Touring - Nashbar Touring Frame

I received a catalogue from Nashbar in which the company now has an aluminum touring frame for less than $200. Does anyone have any experience with this frame? I am thinking about building one up as a commuter and touring bike on the cheap.

If you search you will find some past threads. Including a build

The main things the frame sufers from are: the low price is "too good to be true", though in reality a lot of good bikes probably start from the same price point it just isn't broken out; since Surly came on the scene it's hard to argue that the LHT is attractive at just $180 more; and a lot of people don't like aluminum. Nashbar has been pumping these frames out for a long time, I would have certainly bought one when I needed a touring frame last fall, but they were out of stock.

Hope Nashbar fixed that rear chainstay bridge problem they had with their earlier batch.

Edit: To point out the exact problem, the bridge was welded further back from the BB shell and came very close to contacting the rear tire. Some also experienced rear fender installation problems due to this. Two friends of mine own these earlier frames. I'm sure this has been corrected by now.

It sounds like we are both looking for the same bike... a beater bike for commuting and that tour we don't have time for.
My impression is as follows. It comes with the decals not attached, so we don't have to admit its a nashbar frame. According to an old post, the welds look large and ugly, but functional. Nashbar would rather not get into a lawsuit for a horific crash caused by cheap stuff, so I doubt they are selling complete crap. The Fixer has heard that they had issues, but with a company like Nashbar, I'm pretty shure they will warrantee just about anything, which still stinks, but it decreases the risk of totally wasting money.
My opinion of not seeing it,
scott

my neighbor has a 2005 nashbar touring frame in 58 or 60 hanging in his garage. he's never even hung a part on it (changed mind, lack of interest) and wants to sell it. he got it real cheap so he oughta be able to make a good deal with someone. i'd buy it myself but i take a 52-54.

i looked it over carefully. i was impressed by the overall build quality, since i expected it to be junk. welds were typical of todays alum frame construction (a generous wide weld seam but not sloppy). i really couldn't find anything wrong with it. then again, you don't know for sure till you build em up. nice green color.

after looking at his touring frame i had some confidence in the quality of the frames nashbar was selling. i bought a 2005 nashbar steel mtb frame. it was only $70 bucks shipped, so i shouldnt complain. the dang thing weighs ~7.5 lbs in 19" size. yep, thats a frame, not a frameset. its so heavy you notice it as soon as you get the packing off and start flipping it around to inspect it.

the welds look good, alignment looks good, paint job good. they used what looks like seatstay tubing for the chainstays, so its a little funny looking. evidently the entire frame is made from straight gauge tubing to reduce cost. this is the only plausible explaination for its high weight. i've weighed 4 frames at the post office, all fell between 4 and 5 lbs. i didnt weigh my neighbors touring frame, but it felt like normal weight.

the nashbar touring frame is a pretty good deal IMO. if youre building a budget bike, you probably could more wisely use the $200-250 dollar price difference between it and the very popular surly LHT for better wheels, hubs, r derailer, shifters etc.

btw you should look around for a 10% discount coupon for nashbar if youre gonna buy, theres almost always a valid code out there.

btw you should look around for a 10% discount coupon for nashbar if youre gonna buy, theres almost always a valid code out there.


TKM7