Advice on a steel bike?

Hi. New here.  Got into biking as excercise a little over a year ago when my doc told me I shouldn't run anymore, and I'm really loving it now, and trying to learn what I can along the way. I've been riding a beater for a couple of years now and am looking to purchase a versatile bike that can serve as a commuter and handle other kinds of riding that I'm interested in (longer rides, light trail stuff) but haven't gotten into yet.   

I'm a big guy, 6'4 220, and I tend to ride kinda hard. Since I don't have any friends in town who are my size and ride, the only experience that I have on nice bikes is limited to mostly to frames that don't particularly fit. I know that I want steel to minimize the shock to my back. So internet research has led me to a Surly CrossCheck or an All City Space Horse. 

I know they're similar bikes but if anyone has any advice either way, please let me know. (Or if there are other bikes under $1500 that I should be considering.) Such a big purchase I just want to make sure that I'm not overlooking things that I will find important in a year. 

Thanks. And thanks for this resource.  I just found the chainlink and it seems really awesome

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Permalink Reply by Tricolor on May 17, 2013 at 10:10am

What's wrong with bar end shifters?  They're pretty simple, robust and can operate without indexing.

Permalink Reply by John C. Wilson on May 17, 2013 at 10:13am

At 6'4" and 220# you are right on the edge of where traditional steel frames with 1-1/8 down and seat tubes and 1" top tubes will not work well. Anything modern will have a 1-1/4" or better downtube and will stand up without question. OTOH you could find something vintage made of reasonably heavy skinny tubes and you would have marvelous flex to lessen shock to your back. The vintage frame might not last as long, might feel noodly when pushed really really hard. $1500 gets you almost anything in vintage.

Ride as many bikes as you can. The spectrum of ride quality in steel is enormous.

At 220# you want rubber with some size. Tires absorb shock too. The bikes you mention have room for a  wide tire. Many modern bikes in any frame material will not take much more than a 23 or 25mm tire and you don't want to get stuck with those.

Permalink Reply by Kevin Mulcky on May 17, 2013 at 10:20am

Excellent advice John!

I want to stress that the OP should try out as many bikes as possible before making a purchase. Try steel, aluminum, and carbon. Try bikes that are above and below your price point. Try bike with shimano, sram, or campy drivetrains. Try new or used. Try bikes made in USA, china, or italy. etc. etc. etc.

John C. Wilson said:

...$1500 gets you almost anything in vintage.

Ride as many bikes as you can. The spectrum of ride quality in steel is enormous.

...Many modern bikes in any frame material will not take much more than a 23 or 25mm tire and you don't want to get stuck with those.
Permalink Reply by Anne B. on May 17, 2013 at 10:42am

I'm keeping the bar end shifters on my Surly and would recommend that if you end up getting the Cross Check that you at least give them a try for a couple  days. Saves money on an expensive upgrade and if you're coming from a beater bike you'll be so pleased with the rest of the bike working well that you may not find yourself lusting over the STI shifters. But see what the guys at Comrade have to say and of course try out different bikes and options; perhaps your bike routes are different than mine and require a lot more frequent shifting. I've just been surprised to find that I like the bar end shifters. And I even like the stock saddle. It's been really awesome not having to spend more $ past the initial purchase! Oh but I did pay about $30 to have them put center brakes (not sure of the techy name for this) on and I LOVE those. 

Permalink Reply by Josh L. on May 17, 2013 at 11:50am

Here's yet one more set of opinions.

I have Reynolds 520 on one of my bikes and really like it.  when I was up at your weight I used it too and it was fine.

Fit is the most important think when buying a bike. Learn to read the geometry charts and then find a bike whose geometry you like. If you put the geometry of the bike you like in a spreadsheet :) and then add other bikes to it you can see which other bikes share the same geometry.  There is no substitute for trying a bike to see if you like the geometry..particularly the reach to the front handlebars.  Most of the bike shop guys just want to make a sale (I know, kill me) so you need to decide at the end of the day what fit  you like the best.  Spend 10-20 minutes on the bike.  Getting a bike too small is the worst.

Then  come components.  I bought a Cafe Express from bikes direct (http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/cafe_express8.htm) two months ago for commuting. I love it. I know you want to go to a LBS which is cool but one thing I tried and really like are the internal hub gears. It makes commuting much easier. You can change gears while at a stop, never have to look down when gears are changing, and the snow and rain can't get at the gears in the winter months.  Just an idea for you.  

The Shimano components on the Surley seem nice although they have combined three levels of Shimano components.

Permalink Reply by physis 8.2 on May 17, 2013 at 12:16pm

For clarity's sake, Reynolds 520 is the Reynolds brand steel product that uses the same 4130 CroMo steel alloy that many BikesDirect bikes use.

Columbus would have their own brand equivalent and so on.

Permalink Reply by Josh L. on May 17, 2013 at 12:26pm

Thanks...never understood this branded steel names business.  For the OP I will say that steel is a good choice if you want a smoother ride and the comfort of a stiffer bike offsets the added weight.

btw I didn't mean to suggest you had to go the bikesdirect route to get internal hub gears.  I tried several models of bikes sold in Chicago that feature them.  My understanding is there are only two manufacturers of such gears, Shimano and a UK company whose name escapes me.

Permalink Reply by physis 8.2 on May 17, 2013 at 12:32pm

UK company is Sturmy-Archer.

 

Only know this because I got interested in your post about internal geared hubs and was looking at Sheldon Brown's page that referenced the UK company ;)

Permalink Reply by Allen Wrench on May 17, 2013 at 3:52pm

1) Who's shilling for Bikes Direct? Go back to sending spam comments to blogs instead - oops, never mind, guess that's what you're doing...

2) I think many bikes in many styles will manage 250 lbs. As desired weight capacity increases, diamond frames probably better than step throughs. Steel probably less likely to suffer fatigue than carbon plastic and aluminum. Bigger tires on wider rims and a normal biggish number of spokes are also likely better. Metal pedals.

3) new bikes for up to 550 lbs are sold by several makers, including New York-made cruisers from Worksman. Maybe some Dutch stuff too, and cargo bikes; look at a shop specializing in them. And old steel framed cr/mo mountain bikes with fat street tires could probably hold up, too, and could cost a lot less. 

4) Tandem components offer very durable, relatively lightweight, high performance designs but can be costly - check out Phil Wood or White.

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