‘I love a good steel bike as much as the next tedious man in his thirties,’ wrote web editor Matthew Loveridge on this very page last month. ‘But I don’t think steel deserves the near mythical status it now enjoys… that’s inextricably linked to our collective fetish for all things retro… to our notions or artisanal integrity.’
Why, I nearly spat my naturally processed cold brew all over the Ercol coffee table. Me, tedious? Because I am 39 and I do love steel.
Let me count the ways
Bartali rode steel, Coppi rode steel, so did De Vlaeminck, Burton, Canins, Roche and Pantani. Anquetil, Merckx, Hinault and Indurain all won five Tours on steel bikes (despite what many people say, Indurain did ride a steel Banesto at the 1995 Tour; Fausto…