Hey,
I am planning to buy my first gravel. I have struggle between these two (Romet Finale & Romet Aspre II). Struggle is about frame material.
I know technical pros and cons for both, I already googled it.
My heart beats for steel on one hand, but on the other hand alloy seems to be more modern and universal.
My goals are one-day rides, weekend mini bikepackings, optionally once a year longer (1week) trip. I live at mostly flat area.
Maybe someone of you had similar struggle and goals, chose steel and regrets? Or the other way, chose alloy and regrets it?
by wieza39
16 Comments
Steel. Always steel.
I haven’t ridden an alloy frame in 15 years 😅
So steel, always
I once bought a steel bike and never went back to alloy (happy owner of 3 steel bikes since). Steel looks better and ride feel is nicer (especially on a rigid gravel bike with thin tires). But in this particular case , the alloy bike is a better option in every capacity, and the only good think about Finale is the frame material… though, it’s preety low grade frame. If you can afford to spend a bit more, look at Kross Esker 4.0. It’s steel, but modern (through axle, flat mounts, carbon fork).
i went with steel for my first gravel bike and honestly don’t regret it at all! the ride feel is so smooth on longer trips and it’s held up great for weekend adventures. you really can’t go wrong either way tho.
I bought a steel frame for bikepacking. For that it is excellent and I really enjoy it, but for fast lycra-suited gravel riding, it is quite heavy.
I ride my local gravel trails 2-3 times a week and I go bikepacking 3-4 times a year.
I think I’d go steel unless the tire clearance was a lot less than the aluminum.
I have both a steel and an aluminum gravel bike and both ride great, though the aluminum bike is almost a CX bike. (2021 All city cosmic stallion and 2019 Scott Speedster gravel).
Steel us great but out of the two bikes above one has hydraulic brakes. I’d pick the better groupset over the frame at this price point and upgrade the frame later.
I had this exact Romet Aspre 2 and it was a terrible bike frame wise. The manufacturer does not state official reach/stack numbers but this bike’s stack (and as consequence, front end) is ridiculously low. I hated riding it as my neck would start to hurt very quickly. I even had it professionally fitted and it still didn’t help much. I’m glad I sold it and bought a Kross Esker which is much more comfortable
As an owner of both types of bikes, steel. All day every day. Aluminum is lighter and stiffer ( depending upon your steel frame obviously) but it’s also completely unforgiving. It’s super stiff so it’s a great racer, but when you’re in the saddle for hours steel just becomes a part of you. It’s dreamy to ride in comparison to carbon fiber or aluminum.
Steel. Frame weight literally doesn’t matter and even if you care about it the difference isn’t as much as people make it out to be.
It really doesn’t make a difference, I ride steel personally
I never regretted buying a steel bike. I’ve bought aluminum and carbon bikes and have regretted it.
There’s just something about steel that feels better in my opinion, especially on gravel. Hard to say what. They’re heavier but they always feel smooth for long rides and I’m less worn at the end. Aluminum and carbon bikes always seem to chatter and feel uncomfortable, even though they have clear benefits with handling and performance.
I think if you prioritize weight savings then aluminum. If you prioritize comfort steel.
I’m not a pro mechanic but I’m not sure what you mean by alloy being more modern and universal. Steel bikes tend to follow standards AFAIK except maybe things like tapered headtubes.
There’s no difference in terms of vertical compliance. It all comes down to tire width and air pressure. Pick whichever you prefer.
All the crap about ride quality has been disproven by science
I’ve owned a lot of steel and aluminum bikes and a couple of titanium bikes. After all the years of riding, my personal opinion is that there is very little case to be made for any material other than steel unless you’re racing. Even if money were no object, I’d always buy steel at this point.
Steel frame. Stronger than aluminum.
Ride them both and see which one feels better.
I recently sold an aluminum bike and replaced it with a similarly priced steel bike, purely because I lusted after steel (and a really great deal popped up). I kept the wheels/tires, so no change there.
I regret it and I miss my aluminum bike. I doubt very much that it has anything to do with the frame material. The aluminium bike felt natural under me from the first test ride. I convinced myself that the steel bike also did, but after 6 months, I can confidently say I liked the aluminum bike better.