steve sturt Posted June 6, 2005 Report Share Posted June 6, 2005 Does anyone know of anyone making long bikes in steel? (God Forbid,) as I dont like aluminium and my pashley is a bit dated now. By long bike, I mean those bikes that everyone measure in terms of wheel base. Also do all long bikes pitch your weight over the front tire or is this just Adrian Jordans bike that does? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishwog Posted June 6, 2005 Report Share Posted June 6, 2005 I think the longest bike you can get in steelis around 1050, that being a Leeson XXL. Don't hold me to that though. Adrian's control has a low front end (fattys, echo bar and stem) and the control has a high bottom bracket, consequentially throwing you more over the front. This can be easilly solved by making the front end higher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janson Posted June 6, 2005 Report Share Posted June 6, 2005 Most of the "over the bar" feeling comes from stem height. Higher rise stems are definitely my taste. I run a 90mm by 17 degree stem on my Coust (1085 wheelbase) at the moment. Higher bar height making almost everything easier it seems, but makes backhopping a little less comfortable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark W Posted June 6, 2005 Report Share Posted June 6, 2005 Most of the "over the bar" feeling comes from stem height. Higher rise stems are definitely my taste. I run a 90mm by 17 degree stem on my Coust (1085 wheelbase) at the moment. Higher bar height making almost everything easier it seems, but makes backhopping a little less comfortable. ← At last, someone else on here who thinks the same - I've always prefered a higher front end, yet constantly get told that it'll be shit and hold me back and I'll get cursed by it and stuff... I just prefer it, really. Janson's right though - for the current generation of higher rise BB's, it'll give you a more "OTB" feel, so a higher stem's needed to compensate. If you imagine you pivot near your waist, if you raise your feet you'll need to raise your hands to compensate. I don't think Clive said he wanted to go much longer than the frames currently are. I think I heard Berridge murmur that Curtis were thinking of making a longer frame, but I'm not 100% on that. What's the beef with alu? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke Drewery Posted June 6, 2005 Report Share Posted June 6, 2005 What's the beef with alu? ← Yeh, why do you dislike alloy? I may be wrong here but wont a long steel frame be rather heavy? I agree what has been said about the stems though, as i am about 6ft1 and ride a koxx levelboss 1065 with a zoo bar and stem setup on lite guy forks, no stem stackers and i sometimes get back pains from being leant over so much, however the bike makes up for this as it is light as anything on the back wheel. (Y) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve sturt Posted June 6, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2005 Just think alu is a cheap way to make a light bike. Would much rather have a well made steel bike, made from decent tubing, than a mass produced generic long bike made in china (peoples republic of) from recycled coke cans. I currently have a 26 Mghz which is a well made good quality steel frame, and an ES3 which rides better but is alu and I just dont like it as much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Bleech Posted June 6, 2005 Report Share Posted June 6, 2005 I think the longest leeson will make is a 1055wb. I heard rumours of the curtis too, give them a ring and see what they say! You could always upgrade your pashley to the 25GHz, only clocks in at 1030ish, but is a very nice ride! The other option is to contact some other mtb frame builders and see what they say! (the like of Dave Yates and others, look in yellow pages or try google!) I may be wrong here but wont a long steel frame be rather heavy? depends on the what steel you build it out of more than anything, but a decent steel frame won't weight much more than an alu frame. And steel ride much nicer (Y) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iatola says Posted June 6, 2005 Report Share Posted June 6, 2005 The reason why all alu bikes are made abroad is not cost but quality. The far east has been coping with the west's desire for aluminium welding for so long that anyone in England who can weld aluminium to the standard that is required for a bike is getting paid far more welding planes. We no longer have the ability to make good alu bikes in england which is why all British bikes made here are steel, e.g curtis, leeson. Also Britain has the natural materials to make steel bikes. For example Canada can not produce high grade steel like T-45 because it doesnt have the stuff in the ground. Hence everything is recycled. All aluminium bikes which are welded abroad my well be of the peg and the same ride as everyone else but there is not lack of workmanship in them. Especially not just becasue its made in the East sorry for the essay Trev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onza t-bird Posted June 6, 2005 Report Share Posted June 6, 2005 I think the longest bike you can get in steelis around 1050, that being a Leeson XXL. Don't hold me to that though. Adrian's control has a low front end (fattys, echo bar and stem) and the control has a high bottom bracket, consequentially throwing you more over the front. This can be easilly solved by making the front end higher. ← He now has zoo riser bars so your as much over the front as much now. (Y) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve sturt Posted June 6, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2005 The reason why all alu bikes are made abroad is not cost but quality. ← Still doesnt make me like aluminium as a frame material. Steel is readily repaired, doesnt fatigue, and in my opinion looks a lot cleaner as the tubes are thinner. It doesnt dent so readily, you dont have fragile gear hangers so you can bend them back if they get bent. They are also in my experience stronger than aluminium. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colly Posted June 7, 2005 Report Share Posted June 7, 2005 ive always had a high front end purely because it feels more relaxed to ride, and easier to manuel, but now on my planet-x alibongo with a +20mm bb i have a lowish bar but it still feels high its a good comprimise for manuels and shunting stuff on logs. :huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waynio Posted June 7, 2005 Report Share Posted June 7, 2005 (edited) you could go to your local frame builder and ask him to kindly produce you one for around £300-400. steep headangle will throw you over the front more, thats the feeling i get when im on Echo's. as my koxx must have a slacker headangle and feels more stable to me but thats probably cos am a short ass on a long bike. altho my 1100 is longer than 1060 and 1080 pures and feels short top tube wise. Waynio........................ its all about which geometry suits you best Sorry (EDIT) is it the flexy feel of steel that keeps you riding it????steel that is? Edited June 7, 2005 by Waynio Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colly Posted June 7, 2005 Report Share Posted June 7, 2005 what happend to your custon frame wayne? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waynio Posted June 7, 2005 Report Share Posted June 7, 2005 sold them ages ago when i started to ride for ashton. i would always go back down that road if i ever couldnt get sponsorship. as you get what you want from it. the only person you can blame for duff geo is yourself then :huh: regards Waynio.......................... honest alot of people round here have tried it since i had my 2 frames made. its quite fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairy elephants Posted June 7, 2005 Report Share Posted June 7, 2005 sold them ages ago when i started to ride for ashton. i would always go back down that road if i ever couldnt get sponsorship. as you get what you want from it. the only person you can blame for duff geo is yourself then (Y) regards Waynio.......................... honest alot of people round here have tried it since i had my 2 frames made. its quite fun. ← Where did you go to get yours made? and where did you get the tubing from? :huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SQuiT-man Posted June 7, 2005 Report Share Posted June 7, 2005 It doesnt dent so readily, you dont have fragile gear hangers so you can bend them back if they get bent. They are also in my experience stronger than aluminium. ← Steel dents easier than aluminium in general doesnt it? Because its so much softer, and tubing is often made a lot thinner to keep the weight down when using the heavier metal. But I do like steel bikes, and yes, for me it would be the nice feeling of the flex properties that steel gives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark W Posted June 7, 2005 Report Share Posted June 7, 2005 I went from an alu Onza mod to a steel Onza proto mod and then back onto an alu Onza mod. No real difference in ride characteristics, from what I could feel? Generally, if steel is made so the frame lasts it's gonna be nearly as stiff as alu anyway? Meh, just what I felt anyway... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waynio Posted June 8, 2005 Report Share Posted June 8, 2005 steel can be so strong that it wont dent, ask bucky what i did to one of mine the 1st one that weighed like 6lb frame only!!!!he didnt believe me that i couldnt dent it. so in shipley on night we were back wheeling round poles and i came off a few times and he was saying that i was pussy footing around falling off so i didnt dent it, then i actually hit the downtube onto the post probably 5-6 times quite hard just to show him that i was trying to dent it i just couldnt! i could feel bit cahracteristics in the steel frames i have ridden, you can tell there alot flexier (26" for deffinate) with a 20" with it having digfferent dropouts and narrower back end it may add stiffness to it. but U6 feels very similar in flex to a steel frame but you can still tell that steel is just so much more comfortable. i just had everything done by the guy who made it hes a road bike frame builder and he supplied the steel and made it for me, the 1st one was a heavy gauge of columbus and the 2nd frame was a lighter columbus tube. he now has the facility to make alloy frames too!!! and he quoted me £400 for an alloy frame about 7-8 months ago. honestly if you really have got the money use it to explore how your m,ind works and design your own trials frame. it doesnt have to be same or similar you can just go wacky with how the frame is and looks as its your personal thing. Waynio........................ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James_Porter Posted June 8, 2005 Report Share Posted June 8, 2005 give robin mather a call, if you get a frame made by him you will have the pimpest/nicest bike on the forum by far. i was thinking of getting him to make me one but never got round to calling him and sorting it out. www.robinmathercycles.co.uk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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