Bonefishblues wrote:leftpoole wrote:pwa wrote:Sadly, the market for high end steel frames is a lot smaller than it used to be. When I see a cyclist coming my way on what might be an interesting bike I watch as it passes, and I have noticed that nice steel frames are becoming a rarity. (I saw a nice Roberts yesterday.) This is very much a sector in decline and I wonder how little will be left in ten years. I guess someone, somewhere will be making bespoke framesets, but at a very high price point.
All my bikes for 50 years have been and will remain steel. There were 2 exceptions. I bought an aluminium Cannondale and sold within a month. Plus a very early 1994 Giant Cadex-1 week!
Steel will in my opinion never be bettered for a proper ride. All those on Carbon have usually not ridden steel. There are of course exceptions. Carbon is not ecologically friendly. Carbon bikes will deteriorate and fall to bits in around 6-10 years from my investigation into materials used for bike building.
So,,steel is and will always be best, and that is not just my opinion!
People are building planes from carbon composites though, and I'm sure they're expecting to get a bit longer service before, to paraphrase, the bloody wings fall off
I believe from what I’ve read, that the types of material
Used in aviation and indeed some F1 racing cars is not the same as that used in frames for bicycles. Plus bicycles are prone to very great deal of flexing under use. A twisted frame when peddling uphill standing up has not a great strength.