I am new to cycling and have read some reviews about steel frame bikes. It seems the feel of steel bikes is a bit better on bumpy roads (like many roads here in TW). I’ve never tried one and would like to know some opinions of cyclists in the area. Also perhaps someone could suggest a good shop to look for a steel bike in Taipei. It seems TW is the land of the aluminum or carbon frame!
IMHO, the frame material does not have much of an impact on comfort - not nearly as much as say tyre width. There ares some very compliant aluminium frames out there.
Don’t limit yourself to specific bike materials or components. Just find a variety of different bikes in your budget, get test rides and see which one you’re happiest with.
IMO there’s a noticeable difference between riding steel and aluminium. Steel doesn’t transmit nearly as much of the road vibration up into your contact points on the bike as aluminium does. Steel’s a bit heavier so if you’re concerned about bike weight then go with Aluminium - If comfort and a bit of frame flex are desirable then go with steel.
Test ride a steel bike and you’ll notice the difference but, as greenmark says, keep your options open.
Voodoo are one of the only steel framed MTBs I’ve seen retail in Taiwan. In Taipei, the bike shop on Jianguo south of Heping stocks Voodoo steel frames. I bought my wife a Voodoo Bizango Reynolds 853 frame from him a few years ago and believe I paid NT10,000
I have been lusting after one of these for several months.
Its the only Jamis I’ve seen in the shop, though. Its a steel-frame fixie and is sweet.
The shop is just a few doors north of the Xindian City Office MRT station, next to a 24-hour Mos Burger. You can’t miss it. Mainly Orbea and Fuji bikes, but they have that Jamis Beatnik, so they might be worth talking to about other Jamis bikes.
Its the last year one I’ve seen too, actually. The sort of graphite grey one? I think he quoted me NT$13,000, but it could easily have been NT$16,000. My memory, you know… I do remember complaining that the frame would be too small for me and he said he could get a bigger one no problem.
I suppose you’d have to dress like this, though, when you go for a ride.
As for steel bikes, I agree those Jamises at the OP’s link look very nice. Funny, though, how 20 years ago I rode a steel bike and recall some excitement back then about aluminum and carbon fiber, but it seems now steel is trendy again. Not saying it doesn’t perform differently than other materials, it just seems that part of its appeal today is retro fashion.
If I ever return to the States, I’ll have to pull my old steel bike out of my storage locker and maybe I’ll be trendy (even if it is just a Fuji).
“Pretty ladies out walkin’ with gorillas down my street,
From my window I watch 'em while my coffee gets cold…”
“Happy lovin’ couples make it look so easy!”
Thanks for the memories, MT.
(I still have a pair of those shoes, btw)
Gentlemen, you’ve got to keep an open mind, and try a titanium frame. The feel of steel at half the weight, without the metal fatigue and harshness of aluminium. Even CF stays don’t fix the Al feel.
XACD in China can make a titanium frame custom built to your specs for half the price of that Jamis.
Old lugged steel with lugged hand-brazed connections between thin gauge butted tubing is often better than many new bikes steel’s welded frames, for which the steel tubes need to be heavier. Of course, some old bikes were also fillet-welded. Think old-school Schwinn traveller, etc. 40 pound bikes from the early 60s through the late 70s.
Thanks for the opinions folks. I’d like to at least try a nice steel bike with a carbon fork to see what it feels like. I am not a racer, but I would like it to be a general purpose bike for both long distance and maybe do a triathlon (just to see if I can complete it!). I’d like a bit of style too!
I went to 7th Park bicycle store and they had this Italian made Gios Sessanta, steel frame with carbon fork. It’s about 9 kilos. http://www.gios.it/bike/?Sessanta It’s listed as NTD 61,000 but he said he would give me a significant discount since people in Taiwan generally don’t want to spend much cash on a steel frame bike. It still seems a bit pricey for me!
[quote=“kaejan”]IMO there’s a noticeable difference between riding steel and aluminium. Steel doesn’t transmit nearly as much of the road vibration up into your contact points on the bike as aluminium does. Steel’s a bit heavier so if you’re concerned about bike weight then go with Aluminium - If comfort and a bit of frame flex are desirable then go with steel.
Test ride a steel bike and you’ll notice the difference but, as greenmark says, keep your options open.
Voodoo are one of the only steel framed MTBs I’ve seen retail in Taiwan. In Taipei, the bike shop on Jianguo south of Heping stocks Voodoo steel frames. I bought my wife a Voodoo Bizango Reynolds 853 frame from him a few years ago and believe I paid NT10,000[/quote]
The reason alu frames have their reputation of being stiff is that because of the weight savings provided by the material allowed manufacturers to use wider tube diameters which led to stiffer frames. However, some manufacturers can and do design aluminium frames with slightly narrower tubes which are not any stiffer than a bog standard steel frame.
Sheldon Brown has a good explanation as to why the frame material is relatively unimportant on the stiffness of the frame:
If you want a comfortable bike though, don’t think about the frame material but try out instead cyclo-cross or randonneur style bikes (eg Jamis Nova, Surly Cross-Check). They’ll allow you to use wider tyres and mudguards which have more of an effect on comfort than pretty much anything else I’ve ever tried.
Again, try a few bikes out before committing to anything.
As for titanium - you can try XACD as Uradocus suggested or, if you don’t know how to design a custom frame, try Beijing Titanium Bicycle www.ti-bicycle.com who do excellent copies of the van Nicholas frames for much the same price. Come to think of it - I’ve a 54cm frame from them based on, I think, the van Nicholas Chinook frame. It’s probably too big for you, circleback, but if as I can’t be faffed building up my dream bike with it then if someone wants, PM me about it.
I second that emotion though 700c is the same size. I’ve had an alum. Cyclo-cross and a steel 29er running the same tires ( specialized.com/us/en/bc/SBC … Id=0&eid=0 ) and these bad boys are cush and fast enough to be worth it. To run fatter tires on a 700c bike you need to consider clearance under your brake calipers or else just run v’s instead.
Have you guys that suggested the custom frame builders used those companies and if so what are their track records?
That’s because it has expensive components. From what I’ve seen of Gios bikes the build quality is not all that good.
One thing that the bike has which is good for a newbie is the compact gearing (50/34 x 12/25T)[/quote]
Nope, it’s expensive because it’s an Italian brand road bike in Taiwan, nothing more… Veloce is Campy’s entry level groupset, hardly bells and whistles and even at absurd TW aftermarket prices under NT$20k for the whole groupset… I agree with you about Gios bikes not being all that though and that’s why IMO NT$61k is a bit ridiculous for entry level groupset, cheap and cheerful inhouse fork and parts and an older than dirt frame design with a nasty paintjob…
I think what you say about steel frames being better on bumpy roads is correct. I’ve got an aluminum Giant M1 (Taiwan made 2007) and a steel (lugged) Bridgestone MB-1 (Japan made 1991). Both bikes are comparable in their design, since the M1 is basically a road bike with MTB characteristics and the MB-1 a MTB with road bike characteristics. There is a noticeable difference in feel when you ride them back to back, but it’s quite a subjective thing and it can be more subtle than you’d think. The steel MB-1 has more flex and it feels rather bouncy compared to the alu M1. On bumpy road, it feels a bit like riding with a big spring suspension on your seatpost. That’s really the biggest difference in feel compared to the alu bike. I also get the impression that it’s slightly more efficient and less tiring riding the steel MB-1 uphill than the M1, even using 2.1 knobby tires on it compared to slick 1.3 tires on the M1. While I think both bikes have a very smooth ride, I tend to prefer riding my steel bike, but that could be for sentimental reasons too, since I’ve owned the MB-1 for a lot longer than the M1. Perhaps many reviewers of steel bikes are also biased in this way.
If you want to test ride both my bikes (alu bike is size 17" and the other one 18") for a first-hand A/B comparison and don’t mind coming to Xizhi, just let me know.
