Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - fok! I'm driving Marcus crazy... Need third party advice... (Bare Knuckle content)

I have some brief question(s)...

How is the paint job on the Bare Knuckle frames? From what I gather historically Italian frames have sucky paint jobs for some reason. Does this tradition continue in the BN frames?

How fat a tire can you fit in a Bare Knuckle? 25's likely tops?

From a ride perspective how does a Bare Knuckle compare to a De Bernardi thron?

Basically I asked Marcus a crap load of questions already and I think he's getting tired. I'm just having a hellish time deciding on a frame. For a niche market there are a ****load of choices.

Dear SteakTaco
Please help this poor soul. I have seen you cursing the lords of Michelin as you worked on your BareKnuckle at the velo.
thank you

as far as the tolerances/clearances between the BN and DB:
The BN is "tighter" feeling and definitely more responsive.
The DB feels more "stretched out."

SteakTaco's BN felt lighter and skiptastic compared to my DB, the few times I rode the BN that is.

the bareknuckle frames, from what i have heard, have pretty solid paint jobs. if nothing else, they are infinitely better than the debernardi paint jobs, which are total garbage, even among italian frames. i know a couple of kids who have them, and their frames, which they ride often, look like total **** from the chipping in the candy red finish.

i, personally, would go with the bare knuckles. if you are looking for italian chic, you aren't going to get it with the debernardi. everyone knows that they are commodity track frames with lax geometry. a dime a dozen. i am not trying to be an ass about debernardis, but i think that a lot of people buy them just because they are italian. to me, though, they are just another mid-range frame. you would be much better off spending the $400 or whatever on a used italian track frame that will likely be of better quality and not so generic. that said, i think the EAI bareknuckles (nessuno, whatever) is a nice frame if you want something new and aren't set on lugs.

is that black 54 still there? I was in on Saturday ogling it and asking too many questions. I had to walk out without it due to needing to pay rent. :|

is that black 54 still there? I was in on Saturday ogling it and asking too many questions. I had to walk out without it due to needing to pay rent. :|

Man, your priorities are seriously messed up...

They aren't painted, powder coated. Mine has held up pretty well... the powder coat is chipping on the rear drop outs but that would happen with any paint as well. No other chips so far.

As far as tire size, I've been rocking an old set of 25c Bontragers on mine after I removed my oh-so-precious 22c Veloflex Paves (track only tire for me) and the Bontis fit fine.

I just threw one of my roadie front wheels in the fork that has a 25c Michelin Carbon which I think runs on the larger than most 25's and it fits fine. I don't think you could go much larger than that but I don't have anything bigger to compare.

Handling is quick. The frame is stiff as hell too so the combination makes for a solid frame... that's what sold me. The Soma Rush didn't give me the same feeling. Haven't ridden a De Bernardi so I can't compare.

Man, your priorities are seriously messed up...It's not so much that i want to pay my rent, it's that I want to not be killed by my girlfriend for not paying our rent.


Herein lies my dilemma.