Aluminium or Steel 531 Frame?

singspeed

I am building up a road bike but can't decide on frame material. I like the proven durability of steel (I have a 40 year old racer which I use on a daily basis and it rides beautifully), but then the resistance to corrosion of aluminium also appeals to me.

In terms of weight, is there much of a difference between steel and aluminium frames?

What frame material would you recommend for a road bike I will use to get around London on a daily basis?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

dennisn

singspeed wrote:

I am building up a road bike but can't decide on frame material. I like the proven durability of steel (I have a 40 year old racer which I use on a daily basis and it rides beautifully), but then the resistance to corrosion of aluminium also appeals to me.

In terms of weight, is there much of a difference between steel and aluminium frames?

What frame material would you recommend for a road bike I will use to get around London on a daily basis?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

If you have a 40 year old steel bike that you still use and it hasn't corroded yet, why would you be concerned about a new steel bike corroding. I think the corrosion aspect
of steel bikes is way overplayed by the makes of titanium, aluminum, and carbon so they
can sell their bikes. After all, what can they say bad about steel except that it's heavy
and can rust. One of which your 40 year old steely has atready disproved and we all
know that steel is a bit heavier.

Dennis Noward

John C.

You can pick up an alloy frame on ebay for 20 quid , a decent 531 will set you back a ton. these are being bought by cyclists, what does that tell you. If you can aford it go for steel, a light weight steel frame will only weigh 15-1700 gramms about the same as alloy but will be more comfortable. Enjoy your project

geoff_ss

I've got a number of decent 531/653 frames; one of them is a 60 year old Mercian in perfect condition. Steel frames are fine and almost infinitely repairable.

However, I chose a Kinesis TK08 aluminium frame for my new bike this year mostly because I wanted to try something different. It's built into an excellent bike that feels very positive when climbing - ie I get the sense that all my effort is going into turning the back wheel rather than flexing the frame. It's as comfortable as any of my steel framed bikes and a lot of my riding is done on the narrow, hilly and bumpy lanes of S Derbyshire and the White Peak. My wheels are Shimano 105 hubs built into 32 hole Mavic Open-Pro rims shod with 23mm Schwalbe Blizzard tyres. So it's not as though I'm using fat,soft tyres.

To be honest, I doubt if there's much to choose between any decent frame regardless of the material. A lot of the differences are the ones that may give a racing cyclist a few seconds advantage and a non-racing cyclist wouldn't notice.

Geoff

markos1963

Buying secondhand I would go steel, as has already been said if a steel frme has lasted this long then corrosion isn't a problem is it( don't forget most 'steel' used in bike building is an alloy of some sort) The amount of friends I know who have bought secondhand ali' frames to find them cracked is enough to put me off. Aluminium is great when new but work hardens over time. Love my new carbon bike though

Dai_bach

The fatigue life of an aluminium frame is much shorter than a steel frame, something like 5-8 years of regular riding. When an aluminium structure fails it will do so suddenly and often catastrophically. As other posters have mentioned, steel frames can be repaired easily.

Don't forget that frame geometry and tube cross section is as important as material choice when determining ride characteristics.

meagain

"a light weight steel frame will only weigh 15-1700 gramms about the same as alloy but will be more comfortable." [My emphasis]

Why, pray? IF the geometry/angles/wheels/tyres etc etc are all IDENTICAL, then one (according to tubing used, the way manipulated etc) may be more "comfortable" than the other. Though how one defines comfort so that it means the same thing to different riders I know not. I simply do not believe that steel per se is inherently more comfortable.

All (only 3 at present) my current bikes are steel. They are also all variants on 531. They do not all feel the same - mainly I suspect because of wheel base, chainstay length and head/seat angles.

Most comfortable bike I have ever owned was carbon. Second titanium. Third steel. Or maybe alu (an old Univega that just happened to fit like a glove!).

Choose the prettiest and the best OF ITS MATERIAL that you can afford!

meagain

"don't forget most 'steel' used in bike building is an alloy of some sort)"

Surely ALL steel is an alloy?

markos1963

meagain wrote:

"don't forget most 'steel' used in bike building is an alloy of some sort)"

Surely ALL steel is an alloy?

Yes sorry, what I meant was that quality tubesets have extra alloys in them compared to mild steels and as a byproduct give better corrosion resistance

John C.

I suppose the thing to do is buy quality, be it alloy or steel. My Kenesis Racelight is alloy and reasonably comfy but not as comfy as my old steel winter bike. The Kenesis I admit you would not get for 20 pounds, more like a hundred second hand, the same as a 531 steel. Have fun deciding, and more fun deciding which kit to put on it.

eh

Don't ever buy a frame based on material since most of the ride quality comes from the geometry. And certainly don't believe the aluminium fatigue stories (any designer worth their salt will have taken this into account), and steel corrosion stories are over played if the bike is well looked after again it shouldn't be an issue.

One thing worth noting though is that the availbility of steel framed bikes is way smaller than even 10 years ago as very few of the big manufactures make them in bulk anymore.