Tonto said:
I've been riding a 1998 Olmo with Aelle tubing for a few years now and I think it's time I can afford a new frame.
So, to get to the point, how different will it feel to ride a lighter, more modern steel compared what I've been used to? Will it really feel much different? Is this is a stupid question?
did you see my post (#9) on page one? There's heaps of links to steel frames.
I went through a similar thing a few years ago. I was riding my 531 for ever, then we started hearing how the heat-treated new steels were supposed to be so superior, such as Columbus Genius, then Nemo, then Reynolds 853, then Foco and Ultrafoco, so I gave up and bought one. I got the Ultrafoco Cervelo, and while it's fantastic, it doesn't
totally blow my 531 off the boards. Much of the improvement with the Cervelo was with the better fork and new wheels, even though the wheels are just good old Ultegra/Mavics.
Having said that, Aelle is a complete brick
)), and, in my opinion, a much inferior tube-set to 531. Aelle ranks way done on the old Columbus steel:
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/bobequus/images/bikepictures/Columbus-tubes.jpg So, I'm guessing there'd be a bigger jump for you, going from Aelle to Spirit or EOM16.5, or similar.
Also, as far as other materials go, I'm 39, and an 80s guy, so I heard all the anti-aluminium stuff in the early days, and was against it as much as anyone, but when I saw my favourite steel frame starting to rust, I decided to get a cheap alu frame just for wet days. I've since had 7!!
A couple have been as smooth as butter, a couple were too stiff and horrible, and the rest were ok with a good fork. Aluminium is good for keeping your steel rust free!