Whats so good about steel framed hardtails?

Newbie question but ive never ridden one .
Whats so special about a steel framed bike compoared to a similar priced aluminium one? Need some opinions as after something different for summer.
thanks,
Whats so special about a steel framed bike compoared to a similar priced aluminium one? Need some opinions as after something different for summer.
thanks,
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When descending at speed the frame is at its best. It will deform, bend, and flex in such a way that will carry you over you over the rough stuff in a floating, momentum carrying, fun affirming way that will have you addicted, will make you ride more, and will make you leave your FS at home collecting dust.
Aluminum will feel dull & lifeless. Ti will have a duller thud feel. Steel has the most soul
Steel tubes, size for size are THREE TIMES stiffer than alu. So it is design, taking into account the properties of the material, that counts.
VOODOO CANZO
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even if the frame has a sticker on it saying 853 that is most likely to be just the 3 main tubes.
so please check what your are getting.
Parktools :?:SheldonBrown
VOODOO CANZO
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Generally as Nick says the main tubes will be the one the manufacturer shouts about & the rest will be of a lower grade.
"So after all the slagging we've just given cromoly, you're probably wondering why the rear end of the Soul is made out of the stuff instead of 853 now that 853 stays have become available (late 2005). Well, any structural problem is simply a matter of working to the limits of the material, and the rear end of the Soul is as strong and responsive as it can be through careful design and tube specification, backed up by more than 4 years of riding through prototyping and into production. Reynolds are only offering their 853 stays in the same profiles and wall thickness as our cromoly stays so they wouldn't any lighter, just an awful lot stronger (when our cromoly rear end is perfectly strong enough) and an awful lot more expensive. For the moment, we'll stick with what we've got."
I was waiting for that, so if they had used the 853 stays the back end would also have been stiffer/harsher.
Parktools :?:SheldonBrown
VOODOO CANZO
Come and see me at https://www.facebook.com/biketyke/
Parktools :?:SheldonBrown
VOODOO CANZO
Come and see me at https://www.facebook.com/biketyke/
today's alu frames (many of them anyway) go a long way to exorcising the demon of the "harsh ride" for which they have been correctly criticised in the past. And they're almost always lighter. Not to mention often cheaper (weird, as alu is a lot more expensive per kilo than steel, but high costs of specialist steels, plus mahoosive economies of scale in alu frame manufacturing figure into it).
try some out, buy what suits you. I own steel, alu and carbon bikes (it's a disease I tell you), they're all interesting in their own right, but in a modern bike the construction and design will have as big an effect as material choice on the ride so you really need to get on it and see.
Beer in moderation ... is a waste of beer
If riding an XC race bike is like touching the trail,
then riding a rigid singlespeed is like licking it
... or being punched by it, depending on the day
^ I like it!
Beer in moderation ... is a waste of beer
If riding an XC race bike is like touching the trail,
then riding a rigid singlespeed is like licking it
... or being punched by it, depending on the day
Do you by any chance know what the cromoly rear stay wall thickness's are on the Soul? And seat stay tube diameter?
I'm a nerd, but I'm not that much of a nerd
just thought you might have encountered and logged such detail along the way. Worth a punt. 8)
Reason I ask is because pipedream have done exactly the same and I'm assuming for the same reasons mentioned. Main triangle 853 and stays cromoly. The only thing they've done is increase the seat stay diameter (I think) from 16mm to 19mm but kept the wall thickness the same, which will obviously effect the final ride.
I have ridden both steel and aluminum in the past, both have good points, I think aluminum is better on climbing off road trails and tarmac riding due to lightness, but steel is better when going downhill on rocky off road trails due to frame flex's soaking the bumps.
VOODOO CANZO
Come and see me at https://www.facebook.com/biketyke/
i also have a meta 55 and that has been colecting dust since i got my inbred.
its easy to say find this or that type of steel, but its down to what your going to do with it.
its hard to pin down into words what a steel frame feels like as "flex,spring,liveley,buzz"are all words, best to try and hire or borrow one and give it a go.
or the inbred is only around £150 for the frame and if you did not like you could sell it and get half that back easy
Mines called a Handjob
But seriously it's got a kind of forgiving rear end but still feels zippy on single track, also takes landings off jumps/drop-offs pretty well.