Reynolds 953 question?

jefferson73

Hi,


I'm in the market for a new frame and i'm not a huge fan of carbon, was considering having a bike made and was wondering if anyone has ridden a bike made from 953 steel or have an opinions about it.
Would like to know what the ride quality is like?

Thanks

blorg

I haven't, although I was considering a steel tourer it and was told by Mercian that 953 was very stiff, really for racing.

I ended up getting titanium tourer, although I have a carbon racer also.

What sort of bike is it for?

jefferson73

thanks,

Thats what i thought and agrees with your reply also
the frame builder said "Ride wise, it offers a very stiff and direct ride and is best suited to fast day rides, racing and time trialling".
The fact that it's steel, stainless and light is what grabbed my attention but not the kind cycling i had in mind. I may need to re-evaluate.

blorg

I'd consider titanium- a lot of similar ride qualities to steel but tends to be lighter. Also doesn't corrode and is bomb-proof. For aesthetic value though, you will be hard pressed to beat a traditional lugged steel frame from a good builder.

What sort of riding are you planning?

roadmanmad

I was looking for a frame a while back.. My local bike shop would not recommend 953 as he felt it experienced a lot of stress cracks when compared to 531.

jefferson73

Thanks for the advice,
I'm planning to build a bike for lesiure riding, sportivies and centuries etc.
Titanium is a valid option but difificult to source the correct frame, as quality varies, i'd like to avoid some of the trading front companies that import and rebadge from the same chinese/taiwanese/russian factories and also some more established brands that have had problems recently too.
So far interested in Merlin, Moots and lynskey. Would love to take these for test cycles, but limited examples in this country.Slane cycles have Merlin on their site but nothing current.

niceonetom

i think 953 used to be used alot for track bikes becuase of it's stiffness, so it's at the opposite end of the spectrum to your needs.

titanium would be sweeeet.

fish-head

Or good old 531. Really can't be beat!

blorg

531 is lovely but it is heavy though. A light bike is really nice if you like doing lots of hills (and who doesn't ).

Most titanium bikes come from Taiwan/China, a few from Russia. A lot of carbon comes from Taiwan as well. I wouldn't have an issue with that (my own ti bike is a Dutch company but made in Taiwan.)

If you had the cash though I would be very tempted by the Planet X Titanium Sportive bike. Made in the USA by Lynskey, the founders of Litespeed.

paddyb

enigma also do titanium. they are made in the UK

blorg

I'm pretty sure Enigma are made in Taiwan (nothing wrong with that!) although I am open to correction.

paddyb

definitely UK, one of the owners makes the frames himself.

but speaking of taiwan, you can get titanium frames for €500 from there

blorg

From the Engima website:

www.enigmabikes.com wrote:

We are often asked where our frames are produced and we make no secret that we work very closely with a small artisan builder in Taiwan, on reasons of quality alone. Most of the best frames in the World are made in Taiwan because the quality is so high.

paddyb

wow im surprised by that!

van nicholas get good reviews as well, they are also made in taiwan i think.

blorg

Yes indeedy, I have a Van Nicholas myself and very happy with it.