£1000 - Retro Steel or Modern Steed

aserota

Hi all,

I'm thinking of getting myself a new bike and return to serious cycling in the next month. I'm taking some time off so will be looking for a pure roadbike comfortable for 100 mile a day riding for weeks on end! I'm a big guy at 6ft 2' and weigh in at around 75kg; I will certainly be having a bike fit before picking up a new frame and finishing kit.

I've owned loads of bikes in the past including 3 Specialized Allez bikes, a Canyon SLX, S-Works SL3 Tarmac, a CAAD9 and many more. I've also gone through every Shimano groupset and have a decent understanding of a range of wheelsets. My favourite bike by a country mile was my Canyon due to its comfort, geometry (not an issue here due to bike fit) and lightweight feel and control.

Kit wise I'll be looking at Shimano 105 with Ultegra brakes and Ultegra tubeless wheels. Finishing kit will be something cheap and as light as possible, saddle will be a Specialed Romin saddle.

So the question is do I go for an old 2nd hand steel frame or a modern Alu or Carbon roadbike? I don't really take any notice of aero frames, due to my giant size and the fact I don't wear a skin suit or aero helmet when cycling out of competition, so weight I believe to be the only factor. I feel £200-250 would be plenty to pickup a 2nd hand steel frame of my choice, £300-400 for Alu and anything above for a modern carbon frame.

Any opinions?

16mm

You've owned all those bikes and are looking for advice on a 2nd hand steel bike?
You probably have all the info you need to make the decision, but if it's a steel bike you want I'd go for a mercian or similar? Would be in the same cost bracket as carbon, but you'd get the experience you want.

aserota

I've got a lot of first hand experience with carbon and ALU, but steel is a bit of a mystery to me. I have owned a few steel frames, but they've always had very basic componentary and wheel sets, so I've never been able to appreciate the ride

Just looking for other peoples experiences

giant_man

ooh get yourself on a columbus XCr framed steel bike, you'd appreciate the ride then believe me ...

Monty Dog

£200-250 will get you a steel frame in Reynolds tubing, but you'll need to pay more for something Italian. Given your size, suggest you look at Dutch or Belgian sites - bigger sizes are more common and prices more reasonable than UK for something with a continental flavour.

16mm

Why do you want to pay more for carbon than steel?
Decent hand built steel is probably as expensive as carbon. You're limiting yourself to the lower end maybe?

aserota

Interestingly a custom geometry ti bike which fits me perfectly has just come up for sale:
viewtopic.php?f=40090&t=12934210

Would be tempted to strip off the groupset and wheels and replace with Ultegra 6800 groupset and wheelset. Should just come under budget