. I sent this to my B-in-law John Bastiras it was his bike originally and he was the one who got it chromed.

Permalink Reply by Charles on September 1, 2012 at 19:38

Kona Sutra Touring Bike 2011, heavey as hell but handles like a dream when fully loaded with front and back panniers.  The steel is Kona Cromoly Butted.The avid disc brakes provides full confidence when coasting down hill at over 70kph.The only thing I changed at point of sale was the saddle, upgrading to a Brooks B17 and the addition of a rear view mirror. The rear rack is exellent and the front rack is adequate but with a view to upgrading. Wheels are exellent but tyres are a matter of choice pending your touring needs. Very happy with the running gear and clearly Kona have not compropmised on the rear deraiilier.There are a number of components that come standard on the Kona and which makes this exellent value for your money. I purchased this bike locally at about the same price as I ould have done online.  I have done about 10 short to medium tours on this bike and planning to ride Perth to Adelaide across the Nullabor in April 2013. However, I do love my Carbon BMC SLO1 Roadracer road bike and would not ride atop any other material in a group ride situation.

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