I am looking to buy a new gravel bike, and am stuck between choosing a carbon fiber frame, or a steel frame. Speed matters very little to me, i mostly want a pleasant comfy experience riding gravel, with also the possibility to go bikepacking.
I looked at the Cinelli Speciale gravel, and its my absolute dream bike, but the price makes me think twice…
Are there any people here with experience with steel gravel bikes? I would love to see your bikes.
by DubstoiZ
24 Comments
Steel – the answer is steel. Carbon is a dead end material, ultimately bound for landfill – and it just ain’t as cool as steel.
I have a giant revolt – aluminum with a carbon fork. It is awesome. I have a new albion privateer that is pretty standard 4130 chromoly steel . . . I like riding both, but if I’m not training/racing I’m riding the privateer.
Also of note the privateer tire clearance is narrower so if I’m hitting gnarly stuff its the revolt. There are plenty of steel bikes with larger tire clearances, though.
I have both, a Kross Esker 4.0 (4130 steel) and a Specialized Crux Comp (carbon).
The Esker is a tank, if I crash the worst that could happen is scuffing the paint or damaging the drivetrain. It will live forever and its absolutely great for for loading up for a bikepacking adventure, but damn is it heavy (12.5kg) and by comparison, feels like driving an old station wagon.
I can’t put into words how much faster and more flexible the carbon bike is, 4.5kg is a night and day difference. It flies up hills and handles like a Lamborghini.
I bought the Esker because I love bikepacking and camping and going out for long rides into nature, but when realized I ride gravel, clad in spandex 3 times a week and go bike packing 3 times a year, I kind of decided to upgrade to something faster.
Let what you want to use it for guide you.
There’s also aluminum which can be said is the best of both worlds, or the worst of both worlds depending on who you talk to.
Good luck and happy riding.
Steel with carbon fork has been my sweet spot, but also depends on what you ride on and where you’re going. If you’re more road than trail carbon will shine, if you’re questioning if you should have gotten a suspension fork you’ll be happy to have a steel frame.
I owned a cinelli Hobootleg Geo until recently, and a Brother Kepler before that. Steel is such a comfortable ride and is so practical re repairs and robustness, that I don’t feel any inclination towards any other material. (I’ve owned Alu bikes in the past and have rented carbon.)
I have had steel, aluminum and carbon gravel bikes. For gravel I prefer carbon. But my aim is to go further faster. The weight adds up and the carbon naturally dampens the gravel chatter better than the steel bike I had. The carbon frame despite that dampening property was still stiff and responded well to hard efforts. I do tend to baby my carbon bike more than my steel ones. If it’s a flat bar bike then it doesn’t matter at all bc you’re not going fast anyways. lol
That bike does look very nice. If it’s your dream bike then just get it…..Buy once, cry once and all that.
I have carbon myself. Setup with frame bags and a rear rack/pannier that is easy to add and remove.
But I ride regularly with a friend who has a Bombtrack Hook EXT. It looks very similar to that Cinelli (except it’s blue)
I think both our bikes are pretty similar weight wise, they both do the same job, we go on the same rides.the wheels and tyres are likely a bigger difference than the frame
fairlight, brother cycles for example make awesome steel bikes for less money.
As someone said – for most people it does not matter, carbon or steel or aluminium or titanium, you unlikely to feel a difference, just buy the bike you like and that’s it.
Don’t listen to people “dead end material carbon” or “steel is for old people and hipsters who never shower”. Buy what you want brother, I can guarantee you won’t tell a difference if you don’t race
Steel is my preference, but a lot of people argue that aluminium with the right tyres, saddle, and bars will give you a perfectly similar ride quality for a lot less money.
Personally I think carbon fibre is not the move, even though it apparently has great ride qualities, and is light, the fact that it’s so much more fragile in a crash, and it’s environmentally poor contradicts one of the great upsides of cycling being a sustainable activity.
steel
Steel. You say that yourself in your post.
That said, good quality bikes will be very similar to a casual rider. But for comfort and ease of use, I’d say steel wins.
The bike looks sick !!!!!
I will never choose Carbon unless I am racing or collecting types of bicycles. I like my gravel bike strong and firm, not weak speedstar.
This is one of the nicest builds I’ve seen in a while. Great colorway.
Steel is real if you can live with your bike being 1 to 1.5 kilos heavier. The weight differences between steel and carbon bikes tend to be bigger on production bikes because carbon bikes tend to be specced differently to begin with, but you can still make a steel bike not a boat anchor with some well thought out components. Sub 10 kilos is entirely possible and dare I say as light as anyone ever needs their gravel bike to be unless they race. Titanium would be even more premium and save some grams but also even more expensive (if you compare apples to apples, Cinelli are asking titanium prices for steel bikes simply because they have Cinelli logos on them).
Cinelli is so good at nailing the look of all their designs. Might take a look at the new Flaaniaml 6.0 steel if you’re stateside. Either steel or carbon would work, but if speed doesn’t matter to you and you’re interested in bikepacking, I think steel might be a bit more robust.
I just picked up an Ari Shafer 3.0 (not the comedian because I’m not strong enough to pick him up). I toyed with getting a steel bike but they were all more expensive. My preference is to save a few dollars to have it to spend on adventures and the like. Ultimately, you’ll enjoy whatever you get. Good luck!
Steel, all day, everyday. You say specifically you want a comfy ride on gravel and to maybe bikepack with – in no possible way could a carbon frame be more fit for this purpose than steel. Steel is more durable, it can be repaired, it has more compliance and is therefore more comfortable, it’s safer to load down with gear, the list goes on. Barring major crash damage or rust, you are likely to still be able to ride a steel bike 50 years from now, and there’s almost 0 chance of that happening with a carbon bike.
As for the folks in the comments talking about their carbon bikes being lighter and therefore zippier and more agile, handling characteristics are more down to geometry than frame material, and the weight of a bike for people not planning on racing is just not important (within reason). Yes, a steel bike will probably be 2ish pounds heavier than an equivalent build with a carbon frame, but that is a 1-1.5% difference in the context of a total system weight of bike+gear+rider between 150 and 200 lbs. Your own weight fluctuates by more than double that on a daily basis between food and water intake and loss. You’ll lose a marginal amount of aerodynamic efficiency compared to an aero-optimized carbon race frame, but we’re talking like maybe 7-10 watts at 25mph, and you’re probably not comparing a steel bike against a super aero race frame anyway as the don’t have the ability to be used for loaded touring or bikepacking anyway. Don’t let the industry brainwash you into a bad purchase – buy a metal bike and don’t look back.
Alloy? I still love my 2014 Salsa Warbird Alloy, recently rebuilt with SRAM Force AXS 1x
I like light bikes in general but a heavier bike feels more grounded and smooth on gravel.
Can’t go wrong with steel if you’re comfortable with the added frame weight. Also, more mounting options for bags as no stress about compressing carbon tubing…
Maybe good steel bikes are $$$ now though, the same price as carbon. I have ridden a steel road bike and an 853 hardtail mt bike, they were both awesome.
A steel frame with a carbon bar could be great.
But saying that, I ride a carbon gravel bike with a carbon bar and love it. It was cheaper than the steel bike on my shortlist by a grand.
The price becomes irrelevant, when looking at this steel-beauty handcrafted in Milano.
Have a Fairlight Secan 3.0 and absolutely love it! Looks really beautiful in my opinion, the combination of steel frame a carbon fork dampens really nicely and I’m not afraid of hitting the frame on rocks or trees or whatever