steel bikes, aluminium components

[Ciminera]

I was thinking about the general preference in touring and adventure riding for steel bikes. I've heard some compelling reasons for this

however, those bikes still have aluminium wheels and handlebars, etc... what's the reasoning there?

[gbnz]

The steel frame will primarily be an age/specialism thing, just as so many touring cyclists believe saddles have to be surfaced with the skin of a dead cow. Just as roadies, believe you have to wear lycra shorts, or who knows, have a carbon fibre frame to go at speed (Nb. I routinely pass them with the shopping)

I toured/rode on an alloy frame for years, no issues; bought a steel frame as there seemed to be some advantages. But to be honest, the disadvantages of a bespoke, English made, steel frame, from an established and respected touring specialist, hugely outweigh any advantages (I.e. Substantial cost premium, having to wait for the product, finding in that "bespoke", small scale producers cannot match the quality of that mass produced, cheap, Taiwan frame!)

[Nearholmer]

To answer the question: weight, and in the case of wheels especially chrome/rust.

Once chromed, steel wheels are particularly useless in terms of rim braking in the wet, and once the chrome on any steel parts is damaged they go rusty very quickly, especially round spoke holes in wheel rims.

Having a steel frame gives some damping of vibration and shocks from bumpy roads and paths, although a lot depends on the exact nature of the frame design. I can’t imagine steel wheels or bars confer that advantage.

[mattsccm]

Tradition. And the fact that so many "tourers" want people to think that they are going across the Gobi and steel can be mended by your average camel puncher. 40 miles with a pub stop half way round the Chilterns isn't quite so demanding but you never know!

[mumbojumbo]

Most steel bikes are alloy-hence the 531 tubing echoed the mix of metals used.. Steel bikes can be repaired easily whereas other materials are rendered worthless by damage. Steel has greater longevity and aluminium is dead ,boring ,bulbous best confined to holding carbonated drinks airborne passengers sucking sweets

[Nearholmer]

But, folks, the OP isn’t asking “why steel frames?”, he’s asking “why aluminium wheels etc?”. I think.

[irc]

As above - steel wheels are crap in the wet. I had a Raleigh Wayfarer in the 1970s with steel wheels. Dangerously bad breaking in the wet.

Alu bars? Lighter than steel bars.

Steel frames - more durable/repairable. I had a badly bent integral derailleur hanger on my steel Surly touring bike when I got it back at San Francisco airport. 10 minutes at the bike shop next day to straignten it and align it with the correct tool. Had I not been near a bike shop I could have got the thing acceptably straight by eye.

Had it been a detachable gear hanger on an alu frame I may or may not have been able to get a replacement locally.

[PH]

I was thinking about the general preference in touring and adventure riding for steel bikes. I've heard some compelling reasons for this

Maybe you should ask why don't the same compelling reasons apply to other components? The answer to that depends on what you believe those reasons to be. Here's two that apply to frames but not necessarily rims or bars:
Steel is an easy material to work with, making it ideal for short production runs.
It's also pretty resilient to knocks, in a way aluminium and carbon are not.

[gregoryoftours]

Aluminum is lighter and for rim braking vastly superior. I would think that to make steel wheel rims comparably light would be very expensive and difficult, and they'd be more prone to damage as the steel would have to be wafer thin. The same goes for other components. To make many parts to a comparable weight and quality would be extremely difficult and expensive, and unless stainless corrosion will be more of an issue.

The whole thing about steel being easily repaired is a bit of a red herring in real world use for most people. Aluminum and carbon can also be repaired. Good quality steel frames aren't cheap to repair to a high standard, and if it's a nice steel bike it's likely that the owner will want to shell out big bucks to get it repainted too. I have several steel frames with hangers that were badly bent. They've bent back ok but the steel is weaker for it. I'd feel more comfortable if they had replaceable hangers.

The lack of comfort of aluminum bikes is also a red herring. It's more about understanding the materials and design to make a comfortable bike. A well designed alu bike can be very comfortable just as a badly designed steel bike can be uncomfortable.

How best to improve the comfort of your steel frame and fork? Ditch the steel fork and fit a carbon one. Just sayin

[De Sisti]

Just as roadies, believe you have to wear lycra shorts, or who knows, have a carbon fibre frame to go at speed (Nb. I routinely pass them with the shopping)...in my car.

[francovendee]

Steel frames are reportedly easier to repair.
This may be fact but how many of us would have a broken frame mended?
There will be some, sentimental reasons or long distance tourers who will save a frame from being scrapped but most would welcome it as a chance to get a new bike.
It really doesn't matter what your favourite frame material is, there is a possibility of failure but it's fairly rare.

On wheels aluminium is king. Light, durable and offers great braking if using rim brakes.
Aluminium used for other parts may be down to weight saving.

[iandriver]

The bit on wheels that take the real grief, the spokes, are generally Stainless Steel. Even on super expensive carbon jobbies. The wheel is probably a great example of choosing the most appropriate materials. Spokes and bearings, definitely not aluminium. The rim, a different material is more appropriate than steel, same for the hub body. The axel is very much up for debate.

[rareposter]

Tradition. And the fact that so many "tourers" want people to think that they are going across the Gobi and steel can be mended by your average camel puncher. 40 miles with a pub stop half way round the Chilterns isn't quite so demanding but you never know!

This - honestly, if I'd had £1 for every time I'd heard "steel is real" or "you can repair steel anywhere, just find a local blacksmith..."

I had an 853 steel road bike for a while and the absolute last place I'd have taken it for any sort of repair was someone more used to smashing horseshoes and bending wrought iron! But cycle tourers seem convinced that they'll be going across Patagonia or Botswana, have some catastrophic frame failure and wheel the remains of their bike into the nearest village where a friendly blacksmith will batter it back together again.

however, those bikes still have aluminium wheels and handlebars, etc... what's the reasoning there?

It's light, cheap, durable, corrosion resistant, easy to mold.
All the early stuff about "steel bends, aluminium cracks, carbon snaps" is all total rubbish now. The very early days of frame design and manufacture, maybe (and there were some truly terrible bikes back then!) but modern materials tech means you can pretty much build any bike or part out of any (sensible) material you want and give it more or less the desired characteristics.

Steel rims are abysmal and even the absolute cheapest bargain basement catalogue bike won't have them any more.

[Bonzo Banana]

Steel is a really abuse-able material and has a good endurance limit where it won't fatigue up to a certain level of flexing where as aluminium has no endurance limit at all. The fact you can allow for flexing in the design means more comfort (if you allow for it) etc. When I went on to a Chinese site a few years ago maybe 2018 they claimed over 95% of bikes produced in China are still steel and showed exports all around the world, South America, Africa other parts of Asia etc. The technology to manufacture steel frames and forks is far in advance of CF and aluminium. Steel frames are typically made by robots in seconds pretty much. When you see a factory like fuji-ta (biggest bike manufacturer in the world) all the robot welders on show are steel frames only. At the time they were producing steel frames with a factory door price of $4-5 probably a bit more expensive now. I think aluminium frames were double at $10-20 and CF started at $80 factory door price. Most of the world is price sensitive and they need a bike that will last decades of hard use so its going to be steel.

It's a strange point about being easily repairable as that is true of cheaper high tensile steel frames but typically higher end steel frames are often heat treated and not easily repairable and many of those are use for touring bikes. You could repair them with standard welders but the repair point will never be as strong as when the bike was originally manufactured and heat treated. Aluminium is pretty much the same with most aluminium frames heat treated unless made for children where often they don't bother as the weight limits are far less.

It makes total sense to me to use steel for touring bikes, its not about speed its more about durability, it might take a few falls, get knocked about a bit, have a few minor road accidents/incidents etc, steel makes total sense.

Price shows you how many resources going into a bike and a $4 frame needs very few and steel is also fully recyclable. It's the perfect frame material for those trying to do their best for the environment too. Sometimes people bike tour because of environmental reasons i.e. get to see other places using very few resources that impact the environment and again steel would be the logical choice for people of that mindset. Low impact travelling.

[ed.lazda]

One reason I like a high-quality steel frame is the slender elegance you just don't see with carbon or aluminium. To my eyes, the appropriate look for a carbon frame is the Burrows - Boardman - Lotus monocoque. As someone normally responsive only to data and function, I can't quite believe I'm saying this.