Steel Frame Contemplations

neon said:

I going to get new road bike. At the moment I thinking custom steel frame. But I have questions.

1. How stainless is modern stainless steel frames? Can you ride modern stainless steel frame in the rain without worrying about rush and corrosion?

2. Steel frame with carbon seat stays, any real benefit or just a bit of bike bling? My thinking is steel supposedly sucks up the road buzz just as well as carbon, so what the point.

If you use a rust inhibitor INSIDE of the frame, you should be good to go for a long time (decades, perhaps...). I paid less than $5 for a bottle of it when I got my new frame last month. I don't intend to ride that bike in the rain all that much, but only because that's what the other steel bike is for... 😉

I would personally skip the carbon stays. They look cool, which is probably the only real benefit.

New custom steel frames can be very expensive; stainless way more so.

Carbon stays, especially on steel bikes, are just bling, and after a while there's a chance they can creak. My local shop deals with a lot of second hand bikes, and many carbon rears develop creaks.

Do you really need custom? Most of us fit standard frame sizes. Consider that you can get very nice steel frames for not too much money...

Powerful Pete said:

Do you really need custom? Most of us fit standard frame sizes. Consider that you can get very nice steel frames for not too much money...

You should be able to find a good custom steel frame for less than $1500 (that's American dollars). Most companies that sell their frames separately would charge that much or more for a decent quality frame. And you're supporting a local business. What more can you ask for?

Cost is not what concerns me about steel.