Steel Bikes

logitech208

Am looking to purchase a new a bike and I really like the look of the steel framed bikes, I like the retro small tubing look.

The bike that has caught my eye is the Genesis Equilibrium 20, but I have never ridden a steel bike or even picked one up so I don't know quite what to expect.

Are they heavy bikes, do they ride nicely, my current bike is an alloy bike with a carbon fork.

declan1

My steel bike (see top bike in my sig) is a Reynolds 531 frame, and it's REALLY comfy. It rides really smoothly and isn't any heavier than my old alloy bike (see middle bike in sig).

JamesB5446

The equilibrium has a carbon fork. It's not very heavy at all.

ugo.santalucia

Probably half a pound heavier than your current bike.
The Equilibrium is an excellent bike, only drawback it is designed for long drop calipers, which are not as good as standard ones. There are others... have a look at the "all city bikes" range and don't discard the Salsa Casseroll, which has steel fork and is the real deal. Also look at the Condor range

JamesB5446

Charge do steel bikes too.

logitech208

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Probably half a pound heavier than your current bike.
The Equilibrium is an excellent bike, only drawback it is designed for long drop calipers, which are not as good as standard ones. There are others... have a look at the "all city bikes" range and don't discard the Salsa Casseroll, which has steel fork and is the real deal. Also look at the Condor range

One of the reason why I am drawn to the Equilibrium is the fact it will take 25mm tyres and full guards, thanks for the suggestions on the others I will have look.

thegreatdivide

I used to have an alu bike and now I've got a mid range carbon, a top of the line carbon and an all steel Colnago Master. Out of the four bikes none of the come close to the Master for comfort. Steel rocks.

Chris James

I think it is a bit of a myth that steel bikes are all comfy as that largely depends on the geometry, size of frame, wheels and tyres etc.

Having said that the Equilibrium has a good rep for being a llively and enjoyable ride. You don't tend to buy steel bikes if you are very worried about the weight, but it should still be quite reasonable. I very much doubt you would notice the extra half pound or pound, but ridiong a bike that looks and handles as well as the Genesis would probably make up for that. The new burned orange or whatever it is called colour scheme is right up my street.

Having said all that, I have only ever owned steel bikes, although I have ridden a few aluminium alloy ones which were okay too. Perhaps I am biased. Most of mine have steel forks too. I can keep up with (and in some cases drop!) mates on their 8kg carbon bikes so don't think overall bike weight is all it is cracked up to be.

BelgianBeerGeek

There is a thread over in Commuting Chat about the Equilibrium. Rated highly by them. It's a handsome looking bike too.

Monty Dog

Don't believe all the 'hype' about steel frames - they can also be very stiff and harsh, particularly for a lighter rider. I do have a couple of steel frames in my stable and have had a few others. My 1983 Columbus SL is beautifully supple whereas I had a 1990s Oria OS which was stiff, harsh and heavy in comparison.

canamdad

The Equilibrium is an excellent bike, only drawback it is designed for long drop calipers, which are not as good as standard ones.

If by long drop brakes, you mean 57mm, my experience, comparing some Shimano 57mm on my Kinesis Racelight T with Campag Chorus on my other bike, is that the Shimanos work very well indeed. Besides, it's a whole lot easier to run full length mudguards with the 57's. If I wanted to run full guards (and a little wider tyre), I'd consider the longer brakes to be an asset not a detriment.

Hoopdriver

Yes, I've got the Shimano R650 brakes and they are great. No worries at all.

Bordersroadie

Chris James wrote:

I think it is a bit of a myth that steel bikes are all comfy

I agree with that but also the flip side, which is that not all alu bikes are less comfy than steel.

After 30 years of riding only 531 bikes I recently upgraded my winter bike to a Kinesis Racelight T2, alu frame and carbon fork. Compared to my relaxed-geometry 531 frame (with 531 fork), which is itself a very comfy bike, the T2 is hard to tell apart comfortwise, wearing the same tyres. Maybe the 531 has a very slight edge, although it's now retired so I can't now make a direct comparison!

Quite frankly, after reading all the hype (ie positive about steel ride quality, negative about alu), I was shocked. In a good way.

ugo.santalucia

Hoopdriver wrote:

Yes, I've got the Shimano R650 brakes and they are great. No worries at all.

Yes, but thre Genesis comes with Tektro, which are not that amazing...

wotnoshoeseh

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Hoopdriver wrote:

Yes, I've got the Shimano R650 brakes and they are great. No worries at all.

Yes, but thre Genesis comes with Tektro, which are not that amazing...

So buy the frame & fork package and build it up with whatever your personal whim is...

thegibdog

Would 2nd having a look at the Equilibrium thread, lots of info in there: viewtopic.php?f=40012&t=12780959

It rides very nicely indeed, so much so that I rarely chose to take my "summer" bike out this year!

In terms of weight it depends what your current frame & fork weigh, the Equilibrium might be almost 1kg heavier than an alu race frame with full carbon fork but maybe 50-200g heavier than a comparable alu winter frameset.

marcusjb

canamdad wrote:

The Equilibrium is an excellent bike, only drawback it is designed for long drop calipers, which are not as good as standard ones.

If by long drop brakes, you mean 57mm, my experience, comparing some Shimano 57mm on my Kinesis Racelight T with Campag Chorus on my other bike, is that the Shimanos work very well indeed. Besides, it's a whole lot easier to run full length mudguards with the 57's. If I wanted to run full guards (and a little wider tyre), I'd consider the longer brakes to be an asset not a detriment.

Agreed. A total over generalisation to say that deep drop calipers are not as good as standard ones.

I run R650s and they are more than capable of stopping me in any conditions.

Do not dismiss a frame because of the 'drawback' of deep drop calipers because, as canamdad describes, they have their purpose of allowing a wider tyre to be run along with mudguards. And this is a good thing.

Hoopdriver

marcusjb wrote:

canamdad wrote:

The Equilibrium is an excellent bike, only drawback it is designed for long drop calipers, which are not as good as standard ones.

If by long drop brakes, you mean 57mm, my experience, comparing some Shimano 57mm on my Kinesis Racelight T with Campag Chorus on my other bike, is that the Shimanos work very well indeed. Besides, it's a whole lot easier to run full length mudguards with the 57's. If I wanted to run full guards (and a little wider tyre), I'd consider the longer brakes to be an asset not a detriment.

Agreed. A total over generalisation to say that deep drop calipers are not as good as standard ones.

I run R650s and they are more than capable of stopping me in any conditions.

Do not dismiss a frame because of the 'drawback' of deep drop calipers because, as canamdad describes, they have their purpose of allowing a wider tyre to be run along with mudguards. And this is a good thing.

+1 on that.