Blue Belly

First off, this isn't about claiming superiority over other materials. It's a question of why do "you" like a steel frame? What is it that speaks to you over any other material? Of course, if you are posting here, we know that you find it superior(for what ever reason). I do, but this isn't about that.
I'll start. My obsession started with my Pinarello Montello, SLX tubing. I had a few Carbon bikes up until the point when I built this bike up. I built it up as a poor weather bike. I had no real expectations. It wasn't even exactly what I wanted. I was talked into it by a friend who was trying to get rid of it. It was at a very good price & it just didn't make sense not to. So, I built it up with a bunch of crap that was pretty much readily available. It certainly was not an ideal build. The wheels were heavy, the tires crap & that's where it started. I remember one of my very first rides. Some moderate climbing & some fast, twisty descents. It's felt great in the climb & it sliced through the descents like it knew where it was going. Geometry(I later learned) was the key to it's handling. The feel of the bike, the feedback from the road & liveliness were, in large part, due to the frame materials. It was a slow hook. But, I was on my way down a path from which I would not return. I eventually built up this bike up proper. A mix of record components & sewup wheels. She is now one of my prize possessions & pure joy to ride. Since the purchase of this bike I have built a number of steel bike frames from the 80's & 90's. I've even tried aluminum. Many of the bikes have not made the cut. I was lucky to be so spoiled with my first. A few do remain, however, & I've even designed & built my own steel lugged frame which takes advantage of most of my favorite features of era's past & present. I often think "This is the last bike I'm going to build up, I need no more". But the quest for the perfect bike, somehow seems never ending. So to end, here is the bike I built. Tell me your story? Your reasons?

KonAaron Snake 

I like steel because it gives me a convenient place to store my magnet collection.

bikemig 

So is this a thread about why some of us like steel bike or an excuse for (steel) bike porn? If the latter, KonAaron Snake might have us all beat. So I just rode my heavy (by modern standards) steel cross bike. I really like the way it rides. It feels right. The local MUP was full of small downed branches because of a storm and the combo of the steel frame and forgiving wheels was pretty nice for dealing with rough stuff:

Blue Belly

Maybe a little of both..

RubberLegs

I ride STEEL because that is what I can afford...well, I DO have one aluminum...MODERN bike with STI shifting....but my Bridgestone is my go to bike for around town riding...it handles the roughness of the streets without beating me up so badly (the 700/28s on it help too). The AL fork on my FELT really SHOULD be changed out for CF....but that would cost as much as the bike did.

bikemig 

No. 1; steel is priced right.

iab

I like steel because it rhymes with real.

I like aluminium because I like to say aluminium out loud. Just about the only good contribution the brits were able to make.

I like titanium because when I reach a certain age I am forced to ride it.

I like carbon because it assplodes.

RubberLegs

Right Price...my $50 Tourer 79ISH Torpado, good thing labor doesn't count! ...I think I have a wee bit more than that in it now...and still need new tires.

Knotdodger

Rubberlegs,

What is that near your front water bottle , the black band with the wire close to your tire??
Very curious. Sorry , but I am a rookie.

RubberLegs

That is a "Flick Stand" it flicks down, and holds the front wheel straight while parked. It is OLD SCHOOL....don't see to many of them these days

David Newton

Rust, I like rust, can't get enough of it...

Seriously, steel is good, but I dislike 98% of steel bikes I see, the cheap "mountain" bikes that grind through my neighborhood. They are heavy, friction-bound, and have much weight in unusable transmission parts, and dangerous brakes.

Bikes made of light-weight tubing, sleek & stylish lugged & brazed, with light alloy components, manufactured post WW-2 till the 1990's, are the height of what are, to me, "good bikes."

Lascauxcaveman 

Cheap, plentiful, doesn't break easily.

But mostly the first two.

Bruce Enns

David Newton said it best IMHO. I'm certainly not a wealthy man but if I chose to, I could go buy a couple of NICE carbon bikes. Problem is, They're ugly, short lived and most of the paint jobs look like cartoons ............... machine fabricated versus built by hand, or at least partially ...........................

rootboy 

Because that's what they made them out of in the early 70's. Which are the bikes I like.

Barchettaman

Because a steel racing bike has a lovely, springy feel to it.

And, to my eyes, a quality steel racing bike with a modern deep-section wheelset just looks the absolute business. A bit like the OP's lovely bike.

But, on a crisp Sunday morning, with a couple of bacon sandwiches in you and a coffee stop a half hour ahead, on clean, winding roads, with maybe the odd rolling hill awaiting, it doesn't *really* matter what you're riding. It's just an absolute joy to be out there.

Null66

I "like the feel of steel."

Michael Angelo 

Because classic steel frames were made by artisans, they gave those frames a soul. There is no way a plastic modern frame will ride like steel.

folkform

Because my steel frames have never let me down in rough conditions. Because I don't have to worry about them as much. Because I can't afford titanium

EddyR

I have a very light STI bike but I like playing with the old steel bikes. The better quality ones are fun to build up and ride. They are smooth riding and get lots a attention from people who like bikes. They are priced so I can make money flipping them also.
Ed

OTS 

Because I was on a plastic bike when it "assploded" the rear chain stay and very nearly lost control and my "steelie" has never let me down

mtbikerinpa

Because the feel, and the fact that they can be fixed, and the good unique ones are truly unusual. If I didn't have a butted cromoly frame in my xc crash in 2004, I wouldn't have been able to fix my baby up to running status. Almost the entire left seatstay got folded into the rear wheel but didn't compromise it's riding ability to finish the race. Didn't notice in fact until I loaded it into the truck.

Then had a heart attack.

Tried some competent aluminum designs(Like the Giant XTC) with the same components while it was offline and the feel just was not the something I liked. Maybe it's the geometry being older or the fact I have had the same one for over 13 years... and counting...

jimmuller 

I like steel because I've never ridden either CF or titaniumum or alinumiuminum. I can spell aluminiuminum except that I don't know when to stop.

spacemanz

It's all about the ride quality. I was riding a Cannondale for quite awhile, & thought I was happy with it, LOL, but out of nowhere, I got the urge to try old Italian steel. There's no denying the cool factor. And it feels like riding on a cloud, over longer rides especially. The only hard part is finding the "perfect" bike for you, in fit & style & everything all at once, but that's part of the fun, too.

Zinger

They're purdy

Chrome Molly

I like steel because over time I got real good at touch up painting, and it's a shame to let my talent go to waste.