Price Paid:  $0.00 at steelman.com

Favorite Ride:
My next ride

Bike Setup:
Steelman Stage Race with custom paint finish and Campy Record 10.

Summary:
As a junior racer in the Bay Area I always longed for a Steelman. About 15 years and several bikes later I finally took the custom plunge and got one. That was 6 years ago as I write, and I haven't looked back since.

Strengths:
"Steel is real". I still feel fresh at mile 90 of a century. Rolls over rough pavement while smoothing out the chatter and projecting confidence in the corners. Custom built. Brent takes the time to get to know you and your riding style and then just nails it. My Steelman feels like a natural extension of my own body unlike any other bike I have had, and I have had plenty.

Weaknesses:
Brent Steelman does not compromise on anything in my experience. There will be a lead time and you'll wait a little, but that will be a distant memory after the first ride.

Similar Products Used:
Trek racing bikes, Zunow racing bikes, Bridgestone RB1, Concorde SLX, Giant TCR, Klein Quantum

Price Paid:  $1200.00 at Steelman Cycles

Favorite Ride:
Page Mill Road

Bike Setup:
Campy Record triple group, Campy Nucleon wheels (light), Chorus titanium seat post, Italian bars/stem/seat, Continental tires (GP4000).

Summary:
I purchased a Stage Race frame from Brent. Brent is a great guy and is very patient. He gives you a fitting and mini tour of the shop (which for me was half the fun).

The first day, I had stayed up the entire nite before assembling the bike, then road 110 miles on it. Man was I sore, but it was because of the seat, not the bike.

It's a shear blast to ride. Coming down my favorite ride (Page Mill Road) is challenging as the road is steep, has tight corners, and is pretty rough in sections.

But the bike goes where exactly you point it. And it really soaks up the bikes. I'd have to say the handling and ride quality is superb.

The bike has Campy Record which just compliments the overall feel. It's a real gem.

Strengths:
- light (18 lbs with Campy Record triple)
- lively
- smooth
- perfectly balanced handling/tracking
- perfect build quality

Weaknesses:
- none really

Similar Products Used:
Own other steel and aluminum bikes (Gitane team bike, Colnago, Bridgestone MB-1, Redline, GIOS compact). No carbon fiber in this family.

Price Paid:  $1800.00 at Steelman Cycles

Favorite Ride:
Steelman Stage Race

Bike Setup:
Dura Ace 10-speed drive train & brakes.
Ultegra BB/DA 7700 crank & fd.
Ultegra hubs, open pro rims, conti ultra 3000 skins (from my old bike).
Modolo bars, Ritchey stem, Deda black stick seatpost.
Ritchey Logic pedals (from old bike).

Summary:
I purchased my Steelman based on the recommendation of a co-worker who's a former wrench ~ and another co-worker who threw down for his own Steelman. I had been looking at the Trek OCLV bikes & had a good test ride on a 5900. Something seemed "plasticy" about it even though it had a great ride. I had an excellent fit on my previous bike & so I drew it up on my CAD package. I had a very short top tube that off-the-shelf bikes couldn't duplicate.

My visit with Brent was a lot of fun. He evaluated my fit (and agreed it was good), then looked at my drawing. he made further suggestions which I accepted. Brent went into a lot of detail describing different tubes & they would affect the ride.

Construction is first rate. The frame is perfectly aligned & the welds are among the cleanest I've seen. (I have looked at a lot.) The frame was easy to build up.

Flash forward 3000 miles. I am a happy camper. The bike handles beautifully. Tracks straight & clean. I recently completed a centruy which had a descent where I hit & sustained 50mph. I was able to track the yellow line at that speed with no problem. My Stage Race carves through corners ~ even rough ones ~ & dumps me out on the other side right where I want to be. My first few rides I went looking for rough pavement becasue the frame soaked it up so well. The bike climbes well. The larger chain stays & laterally ovalized down tube really stiffen up the bottom bracket area. I don't claim to defy gravity when I climb, but my ST is a vast improvement over my previous bike.

In short, this bike rides like a champ, fits like a glove & has a classic, lean appearance. For those of you who think steel is retro, try again. A custom ride made with the new steels is incomparable.

Strengths:
Fit, durability, ride, appearance ~ in no particular order.

Weaknesses:
Waiting for my frame was difficult, but waiting for anything special is difficult.

Similar Products Used:
Schwinn Paramount 1987, upgraded with a Kestrel fork & Ultegra 9-speed.
Brief rides on all the other usual suspects.

Price Paid:  $0.00 at From the man himself

Bike Setup:
Single-speed

Summary:
For years I read the reviews on Brent's bikes. At this point my thought is what can I say that hasn't already been said. between all the complete bike reviews and frames there were something like 60 reviews in total and not one person had given anything less than a perfect rating.

Now here I am 1000 miles later on my very own Steelman Stage Race, and they were all right. Don't ask me how, thats why he's a master, but this thing will NOT flex in the bottom bracket. I run single-speed solely and tall gearing, and no matter how hard I've hammered up the various hills around It doesn't flex.

Now, for the Steelman magic, despite all that stiffness this thing rides like a dream. I can't believe the way it smooths out the road. It is such a treat to RIDE that I can honestly say at this point that there is absolutely no reason why at any price I would consider any other bike.

I love it. I cant speak for the powdercoating through their normal operation since I got mine done through Spectrum in Colorado Springs, but the frame itself is truly amazing.

Strengths:
everything

Weaknesses:
nothing

Price Paid:  $1395.00 at Brent

Favorite Ride:
Montrose

Bike Setup:
Dura=Ace 9speed; Mavic Cosmos wheels, sad old 42-year-old former racer on seat.

Summary:
This is my second Steelman (see previous review on my crashed Dedaccia one). I've logged a few thousand miles on it, and am still amazed at how responsive, fast and comfortable this bike is. The carbon fork is a great addition, lightening it up a bit. This bike tracks beautifully, absorbs the worst the road can handle, sprints and climbs with agility.

Strengths:
Strong yet nimble, comfy steel ride. Great geometry.

Weaknesses:
None worth quibbling over

Similar Products Used:
Bunch of mass-production bikes; Nothing really "similar."