Steel tubing variants

A place for those keen on vintage and retro bikes - steel is real.
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marc2131
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Postby marc2131 » 21 Sep 2012, 11:14

Getting interested in different steel tubing variants.
Only ridden straight Reynolds 531 and 531c bikes. However even with the straight 531 bikes, I find a significant difference between different bikes.
Did a quick search and found the following very subjective assessment.

Super Vitus 980 = Lightness at all costs. Very whippy for larger frames. The ideal thing for the steel-minded weight weenie.
Reynolds 531DB/Columbus SL = Traditional stuff, perfect for folks who want excellent tubing, but don't agonize over it.
Reynolds 501: Less fancy version of 531, and supposedly heavier. Never ridden it (and if I have, I don't remember it), so I don't know how it feels.
Columbus SLX = For someone who thinks SL isn't good enough.
Columbus EL = Arguably the liveliest, stiffest late-C&V-era tubing ever developed.
Ishiwata 022 = Underrated Japanese rough equivalent of 531/SL, possibly the most underrated of rough equivalents.
Reynolds 531 straight-gauge = Good for someone who wants to point to the Reynolds sticker and make a big to do about it, but could care less about ride quality. I haven't ridden a straight-gauge 531 frame yet that didn't feel deader then run-of-the-mill 4130.
Tange 2 = I've heard some say that it's about on par with Reynolds 501. Personally, I've found it to be quite similar to 531DB/SL in ride characteristics.
Tange 1 = Never tried it, probably a lighter form of Tange 2.

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weiyun
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Postby weiyun » 21 Sep 2012, 21:33

I always thought the frame geometry and construction played a greater role in determining the ride characteristics b/n steel frames while tubing type is more directly correlated with the weight of the final frame. No?

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Toff
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Postby Toff » 02 Oct 2012, 11:56

Steel tubing has very similar properties, regardless of what the tubing is made of. The biggest difference between all those tubesets it weight.

Read this article on steel frame variants.


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