Steel
Steel
Old school cyclists will tell you that there’s only one material for a ‘proper’ road bike and that’s steel. And before the early 90s that was pretty much the case.
For a long time, steel was pretty much the only option for a bike frame. Other materials were either in their infancy or yet to be used for framebuilding, and the strength and durability of steel means it’s minimal fuss in maintenance terms.
As we’ve already covered, steel is isotropic meaning that it’s equally strong in every direction without any special treatment. The beauty of this is that it means a steel frame can be very strong in a riding sense, but also highly durable when it comes to general wear and tear or crashes. Plus steel fails slowly, unlike carbon which fails very fast. That means that steel will bend rather than snap, a real plus in longevity terms and its ability to survive crashes. And if you do crash and cause damage, the point between that and failure is far larger with steel than with carbon. Combine that with how comparatively easy steel is to repair and a steel bike can pretty much be a ride for life.
The most obvious downside of steel is weight. If you get a steel frame and a carbon frame in the same size, the steel one will almost always be heavier. This is why steel has pretty much disappeared as a material for performance bikes at the highest level, though it has enjoyed something of a mini-resurgence in recent years, with Madison-Genesis using the Genesis Volare (although that now is largely reserved for criterium racing, with the Zero, introduced last year, often preferred for stage races). Still, it’s important not to get too hung up on weight as there are many factors to consider when choosing a bike.
Just as carbon technology has evolved, so has steel technology, with the development of tubesets like the Reynolds 953 (used on the aforementioned Volare), and talented framebuilders can now build a competitively light chassis with ride characteristics not far off top-level carbon – but it’ll cost you and, whatever way you spin in, there will be a weigh penalty.
Another advantage steel has is in comfort. Sort of. We say ‘sort of’ because although a steel frame may, in terms of the materials’ properties, be more comfortable than carbon frame, there’s often not a whole lot between it when you’re out on the road. You’ll notice the difference between a harsh carbon frame and a comfortable steel one, but most bikes meet somewhere in the middle on the comfort spectrum, and in all likelihood it certainly won’t be a case of climbing off a steel bike and onto a carbon machine to be shocked by the differences between the two. There are also other significant factors, besides frame material, in determining a bike’s comfort, namely tyre choice, width and pressure.
While steel bikes are far less prevalent than they used to be, it is still a viable and popular material, particularly for commuting, winter training and touring bikes, thanks to its strength, ride quality and durability. It’s why you’re far more likely to find a steel bike with mudguard and racks mounts than, say, carbon. This intended use will often be reflected in the geometry, too, but that’s far from a hard and fast rule – you’ll find aggressive steel bikes, just as you’ll find relaxed carbon ones.