# Steel 26er hardtail frame?



## Keith Medlock (Mar 23, 2013)

Now that the bugs are worked out of my custom Giant Revel, its going to be fit with rear brakes and given to the wife. I'll be building a new MTB from scratch and need opinions on a frame to start with.

This is what I'm sure I want but other than that I'm clueless...

-Steel
-26er
-Hardtail


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## What&son (Jan 13, 2004)

What´s the budget?
If I was in the market for one of these I would be looking at the Richey. Almost for sure. Check it out


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## girlonbike (Apr 24, 2008)

What's up, Keith? There's a bunch of threads here: Beginner's Corner that tackle your questions and provide lots of directions and instructions.

Give it a whirl. I think you will find the answers you are looking for there.


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## rockyuphill (Nov 28, 2004)

Why steel if the goal is a weight weenie build? You have to get spendy on a steel frame to get light.


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## What&son (Jan 13, 2004)

Girlonbike: You're right. I didn't think about it before answering either. Sorry


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## girlonbike (Apr 24, 2008)

Don't be. You were being helpful and I'm a big vintage Ritchey fan so your post was perfect to me. 

I just think that to learn the most and get the most out of these forums, if you are clueless, the beginning forum is the best place to start along with a visit to your local bike shop. There's what...thousands of 26" steel hardtails out there going back to the mid 90's? To narrow it down to even a half dozen is hard and the best route to go is through education.


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## Keith Medlock (Mar 23, 2013)

I


girlonbike said:


> Don't be. You were being helpful and I'm a big vintage Ritchey fan so your post was perfect to me.
> 
> I just think that to learn the most and get the most out of these forums, if you are clueless, the beginning forum is the best place to start along with a visit to your local bike shop. There's what...thousands of 26" steel hardtails out there going back to the mid 90's? To narrow it down to even a half dozen is hard and the best route to go is through education.


Thanks and sorry if this has been regurgitated over and over. Half is search engine retardation and half is laziness. The LBS said a Salsa or Surly were the way to go. After researching these, I was rethinking aluminum for the price. I don't want aluminum because eventually it will fracture from stress, whereas steel can flex to a degree an infinite number of times. I'm actually leaning towards aluminum now because I can get a lighter frame for half the price. I was also thinking that money was best spent on wheels/tires rather than frame, but the problem I've found with cheap aluminum frames like Nashbar is that they don't have zero stack tapered head tubes. Isn't this going to leave the frame at a defecit as technology moves forward?


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## rockyuphill (Nov 28, 2004)

Good decision, steel frames aren't that indestructible, and they rust unless you live in a desert environment or are diligent about the maintenance when they get wet.

Cheap aluminium frames tend to be heavier than they should and ride like a jackhammer. The cheap alloy frames will be in the 4.1-4.5 pound range. A large alloy hardtail frame with a good tubeset can be 3.6-3.7 pounds. Something like a scandium alloy tubeset will be around 3.2-3.4 pounds and have ride qualities like steel.

Kinesis Decade Virsa II Frame | Buy Online | ChainReactionCycles.com (steel 2600gms)

Kinesis Maxlight XC Pro 3 | Buy Online | ChainReactionCycles.com (alloy 1520gms)


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## Zerort (Jan 21, 2013)

Pipedream from the UK. Reynolds 853. You can run it 26" or 27.5". I just put one together. 23 lbs and rides soooo smooth. Steel all the way.


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## Rod (Oct 17, 2007)

This is taboo since I'm posting in weight weenies, but I would still consider getting a steel frame. I owned one and it last and lasted. I beat on it until I sold it. If I was going with a 26 hardtail that's the route I would take unless it was a pure race bike. There are some very light ones, which are spendy, but something to consider would be a Jamis dragon at around 4.8-5 lbs for a large. If your budget is low a jamis dakota xc was also made in steel for one year, but it wasn't 853.

You know a good aluminum frame would be around 2 lbs lighter, but I'm a fan of steel. It's more durable, less harsh, and mine lasted 6 years through a lot of use on trails it wasn't designed to be ridden on. If I had only one bike, it had to be a hardtail, and I wanted it to last, I think steel is the way to go. If that is not your criteria, move on. There are better options.


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## maxforce (Mar 8, 2011)

Carbon is stronger than you think and you're not a hard rider either.

I would get something like this:








26er MTB&Mountain bike&carbon bicycle frames&full carbon bicycle parts | eBay
You can get them with tapered steerers too.

It won't last forever and you can't get out your welder to fix it but these ebay carbons are great fun for the price.

Don't settle for aluminium, it has no romance at all. It's just boring.

Edit: spelling


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## henrymiller1 (Apr 25, 2008)

Look for an old Gunnar. I have a 26 and 29er, Picked each one up for about $250. Very Happy with them. 853 is really nice stuff.


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## rku615 (Dec 25, 2006)

You can tray Soma or Surly... both prices are pretty decent. I have a Troll which is about 1 lb heavier, but I like the options for touring....
Analog | SOMA Fabrications
Troll | Bikes | Surly Bikes


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## limba (Jan 9, 2004)

I just bought my first carbon bike. It BLOWS away everything else I've ridden. It seems like anyone that tries carbon says that. Get a carbon bike from a brand with a good warranty. There's nothing magical about steel.


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## Zerort (Jan 21, 2013)

limba said:


> I just bought my first carbon bike. It BLOWS away everything else I've ridden. It seems like anyone that tries carbon says that. Get a carbon bike from a brand with a good warranty. There's nothing magical about steel.


I don't have a carbon bike (yet). Are you saying it's smoother than steel? Do you own both?

Can you add a little more information about your carbon experiences?


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## limba (Jan 9, 2004)

I've owned and/or ridden steel, aluminum, scandium, ti (briefly) and carbon. Carbon can be manipulated more than the other materials to alter the way the bike rides. It's lighter, more comfortable yet stiffer ... it really is everything you read about it. I'd take scandium over steel and carbon over scandium any day. I bet Rocky will say the same thing.
But depending on where you live it might be hard to find a new 26" carbon hardtail. I'd look for a Flash or Scott.


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## rockyuphill (Nov 28, 2004)

I wasn't going to muddy the water any further, but yes, when I bought a Rocky Vertex RSL carbon hardtail frame in the fall of 2008 it promptly took over the top spot in my bike collection, bumping a scandium hardtail which had bumped both a Reynolds 853 hardtail and an Easton Ultralite aluminium tubeset hardtail. Zero resonance from tire buzz or rough trail surface, super stiff so there was no disc brake rub while cornering like the steel hardtail exhibited, and every bit of pedal effort gets turned into forward motion, it is almost telepathic in handling response. The 19.5 pound carbon hardtail was my favourite bike to ride up until I bought a carbon FS bike. I matched up the carbon hardtail frame with a Magura Durin 100 fork, which has the best small bump compliance of any 100mm fork I've ridden, and the bike was a dream to ride. Still is on less technical trails. But not all carbon frames are created the same, just as with differing tubesets. The cheap and simple carbon frame layups can be as harsh as a straight guage aluminium or steel tubeset, so you want a carbon frame that has some thought put into the carbon design.



limba said:


> I've owned and/or ridden steel, aluminum, scandium, ti (briefly) and carbon. Carbon can be manipulated more than the other materials to alter the way the bike rides. It's lighter, more comfortable yet stiffer ... it really is everything you read about it. I'd take scandium over steel and carbon over scandium any day. I bet Rocky will say the same thing.
> But depending on where you live it might be hard to find a new 26" carbon hardtail. I'd look for a Flash or Scott.


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## TheFist (May 4, 2010)

An old thread but hasn't had any action for awhile so the hijack i'm about to commit isn't as bad.

I'm new to mntn. biking and have already been bitten by the build it myself bug. I want to build a rigid. I'm trying to figure out all the differences in frame materials. I don't care all that much about weight I just want the bike to be solid. These Chinese frames are interesting because of the cost.

Finally, my question, what if your 270lbs and as graceful as a walrus? Whats the best frame material?


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## WickedLite (Nov 15, 2010)

First off, you're in weight weenies which means weight matters (weight of the bike that is).

26er/27.5/29er?

XC,AM or just around the neighborhood?

Build yourself will cost you more. Buying used you will get a better bike for the price and you can upgrade as you go.

Best deal I see out there on a 26er is this Voodoo Sobo built for $600. That frame is a crazy lite frame with geometry for sweet hill climbing and technical trail riding. Upgrade as you go.


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## TrailNut (Apr 6, 2004)

What&son said:


> What´s the budget?
> If I was in the market for one of these I would be looking at the Richey. Almost for sure. Check it out


Really, 3.6# for a 19/Large: Ritchie P-Team?

I may need to replace my broken steel hardtail 26er.


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## TrailNut (Apr 6, 2004)

TheFist said:


> An old thread but hasn't had any action for awhile so the hijack i'm about to commit isn't as bad.
> 
> I'm new to mntn. biking and have already been bitten by the build it myself bug. I want to build a rigid. I'm trying to figure out all the differences in frame materials. I don't care all that much about weight I just want the bike to be solid. These Chinese frames are interesting because of the cost.
> 
> Finally, my question, what if your 270lbs and as graceful as a walrus? Whats the best frame material?


Budget: $470 Soma Fab

The Ritchie P-Team's $1100.


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## TrailNut (Apr 6, 2004)

Rod said:


> This is taboo since I'm posting in weight weenies, but I would still consider getting a steel frame. I owned one and it last and lasted. I beat on it until I sold it. If I was going with a 26 hardtail that's the route I would take unless it was a pure race bike. There are some very light ones, which are spendy, but something to consider would be a Jamis dragon at around 4.8-5 lbs for a large. If your budget is low a jamis dakota xc was also made in steel for one year, but it wasn't 853.
> 
> You know a good aluminum frame would be around 2 lbs lighter, but I'm a fan of steel. It's more durable, less harsh, and mine lasted 6 years through a lot of use on trails it wasn't designed to be ridden on. If I had only one bike, it had to be a hardtail, and I wanted it to last, I think steel is the way to go. If that is not your criteria, move on. There are better options.


A "good" aluminum frame will be 1/2# lighter but will last as a fraction of years of a "good" light XC race steel hardtail 26er

Aluminum's wonderful for full suspension.


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