Mr. Bayliss: "....If I rode a race on a steel road bike it would be for grins and exercise. Are the racers different in your neck of the woods?"
I race on weekends and I ride a steel bike. It has carbon forks and seat post and all of the Carbon Campy throws into the Record 10 gruppo. (except the crank, rich I am not) Several of our riders have steel frames. I like mine because it is handmade, as light as nearly any thing out there and likely to still be usable ten years down the road. There is a preponderance of nonferrous frames but I see this as market pressure and ignorance. After a fast 60 miles a steel frame feels pretty good especially considering the rough condition of our roads down here. Having ridden a Cannonwhale over the same roads and coming home beaten up, I'll leave the tin cans to the youngsters.
Curtis Whatley
nursing a vintage knee
Mission, Texas