What's the late 90s steel frame of choice?

[Takingabreak]

Buried deep in the man cave, waiting very patiently for me to spring into build mode, I have a freshly powdercoated and decaled Dawes Edge frame from 1996.

Now I know Dawes mountain bikes are not lusted after but I'm expecting it to be an excellent 90's frame to ride given it is made from round section 853 tubing.

 

[Black_puma]

Though it is technically a mid 90' frame, but my Mongoose Pro SX (Ritchey tubing) was a great frame and rode nicely too.

Never been ridden.

I have a GT obsession but it's entirely ball burnished aluminium...

I ride both steel and aluminium GT bikes, but I prefer the way their steel bikes ride.

 

[dirttorpedo]

I agree that by the late 90's aluminum, full suspension and disc brakes were on the top end bikes. I bought my last new steel mountain bike in 97 or 98 and it was a Norco Sasquatch with STX RC groupset and a Marzocchi Z5. A nice bike, but completely outclassed by the local riding as freeriding was now the thing. My friend was riding a Rocky Mountain Spice which was a relatively low travel disc braked fully.

I think Voodoo kept making steel bikes (joe Murray) into the early 2000's if you want steel. I think the really quality metal bikes were made of ti by that point and I'd be looking for something from Kona, lightspeed, Dean, or Moots.

 

[Prodigal Son]

independent fabrications. ibis. ritchey. wtb phoenix.

 

[otherself]

Eldridge Grade from 1999 was a good bike. Columbus Thron tough steel frame, could be found quite cheap.

 

[LeeDevelopment]

Custom Arthur Caygill 853 built by Richard Kent.

 

[ibbz]

The top end Scapin TR-X
An exquisite frame made by the Fratelli Barco

 

[Vesatoro]

1999 DeKerf Team SL, Reynolds 853

 

[Craig77]

The late 1990s "steel frame of choice" for high-performance road and mountain bikes depended on the specific use, but common choices included high-end steel tubing like Columbus Brain and Reynolds 531/753/853 for road frames, and strong, durable steel for mountain bikes, often with features like oversized tubing for stiffness. However, it's important to note that aluminum and carbon fiber were also becoming more popular during this period, especially for performance-oriented bikes.