£3k budget for a steel or Ti frame road bike

mfin

Van Nic Aquilo with Record and Shamal Ultra's would probably be 3k

Gary Sinclair

I have a super acciaio, it's a fantastic bike. It's the only steel bike I've ever had but it's on par with any carbon bike I've ridden.

dwanes

How about this Classic Italian Stainless steel frameset?
Casati Inox T99

JohnKempStarley

I think you could build up a fantastic bike for your fifth decade with 3K. I set about on a similar project to replace an old lugged carbon frame. After looking at Ti,Carbon and Steel I ended off with a Condor Super Acciaio. The final build may not be super lightweight ( 18.3lbs ) but my budget was 2K and I just went over on it, all parts brand new from online retailers. You can view a picture of it and read more detail of build at this link:-

http://thelonewheeler.blogspot.co.uk/

I aimed for just over 17lbs using manufacturer quoted weights, and on paper it was, but I found they were being economical with the truth! With an extra £1000 it'd be easy to get under that. Anyway its a great bike, excellent ride and handling so it gets a recommendation from myself. Also no hassle dealing with any of the main retailers involved Condor, Comtat etc. I went with team colours as the black and white looks quite classic but for the £100 or so extra you could have your own unique colour scheme.

The enigma elite is another similarly priced frameset that could also be built up to make a seriously classy ride.

Enjoy the decision making its fun ( though not without angst at times )

Monty Dog

Lovely Casati, problem is the frame alone is 3200 Euros!

I'm 5-0 next year and will likely go for something Italian in XCr - I've got three titanium bikes already!