On A Steel Horse I Ride

I recently decided that since I lost a ton of weight I should reward myself with a new bike. I want a new road bike, something fast, something light. I really like my steel touring bike and want that ride comfort. I started looking to see if there were any steel road bikes out there that met my criteria. I already had one in mind, but wanted to be a good consumer and see what else is out there. My search started with the one I had in mind. I needed a starting point to base everything else off of. The first is a Jamis Eclipse. This is what Jamis calls a steel performance bike. I'd say, it weighs 17 lbs and has Shimano Ultegra components. The frame is a mix of Reynolds 853 steel and carbon fiber. This would truly meet all my needs and then some. For me this is a bike I would grow in to. I'm not used to having a fast bike and would have to train myself accordingly. It's a sweet looking bike and retails for around $3200.


Next on my wish list is a Raleigh International. This is a new bike in 2011 for Raleigh, but has a great heritage. The International was produced back in the 70's and was phased out in the 80's. Don't quote me on that but you get the idea, old bike making a return. This bike has a great classic look. It comes loaded with Shimano Dura Ace everything, and a Reynolds 853 steel frame. It is new enough that there is no MSRP listed on it yet, but I checked with my LBS and they told me $5995 will be the list price. No way I'm thinking about dropping 6 large on a bike. There is also no weight listed.

The next one is another Raleigh. This time is is the Raleigh Record Ace. It comes with Reynolds 520, and mostly Shimano Ultegra components. I never thought I'd like a white bike, but this one has a classic elegance about it I like. MSRP is $1949, no weight listed.
That is as far as I have gotten. There are a ton of steel bikes out there, but they don't all fit what I'm looking for. I like what Raleigh and Jamis are doing with their steel bikes. I hope to see more manufacturers following suit.


The Dude