No, itās polished aluminum. The ālowerā lines had painted lugs.
I had a Trek 2500. I loved that frame! I never found it to be a noodle. The ride was super smooth. Looked similar to this but with Campagnolo Record:
3 Likes
Yeah, mine had the white lugs / staysā¦(not my actual bike in the pic)
I ripped the head tube out of the main traingle in a crit outside Cincinnati shortly after I bought it. Big crash, riders all over the roadā¦I went off to the side and a rider was on all fours right in front of me. Placed my front wheel perfectly between his cheeks and flipped over the topā¦
3 Likes
That looks like a second or third gen offering. Mine was first gen with aluminum stays.
I think the only difference was the paint and components. It was my first bike with full DA. My biggest mistake was selling an Eddy Merckx Corsa with C-Record and Chorus mix for it.
Genuine ask: then why a carbon fork? The same advantages you get from a carbon fork you get from a carbon frame which is high stiffness to weight. But at the expense of fracturing vs yielding. A fork failing is usually worse than a frame failing as well.
Thatās just how the bike came. Chumba doesnāt manufacture steel forks. I have no concerns about an ENVE fork failing, but if I was building this bike again my goal would be to go steel. Thereās something special about a classic steel bike.
Iāve recently parted ways with this particular bike, and the Chumba Iām on now has a steel fork on it half of the time and a 34 SC for the rest. 
3 Likes
For the off-topic Carbon + Metal frame side:
3 Likes
Man those are sweet.
Also I really want to build a Tesla swapped volvo Amazon wagon, and that article is not good for my ADHD.
Another friendās top tube just cracked from a minor crash. This bike was around $10k, with such a nice paint job.
I think Framework is certainly one of the most impressive builders out there right now. Heās milling his own cranks and has brought PF BB back to life with his precision.
I didnāt know he made his own carbon tubing thoughā¦ 
Looks like heās got Solidworks down pat too. 
Super cool!
1 Like
Since Framework came up here, a related EC episode of interest. Partial for non-members of EC and full for members.
1 Like
Thread bump post then nearly immediate deletionā¦ but why?
3 Likes
Just catching up on this thread.
Itās funny isnāt it - I had a Vitus 979 back in the day and loved it. One of my all time favourite bikes and got some great results on it until the bonding starting to fail and it disassembled itself.
Iāve often wondered what it would be like to ride one of those now - probably like riding a frame made out of cooked spaghetti.
Iām from Nottingham the home of Raleigh bikes. Thereās a whole nostalgia for steel Reynolds 753 Raleigh SBDU bikes. I had one and it was a dog of a bike. It broke. In fact everyone I know who had one of those broke it in the end.
I was trying to avoid bumping it. I was just saying that I ended up with carbon fiber. Itās been so nice.
2 Likes
1: titanium Lynskey
2: carbon Transition Spur
3: steel S&M hoder
All of my bike frames come with a ālifetimeā warranty. Titanium is the way for gravel IMO and carbon is better for trail/ down country (whatever). I did consider aluminum for MtB but they can have their own problems. Iāve never seen a full suspension steel bike and that would probably weigh a ton.
Anyways, those are my bikes for now.
3 Likes
While a small sample size, I was involved in a crash in a gravel race a few weeks ago. We were going 24 mph when the guy two in front of me went down. Took 5-6 down with him. Two gentleman broke clavicles and I fractured my scapula.
One carbon frame cracked/split in 7 locations. I went over my handlebars and my titanium mosaic flew about 15ā to the ditch on the opposite side of the road. My bike had a very light scratch on the handlebars, about a 1/8 scratch on the frame, and a very light scratch on the seat post. I was astounded how little damage was done. Iāve seen bikes tip over and get more damage.
Obviously thereās a ton of unknown factors here. If my career (and hobbies) werenāt so heavily involved around welding and metallurgy the marginal gains part of me would be riding carbon fiber. Iāve just always been drawn to the titanium though and had to give it a whirl.
3 Likes
100% accurate. I was previously beguiled by the carbon sirens, but am now back with aluminium. I cycle with a smile; life is good.