Steel - four of a kind?

I never (since I as a teenager road raced in the 80's) imagined my self getting at steel bike again. But in my search for a bike purely focused on gravel I have stumbled on some interesting alternatives. My four major steel choices are the Krona Rove St, Breezer Inversion, Jamis Renegade Expat and Genesis Croix de Fer 20. Anybody with experiences of these bikes? How to compare them? And their status compared to the aluminium alternatives?

Well, I read a lot about the Genesis and compared that to the Jamis bikes.  But, ultimately I found a 20 year old lugged steel Specialized on craigslist in mint condition for about 1/10th of the price.     (interestingly right after I bought the bike, Specialized did a limited edition run of the frame for $4,000).

road.cc has a lot of articles on the genesis bikes.  Start there...

I don't know a lot about the 4 bikes you have listed. I have done lots of research on bikes and the two of the 4 that you have listed came up. The Jamis Renegade Expat and the Krona Rove St. I went with the Raleigh Tamland 1 because I got a killer of a deal on it this spring. As far as steel compared to aluminum from what I have read everybody prefers the steel for it's ability of soaking up all the bumps. At my end I will say I was a little worried thinking my Tamland at 25.1 lbs would be too heavy for my first race I did this weekend The Pony Express 120 which I opted for the 75 miler. My Tamland far exceeded all my concerns. i have fallen in love with gravel racing after just my first race.


Good luck in your search for your bike. Not sure what size you ride but I did see a Jamis on Ebay that looked brand  new but doubt it is still there.

Zman

The Raleigh Tamland seems to be a popular bike. Lots of gravel riders riding one. I got a friend who rides the Renegade. I myself have never ridden it but I have ridden with him and he loves it. If you want a comfortable ALL DAY rider that won't beat you up, look at the Soma Wolverine. I sold my Vassago last November and bought one. I don''t regret it a bit. Super sweet, forgiving, and compliant.

Zurichman wrote: As far as steel compared to aluminum from what I have read everybody prefers the steel for it's ability of soaking up all the bumps.

I have both, and rather prefer Aluminum to everything because of its "pop" when accelerating.  I love its responsiveness.  

Tire pressure does more than any frame material for soaking up the bumps.  Between proper tire pressure and a thudbuster ST, even the stiffest aluminum frame will ride great.  Modern aluminum frames can ride better than steel - Salsa is a good example.

I would take my steel bike for a century ride - one where I need steady state comfort over the ability to jump onto the back wheel of someone in a paceline.  

In other words, if I'm doing ~200 watts output, steel is fine.  If I'm doing 500+ watts output, I need something stiffer and lighter.