Quality steel....

gtvlusso

Hi All,

Post nicking of carbon road bike - now looking to build up a steel road frame with modern components - any ideas of good, cheap base frames to start from? I will probably use SRAM Rival groupset as I already have allot of stuff.

Thoughts?

Gussio

Cinelli XCR Cristal Mirror frameset? Yours for a mere £2,149.99....

http://www.fatbirds.co.uk/detail.asp/sku=chic-CC2

rjsterry

Cheap AND steel is quite a difficult one for a frame only as the mass market is almost entirely devoted to alu or carbon. This is partly why I have become so attached to my old Giant as I can' find anything to replace it at a reasonable price. Charge do a quite nice looking Scissor frame for £230ish, but this is SS only. Surly Pacer frames are availlable through Wiggle for £350 and seem to have good reviews, or moving up again, Mercian will do you something very nice for £600, but we are out of cheap territory now. Don't know whether you could run to a custom build if kept basic, but these seem to start at around £800 IIRC which isn't exactly cheap either. Might be worth scanning the classifieds for a second hand frame. Probably not much help, but that's my 2p.

Fireblade96

A friend has an old road bike from Dave Yates:
http://www.daveyatescycles.co.uk/
that I've ridden and really like how it feels.
I'm mulling over a steel frame for my next N +1 bike - probably something that'll take mudguards and a rack too :oops:

Pross

What size are you? I may consider flogging my old 653 at the right price Very retro too so must be cool, a bit extra and you have the down tube shifters too

gtvlusso

Sorry pross - want 130mm rear spacing for a 10 speed cassette and will use STI levers......not too uber cool as I don't want it nicked (like the carbon bike was!)

will3

how cheap is cheap?

http://www.byercycles.co.uk/bikeprice%2 ... R1008.html

Roastie

Short of an eBay classic, I'd suggest a Salsa Casseroll or Surly Pacer. The Condor Fratello is lush.

owenlars

Thorn Audax Mk3

jedster

kaffenback?

rjsterry

Roastie wrote:

Short of an eBay classic, I'd suggest a Salsa Casseroll or Surly Pacer. The Condor Fratello is lush.

Roastie, am I detecting a West Country heritage? That's the second time you've used the word lush (as in gert) today. I get looked at right funny using it in London.

EDIT: Hmm not sure about the geometry on that Fratello, from an aesthetic point of view that is. I prefer the more old skool looks of the Surly.

Fireblade96

rjsterry wrote:

EDIT: Hmm not sure about the geometry on that Fratello, from an aesthetic point of view that is. I prefer the more old skool looks of the Surly.

+1 From pictures on the 'net I was seriously considering the Fratello last year. But in the flesh, I just don't like the funny-shaped top tube - to me, it detracts from the classic-skinny-steel look.

rjsterry

Yep. Looks like it's trying to be an alu bike.

Roastie

rjsterry wrote:

Roastie wrote:

Short of an eBay classic, I'd suggest a Salsa Casseroll or Surly Pacer. The Condor Fratello is lush.

Roastie, am I detecting a West Country heritage? That's the second time you've used the word lush (as in gert) today. I get looked at right funny using it in London.

Nope, probably just impressionable - have spent a lot of time lately with a colleague from Bristol.

rjsterry

Consider it our gift to the world.

rolf_f

Only one way to do this properly - proper old school British hand made steel frame. Eg aforementioned Dave Yates, a Woodrup or Bob Jackson or any number of alternatives.

Aapje

owenlars wrote:

Thorn Audax Mk3

+1

prawny

Aapje wrote:

owenlars wrote:

Thorn Audax Mk3

+1

+2

Or the surly pacer. Or my personal fave, bob jackson. Mmmm

Canny Jock

From the reviews today - looks like a nice option if you're after a full bike for £1k:

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... m-10-36088

secretsam

Something off Flea bay tarted up? Mind you, everyone on there seems to be 6ft tall minimum...

Or you could get a Roberts (might struggle with the budget!)