Strengths: steel, simple and pure, if you believe the hype of todays frame materials than you will go broke. steel is really real!
Weaknesses: weight, this may not be the lightest frame in the world, but it sure is stiff and very shock absorbing on chip-seal roads here in oregon..
Bottom Line:
best damn bike i have owned, have owned carbon, ti, alum, ti-carbon, this is the best frame made in the usa for the price, bar none! i know, i make em. i braze and align all the bike at burley and im proud to be part of such a great bike co.
Strengths: Very firm ride and no BB flex. Comfortable on long rides. Sharp handling and performance. GREAT value for the money.
Weaknesses: Builds up a little heavier than one might expect (could be the wheelset and saddle).
Bottom Line:
Very cool frame built by a worker's co-op in Oregon. Welds are neat with excellent paint (Sun Gold color looks great). Curved chainstays are a nice touch. In my view, just as attractive and well built as frames costing three times as much. The sizing is spot on (I purchased the 60cm). Very firm ride, which is what I was after since I am a clydesdale (240lbs.) Absolutely no frame flex when out of the saddle sprinting. But it retains the comfort of steel over longer ridees. The semi-compact geometry makes for outstanding responsiveness and handling. I think with a lighter wheelset and saddle, this could be a very good racing bike.
Similar Products Used: Waterford RS-11
Felt F-15
De Beranrdi Thron
Schwinn Peloton
Bike Setup: 2005 Easton EC90 Sl fork. Campagnolo Centaur with FSA SLK compact crankset. Record headset. Mavic Kyserium Elite wheelset. Speedplay SS Zero pedals. Thomson Masterpiece seatpost and X-2 stem. Brooks swift saddle.
Strengths: Made of steel
Fast and comfortable ride
Beautiful powder coat
Sound construction
Well thought out fittings selection
Great value for money
Weaknesses: Short head tube. Think the 2005 models addressed this issue at the expense of having a slopping top tube.
The weight? I have learned one truth in years of cycling that is wind resistance, bike fit, and your form matters more than bike weight. On your strong days, any bike would feel fast. So at 17.5 lb for my setup, it is hardly a weakness.
Steel rusts? You mean you have not seen 7000 series aluminum corrode, carbon cable stops unglued by sweat and Titanium crack? Well don't soap and hose down your bike. Always just wipe the frame (steel or not) and components with cloth and Pledge. Take off the wheels and scrube the tire and rim with car shampoo then rinse off with low pressure hose and keep water away from the hub! Proper care is key to longevity, not material.
No steel fork option.
Bottom Line:
Was in the US for a couple of months and was looking for an American steel frame. There were a few frames on my list. But after much searching, all would not be available before I had to leave. Then I came upon a Burley catalogue and learned that they started making road bikes. The frameset has all the things I was looking for:
- True Temper OX Platinum (light strong steel)
- Breezer style drop outs (I like these as I think the join make sense)
- Headtube slotted cable stops (no cable rubbing headtube paint off)
- Curved seat stay (don't know if it gives significantly more compliance, but they look nice and expensive)
- Choice of solid colours as standard (won't go out of style like team graphics)
- Straight carbon fork (ok...I like the Colnago look)
- Non sloping top tube (just a personal preference…don’t start a soapbox)
Now if I can just look at the actual bike...well, found one at Boehm and the frameset actually looks much better then the pictures in the catalogue. So down with the order and got the frameset in a little more than two weeks.
Back home, I built it up with Dura-Ace 9 spd, Ritchey WCS bar, stem, post, headset and Mavic Open Pro wheels (European Spring Classics stuffs) and off I went. Having ridden a compact aluminum bike for 3 years, the first thing I notice was how this bike goes over rough road. It is the nice sensation of steel that people have coined so many words to describe it. To me, it is simply "dampened springiness". It is great for fast, long club rides as when my arms and legs get so tired to suspend my body, the frame still keeps me comfortable enough to pedal on. The bike is very stable on fast decent and corners neutrally, nothing noticeably bad about its handling. The bike is stiff enough that I can accelerate to chase down a break, win a sprint or hammer a climb out of the saddle as I used to, that I missed nothing about the old compact aluminum bike. The powder coat colour is rich and glossy and decals are sprayed over with clear coat. The frame is easy to wipe clean as most dirt comes off easy. Construction is very good for a production frame. The welds although not jewelry like, should be structurally sound. Considering that Burley has experience in building recumbent, tandems and children products, I can trust them in building a reliable product.
In conclusion, I am glad that I stumbled upon this nice frame package. Comparing to other quality production steel frames, the price is hard to beat...which is a bonus!
Strengths: Sprints well, the large diameter seat stays are welded to Breazer dropouts. Note: These drop outs have tons of surface area that allows large seat and chainstays to remain large at the dropout( the most common place a frame breaks). Quick stearing with out being twitchy. Ritchey parts are light and dependable. Cool orange paint job although not clear coated over certian stickers. One of the lightest off the shelf steel bicycles I've seen. Stable long rear triangle compared with high zoot carbon bikes. The best strength is supporting a small American bicycle company in Oregon that directs their resources into the product rather than sponsership.
Weaknesses: WHEELS. Rolf Prima wheels are very trick, very light, and fairly stiff. Unfortunatly the hubs are not service friendly like Shimano Dura Ace hubs. My front hub came loose after one week of riding. Unfortunalty I've owned a pair of American Classic 350 wheels and the same problem appeared twice before. THe front hub is of the same manafacture and is a poor product. Check out the desighn. Bearings (possibly the smallest in the industry) are held in by a "gap-filling retainer compound" that have a pressure fit THREE piece small diameter "floating" axle. Compare this product to the new Dura Ace. They have oversized their axle and added more bearings to counteract the flex inherent in lightweight carbon forks.
Cassette shipped 12-23. Dura Ace 10 speed 12-27 are mostly out of stock to date so be patient. Expect to pay $200 for those wider gears. Burley road bikes with a triple also came with a very tight casssette
Wide bars might not be for everyone.
Bottom Line:
This is the third Burley road bike I've built/ ridden. The 04 56 cm bike includes Dura Ace groupo, ritchey parts., and Rolf prima wheels. The frame is OX plat. True Temper steel and the fork is an Alpha Q. The ride quality is quite stiff, helping it sprint quite well with the help of very wide ritchey bars. THe steering and descending is very quick compared to my Lemond.
Salsa La Raza: 550.00 frame and fork
Gunnar Roadie: 680.00 frame only
Burley Wolf Creek: 750.00 frame and fork
Kelly Bone Stock: E-bay, not sure of price yet (guessing 700.00 is Read More »
