Tubing

Hi-ten steel road bikes

Hi-ten is short for high-tensile steel. Sheldon Brown called it a fancy-sounding name for the ordinary tubing used to build cheap frames. Most entry-level boom-era ten-speeds are hi-ten or plain carbon steel, and on many bikes with 531 main tubes the fork and stays were a lesser steel too. Reynolds itself sold a hi-ten main tube set called SMS from 1980 to 1982, so a Reynolds decal on its own doesn't mean 531. Hi-ten frames are heavier than butted ones, but they're tough and plenty still ride well. Buy one for the fit, the condition and the price, check the frame like you would any other, and don't pay extra for tubing it doesn't have.

4 models we cover.