Steel road bikes, yet another narrow focus bicycle thread.

Long complicated story that ends with my future son in law using my ego against me in a very successful and highly sophisticated psychological manner

Basically a double dog dare

And now I am riding a bicycle in some fucking charity thing for like 6 goddamn hours in a day, which is more than I was riding in a week last year before I got bored and quit altogether.

I have a mountain bike and a BMW. Apparently the rules do allow one to ride an R1100RS in this raise money for diabetes thing. I checked.

So now I need a damn road bicycle

Wanted to keep it under a stack, but apparently that does not buy a lot of bicycle anymore

Which is insane, but that is not the point.

So I Kick up the budget a few bills and take a look a the 2011 raleigh clubman

Around 1100 retail, less on the real market

http://www.raleighusa.com/archive/2011-steel-road/clubman-11/



Fenders, eyelets, brooks saddle, 9 spd tiagra and a sweet as hell BRG paint job

May not be any 11's left but the '12 is a 10spd tiara in a blue but much closer to msrp

Raleigh is making some very cool steel bikes now

I came pretty close to buying one but found a good deal on a 2011 record ace, just a couple of hundred more than the clubman. And hundreds of bucks below list

Not crazy about the tighter geometry but ultegra bits might be slick

That it looks straight up fucking cool helps

Lugged steel, brooks saddle and flat crowned forks. Looks it was delivers here via time machine and upgraded with slick as hell shifters.



Guess I am gonna have to ride the fucker once it gets here if I buy this one.

http://www.raleighusa.com/archive/2011-steel-road/record-ace-11/



I am 6'00" with 31.5 inseam and I am fat as a house so I'll look like a bear trying to fuck a beaver on either one

Looked at a salsa casserole. Here's the thing on that one, I ain't riding a bike called a casserole

I ama grown goddamned man and i am completely uninterested in some TDF wannabe looking alumacarbon thing. Those are for children and people who count calories and whose recovery drink of choice probaly isn't a beam and coke

I want a real live honest to god steel bike. Good enough for a cutter, good enough for me.

Those look like sweet bikes. You'd be happy with either provided that it fits you well. I'm sure a lot of the serious bike guys will chime in here. I'm an old guy and packing a few extra #s although not too bad on that latter score, and have done a lot of riding over the past several decades, some fairly serious, some not so much. I had a great steel Italian road-bike from the mid 80s, a Ciocc, but my son talked me out of that a couple of years ago. I alternately miss it and am glad he has it.

One thing I will say about being older and/or packing some extra weight, a carbon or aluminum bike reduces the wear and tear on the bod, no doubt about it. I bought a Trek Madone two years ago and it's a great bike. Thirty miles feels more like 20 on the old bike, or the cyclocross. But whatever you get, the main thing is to get out there and ride it as much as you can before the big day.

Try bikesdirect.com I bought a pretty nice steel road bike from them. They use Fuji steel frames and very good component sets- probably at 50per cent bike shop prices.

Take a look at the Salsa Vaya 3. The handlebar height is a bit higher than what you posted. You fall into two sizes according to the fit chart. If you buy the 57 CM frame the stack height will allow you a lower seat height relative to the bar height. You can always change the bars to get a better seating position. I'm a fat fuck too and always ride a larger size frame for the above reasons.

Steel is real...

They are some of the most comfortable, durable bikes...

Hey, Mutt, we already know from other threads about your illustrious past with classified ads and the nightmares they've caused you.

Nonetheless, I've recently rediscovered my bicycle and that renewed interest has got me surfing the local Craigslist...just..you know...SEEING what's out there.

Here in So Cal, I've seen plenty of really nice, barely ridden road bikes for right around a grand. Have you looked locally? Bracket the price between maybe $400 and $1200 and just see what comes up.

http://surlybikes.com/bikes/pugsley

And quit bein' a goddamn nancy and watering the hooch down with coke. It'll just freeze on you that much faster if you're entered in a true tough guy event.

Complete that, and your future son in law will probably stop giving you shit, move to another state, and never try to contact your daughter again.

But for those of us who want to keep all their digits....

I haven't seen one in person, but on paper- those Raleighs look cool. So do new Masis.

If you really want to get away from the TDF wannabe thing, Salsa Vayas and Fargos are cool.

Or the Pugs....

Mut,
You do realize we will not "help" you, other than giving you more ideas to make the decision even more difficult....

I forgot to add.
I really like the Raleighs. They ride GREAT!
I would avoid Bikesdirect.com, but that is just because I try to support my LBS.

I love steel, but big as I am I could never get used to the BB flex. Fuck, I used to rub the tire on the right seatstay under out of the saddle hammering.

I would imagine steel now is a bit more sophisticated, but after I hit 220lbs it was aluminum-only for me. (which has way more give than people say...my Cannondale 3.0 was positively plush)

In any case, GL.

And buy used.

I used to have a Cannondale 3.0! Well, actually, I still have it. It's in the attic now...

WA.

Being that you are a fatass physical disaster like me and will likely spit up a lung and/or pop a hernia if you expend any real exertion, consider a third chain ring. I know it's flat and boring in Indiana and I don't give a shit if you wanna call me a sissy for it, but if I buy a next bike - which I'm considering since my Trek is 20 yrs old - it's going to have the smallest damn 3rd ring I can find. At my age and physical condition I don't need a bike geared to go 60 mph. I need one geared to allow me to climb a hill without blowing a valve out of my heart.

Those Raleighs look great though!

I could ride 100 miles in any direction and not face more than a highway overpass of elevation change

but yea, three rings, I would like three

an the chances of me riding 100 miles at non existent

you can't really tell in the factory picture but the record ace has a lugged frame

fine looking thing except for the lack of a motor

bikehugger.com has a pic that shows it a little better

http://bikehugger.com/post/view/2010-raleigh-record-ace

If your 6hr ride is in the cold and wet, or you plan on riding in other bad weather, eyelets for full fenders are great.

Good luck and have fun, Mark H.

How heavy are you?

What you're looking at is going to limit you to a 28mm tire (brake caliper clearance is the issue). You want a bike with cantilevers, sidepulls, or discs. They'll allow you to run as much as 40mm width (and fenders), which is better for heavier people and ride better, too. Taller headtubes help minimize the "bear fucking a beaver" look.

The Sojourn, Port Townsend, and Roper (might be a bit too racy) would be better choices. Salsa Vaya is an option, as is a Surly LHT (discs available, too).

Steel is the best ! .
Those Raleighs are gorgeous.

As a year 'round bicycle commuter, I only use old 70's and 80's steel for my
bikes. They take a severe beating and last a long time .

Been riding for years. Best bike was a Massi my friend built. Fastest bike I've ever ridden. I've had Reynolds 531 and aluminum compact frame bikes but that steel Massi was the sweetest.

1983 400 24" double butted lugged Tange mangalloy steel frame built in japan. Assembled by Trek

Got it 6 years ago for 65 bucks and broke the rear wheel pretty quickly. Went fixed gear with new wheel and loved it. Now I moved to Atlanta(from Houston) so I had to put brakes and a freewheel cog on it to handle the hills better. Just put a new Brooks saddle on it cause my last one fell apart, it was very old. I have done two day group rides (3 MS 150s), ride it to work and school and have loved the comfort of the leather saddle and the steel frame with the raked fork. It rides like a caddy. I prolly have 400 bucks in it total over 6 years. If I buy a new one some day I want it to be no different, but maybe OX Platinum frame.

C'mon; don't be a Nancy! Ride a real man's bike


Mutt, Do you think you're going to be riding the thing much after the 6hr ride? or will it just hang in the garage collecting dust 50 weekends a year?

If the latter why not pick up an old schwinn paramount for a couple hundred, get it tuned up with new cables, tires a wheel true and ride the 6hr then if you don't end up riding a lot you're only out a few hundo instead of a grand plus.

They are lugged steel frames and practically works of art, a bonus IMHO is they're built in the USA instead of China like the Raleigh

Landshark! Custom built steel frame