I've been getting into the steelisreal, rim brakes are good enough side of youtube lately, and the clickbait has gotten me thinking about my next bike. How much truth do you think there is to these memes that say that high end steel isn't like the cheap shit I think of when I think of steel? I refuse to consider cantis and if I get disc steel I'm told that's no better than carbon because it's "overbuilt" at that point which "defeats the purpose". So it has to be dual pivot classic road frame made of thin walled fairy tubing, and no I will not elaborate because we all know why.

So it looks like if I'm not too hung up on getting a name brand duende meme bike I can probably pick up what looks like a pretty good steel frame for under $3k. Possibly even less. But then I'd really have to go with some pretty narrow, hard, puncture-prone tires, and I just don't have the energy for that shit. I haven't struggled with inner tubes and frame pumps in pelting ice cold rain by the side of the road in years and I like it that way, latex blood runs through my veins. But TPU was invented, and that's caused me to begin doubting my faith.

Would I be consumed with post-purchase rationalization if I fell for the steel meme? Are steel bikes and rim brakes the cast iron of bikes? Opinionated attention whores who need to have something to argue about at all times so they pick the most argumentative pointless crap that has a grain of truth that gets overemphasized at the expense of the big picture? Or is there something to this memery?

Before you start your angry typing, I am a mamil with crabon and aero and absolute black and all that stuff, so please, be accurate with your strawmanning. I can supply some other personal aspects of myself if you wish to find something to be aggressive about but I trust I have given you enough information to get irrationally angry over bicycles.