Alu vs Steel frames

[Scoosh]

Could someone please explain to me the main differences between the ride characteristics of the two materials ?

I have heard it said that steel is a 'softer' ride. What does this mean ?
Can one have a 'soft ride' with 'sharp' handling ?
Why is steel so favoured for audax/sportive bikes ?
Do steel bikes need more maintenance than alu (rust ?)
Is a modern steel frame that much heavier than an aluminium one ?



Thanks for the pearls of wisdom

 

[Smokin Joe]

There is no noticeable difference between the ride charateristics of steel and alu. People do not often compare like with like, getting a twenty year old steel frame with relaxed angles and then gushing about how much more comfy it is than their alu race bike with fag paper clearences. If you want comfort, ride decent tyres and saddles, sort your ideal position out and forget about magical metal hocus pocus.

A well prepared steel frame should not have a problem with rust if you take care of any paint chips.

Steel is heavier than aluminium, full stop. Frames can come close to alu by using very thin tubes as in Reynolds 953, but they take skill to build and cost a lot.

You get all sorts of frame materials in audaxs, steel features more than in other branches of the sport because a lot of audaxers are drawn from the ranks of older more traditional cyclists.

 

[fossyant]

Steel is generally heavier, by about a kilo.......or so...

Scandium alloy is near to carbon on weight, but very thin. 953 is supposed to be somewhere in-between in weight, but you'll not get a weight - I just want to know as I want one..... Ti is about there as well.

My SLX is pretty stiff - great for climbing, but resilient on poor roads, helped by 23mm tyres as is the norm now - it used to be 20mm tyres....roads are that bad.....

The engine is the most important thing........ don't ever get too hung up on what type of bike you are buying and the material... make sure the blob on top is getting fit........

It's all very subjective - I'd say don't get carbon if the bike is stored where it will get bashed by others, same with anything that is half decent...... you'll only get very cross...

 

[swee'pea99]

I've enjoyed a succession of good steel bikes, but I have to say my (alu) Vitus 979 makes 'em all look like donkeys. Can't say I notice a massive difference in the ride as such, but it is just so fast.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Hi scoosh, do a search and you'll find a lot of debates on this one!

2 things... there are a lot of generalisations, and secondly... it depends.

The feel of a bike-frame is a blend of materials used, geometry and jointing method. Al materials have a blend of strength/rigidity to weight as well as resistance to constant flexing/vibration i.e fatigue. Then add that there are different types of steel and sifferent types of Aluminium you can understan that there are lots of combinations and permutations. There are a few materials science bods around that can give the detail.... Suffice to say that all bike frames are built differently and whilst there are some sweeping genaralisations, not all of them are strictly true in all cases...

The generalisations are things like, Steel is flexy and comfortable, Steel flexes so is not as efficient as a stiffer material say aluminium, so not as fast,
Aluminium frames are stiff and harsh...

Well...

I have an old Reynolds 531 tubed steel Holdsworth, circa 1949, plain tubes, pencil thin stays, really curved fork. When pedalling hard you can see the bottom-bracket move visibly sideways, in fact it flexes so much that you can make the rear tyre rub the chainstay. It's a magic carpet of a bike, more comfortable than your fave sofa AND footstool.
I also have a Reynolds 531 tubed steel MTB, circa 1985 ish, big curvey forks, very relaxed head and seat angles riding on big fat tyres... and it'll shake your fillings out on a rough-surfaced road.
I had a mid 90's Omegar race-bike with classic angles, straight forks Columbus Nivachrome steel, top racing stuff, bottom bracket barely moved when putting the power down, felt every grain of grit on the road, but it also had a certain springiness to it.
I have a 2004 Aluminium 6061 compact framed Giant TCR1, large diameter hydroformed tubes no bottom bracket flex at all fairly up right angles, straight (carbon) forks... smoother than a babies bottom, responsive, glides over rough surfaces... magic. My mates cruder aluminium hybrid feels very responsive but also feels like it's trying to shake you to death.

So, only from experience, steel can be soft and squidgy lovelyness or a bone-breaker, aluminium can be a magic carpet. The Guru Sheldon Brown also reckons that the bottom-bracket flex on some bikes does not render them less efficient in terms of power transfer... but I can't find that paper right now.

So, to specifics...

Steel tube grades can easily be made into frames that are by character a "springier" than Aluminium. This character of steel (and also Titanium) makes it very suitable for long-distance riding where comfort is highly valued. Steel frames are also very strong in a way that makes them suitable for hauling loads too (though there are aluminium touring and trekking bikes the majority are steel). Also... steel can be fixed pretty much anywhere in the world, Aluminium cannot. Steel also fails less catastrophically than aluminium and carbon.
Handling and comfort are not mutually exclusive a bike can still have a sharp handling ride but have good vibe absorbing properties.
Steel bikes with very little TLC will last donkeys years.
Steel bikes may on balance be slighty heavier but not much... by the time you've addad tools, water mudguards etc, the difference becomes increasingly inconsequential.

 

[fossyant]

Good post Fab...... there is no right and wrong material to use - I've only known well built steelies...... but other materials are lighter. Some alloys can be harsh, but as Fab said, it's down to geometry - something I left to my frame builder when I got my best bike - said what I wanted it for and he did the rest........

 

[Scoosh]

Thanks for your speedy responses and some great info there !

Hi scoosh, do a search and you'll find a lot of debates on this one!

I suspected as much . My original version of the post started "I know this may be a contentious issue but ....."

make sure the blob on top is getting fit[/B']........

I'm working on that on a trainer, as I have a dodgy wrist (non-load bearing) at present and am looking forward to a reward soon .

I have one eye on a steel framed Jamis Quest ... and the other was on a Felt Z65 but they don't seem to be around in my size , .... so I am considering building up something based on the Kinesis Tk or Grand Fondo frame (a la BTFB ).

If you want comfort, ride decent tyres and saddles, sort your ideal position out and forget about magical metal hocus pocus

Thanks, that's just the sort of thing I need to hear ![/B]

 

[gbb]

Here's a comparison scoosh..
My 2006 Bianchi Va Nirone weighed in at 10.9 kilos.

I rebuilt a late 80s 531 Raleigh frame, new wheels with Shimano Sora etc, it weighed in at 11.3 kilos. Only about 1/2 kilo difference.

Like Fab Foodies, the 531 has very curved forks that really give a smooth ride.
The Bianchi has a harder feel to it, but much more responsive. It feels 'tighter'.

Each has its benefits and drawbacks

 

[ColinJ]

The road surface between where I live and the nearby town of Todmorden is really awful in places so comfort is a big issue when riding along there.

I've got a steel-framed Basso and an aluminium-framed Cannondale (both with carbon fibre forks). If I pump my tyres up too hard (> 100 psi) both bikes are almost unbearable to ride on that road. I get pins-and-needles in my hands and feet, my bikes feel like they are getting shaken to pieces, and I get toothache from my fillings vibrating !

If I lower the tyre pressures by about 10-15 psi, I don't have a problem with either bike.

 

[Tynan]

I rode a £500 alu racy hybird for a few months and now a steel and carbon fork audaxy racer and cried with joy at the way it absorbed road noise on the same shitty stretches of rough and broken tarmac

 

[Fab Foodie]

Depends what kind of bike you want, but Condor do some nice steelies, the Fratello being a great all-rounder. A much underated frame is the Salsa Casserole. Clubmate has one for long-distance and winter training duties and rates it highly. Has old style horizontal drop-outs so iis easily converted to a fixed wheeler as well. Highly recommended in C+ bikes of the year.

 

[spandex]

Steel is the way to go for me as I brake Alu frames.

 

[swee'pea99]

I broke my last two steels. Ain't life a bitch?

 

[spandex]

yep it is

 

[dudi]

I have a steel bike and an alu bike, i much prefer the stell bike... but that's probably mostly due to the alu bike being too big for me...

When I next get a bike I will be buying a good stell frame and building up on it with a good groupset.. I would rather spend my money on quality component than on fancy materials for a frame.