steel types

barndog said:

Was wondering if anybody could point out some major differences other than weight and price between high tensile and chromoly. Does one ride smoother than the other and last longer?

Hi-ten has no redeeming value in bike frames.It's just cheap.

barndog said:

Was wondering if anybody could point out some major differences other than weight and price between high tensile and chromoly. Does one ride smoother than the other and last longer?

Why do you ask, Twodogs?

531Aussie said:

Why do you ask, Twodogs?

Because he has a hi-ten POC.

Are you considering an expensive upgrade, or are you considering buying a hi-tensile bike?

I have four old Reynolds 531 frames, two of which are only about 180g heavier than my Scapin (Genius) and my Cervelo Superprodigy (not including the forks), so, you could get a nice 531 frame that should be very cheap, which, in my opinion, would be a noticible upgrade from a hi-tensile frame.

I also have a cheap bike that is made from Tange 4,121,669,154, or one of the lower Tanges, and the 531 bikes ride much nicer -- but you've probably heard that wheels and other components also contribute significantly to ride quality. You can't really put crappy old Araya wheels on a nice new frame and expect a great ride.

Try to test ride some new bikes, and you should see the difference between these and a hi-tensile steel bike.

Right now I have a high tensile bike and I actually prefer the ride of it to aluminum, or at least some of the aluminum frames I have ridden. I probably will upgrade in a year or two or when $ permits but right now what I have is actually suprisingly decent, DESPITE what a few people may have to say. Essentially, I'm just looking for as much information as I can get for now so appologies to those who the cross posting iriates. For the time being the chromoly is out of the question, but I did want to know how the actual ride smoothness and durability compare, not so much the weight.

barndog said:

Right now I have a high tensile bike and I actually prefer the ride of it to aluminum, or at least some of the aluminum frames I have ridden. I probably will upgrade in a year or two or when $ permits but right now what I have is actually suprisingly decent, DESPITE what a few people may have to say. Essentially, I'm just looking for as much information as I can get for now and for now, the chomoly is out of the question, but I did want to know how the actual ride smoothness and durability compare, not so much the weight.

hi-ten rides like [censored] on a road bike. On a mtb it's more about weight.

I'd agree that weight is important. Its all a matter of opionion though. The high ten I got honestly feels better to me than most aluminums I've ridden. I don't race competitively so the weight difference in terms of short bursts of acceleration etc. is not something I really care about. Most of the riding I do is on smooth dirt trails about 40 miles or less done simply for the benefit of physical fitness. I'm not looking to ride the thing down a sheer cliff or anything.