Last Updated on April 7, 2023 by FAB Jim The Cyclist
Steel framed road bikes aren’t that common anymore so finding models can be challenging. This list is all the companies and models I can find making steel framed bikes. I’m including cyclocross, adventure, gravel, and touring bikes, basically any steel framed drop bar bike. I’m gonna try to stick to bikes you can get in the USA without too much trouble, but there will be some exceptions.
All City
Zig Zag 105 – road bike with Shimano 105
$3,249
Zig Zag Ultegra – road bike with Shimano Ultegra
$4,449
Cosmic Stallion GRX – gravel bike with Shimano GRX 810
$2,649
Cosmic Stallion Rival AXS – gravel bike with SRAM Rival AXS
$4,049
Gorilla Monsoon Apex – adventure/cyclocross bike SRAM Apex
$2,649
Gorilla Monsoon GRX – adventure/cyclocross bike Shimano GRX 810
$3,149
Space Horse GRX – touring bike with Shimano GRX 400
$2,649
Space Horse Tiagra – touring bike with Shimano Tiagra
$1,999
Bombtrack
Hook – gravel bike Shimano GRX 400
$3,199
Arise Tour – touring bike Microshift
$3,149.99
Arise SG – gravel bike Microshift Advent X
$2,465
Fuji
Touring Disc – touring bike Shimano Deore
$1,499.99
Giordano
Trieste – entry gravel bike Shimano Claris
$650
Jamis
Renegade S2 – gravel/adventure bike Shimano GRX 600
$2,499.95
Renegade S3 – gravel/adventure bike Shimano GRX 400
$1,899.95
Renegade S4
$1,399.95 – gravel/adventure bike Shimano Sora
Kent
GZR700 – entry road bike Shimano
$249.99
Kona
Rove LTD – adventure bike Shimano GRX 810
$2,599
Rove DL – adventure bike SRAM Rival 1
$1,999
Rove – adventure bike Shimano Sora
$1,599
Marin
Nicasio 2 -adventure bike Shimano Tiagra
$1,699
Nicasio+ – adventure bike Microshift Advent
$1,099
Nicasio – adventure bike Shimano Claris
$899
Four Corner – touring bike Shimano Sora
$1,199
Masi
Giramondo – adventure bike Shimano Deore
$1,599
Motobecane
Gran Premio Elite – road bike Shimano 105
$999.95
Niner
RLT 9 Steel – gravel bike SRAM Force 1
$6,299
Norco
Search XR S1 – adventure bike Shimano GRX 600
$3,299
Search XR S2 – adventure bike Shimano GRX 400
$2,699
Section S2 – road bike Shimano 105
$2,199
Ritte
The Phantom – road bike SRAM Force
$2,450
The Satyr – gravel bike SRAM Force
$2.675
Rondo
ST1 – adventure bike SRAM Rival 1
$3,200
ST2 – adventure bike SRAM Apex 1
$2,600
Salsa
Marrakesh Alivio – adventure bike Shimano Alivio
$2,049
Vaya GRX 600 – adventure/touring bike Shimano GRX 600
$2,749
State
4130 Road – road bike with stem shifters Sunrace
$501.49
4130 All Road – adventure bike State 1×11
$764.99
Surly
Straggler – go anywhere bike SRAM Apex
$1,849
Midnight Special – gravel bike SRAM Rival
$2,349
Trek
520 – touring bike Shimano Sora/Alivio
$1,829.99
520 Grando – touring adventure bike Shimano Tiagra/GRX
$1,829.99
Steel Framesets
These companies offer steel framesets if you want to build your own bike:
Why steel?
Steel makes for a more comfortable ride as it will absorb road bumps. It is also very durable and strong so it will last. Steel is real.
A shorter list than I thought. I do have one addition. The Wilier Superleggera. Frameset is 3000 Euro, complete bikes 4200-6900. It is a tribute to their post-WW II bike in a copper finish.
That is a pretty one.
Cool list. I know steel is highly favored by roadies. I never ridden one, so I can’t comment more extensively.
You must be young! Some of us are old enough that steel was the only choice! 😉 but there were different qualities of steel. Columbus made at least 3 different steel tube sets at the same time, as did Tange. Reynolds has made several different formulations, but I don’t know how many were made at the same time. Maybe FAB can enlighten us in a future post about all of the different steel back in the day.
I did a post about steels a while back. https://frugalaveragebicyclist.com/2022/05/15/guide-to-vintage-road-bike-steel-frame-tube-manufacturers-and-types/
Ah yes. Thanks for the reminder. In addition, manufacturers sometimes used a combination of steels. Bianchi used Columbus SP for the bottom of the frame (downtube and chain stays) and the lighter SL for the top (top tube, seat stays, seat tube) on some frames. I’m not sure which went into the head tube. Albert Eisentraut never put tubing stickers on his frames, saying he reserved the right to make the best choice for each individual frame. So you see, Doug, back in the day, being limited to steel still left a lot of choices.