Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - DeBernardi

whats do you guys think about the DeBernardi thron track frameset?

ahhhh...the beloved Chipperilli!

mine is awesome, yet upon recently riding it - it feels like it shrunk. i am 5'10" and it is a 53cm...way too small. seemed right at the time.

consignment shop, here i come!

I hear the paint is awesome. I read where some italian said they're the "huffys of Italy" or something. That pretty much ruined it for me.

You have a DeBernardi, 165?

How many other bikes do you have?

if i had to choose between the bareknuckle, debernardi, and a used keirin frame, i would go the keirin route, if only for higher quality construction. then again i'm 5'8". someday...

The general consesus, is that they have poor quality paint. One of the benefits of having a steel bike is it being a bit tougher than a similar aluminum bike. I'm not saying the bike isn't tougher than a normal bike, but the paint definetely isn't.

Also, unless you find it on crazy sale, there are numerous other bikes in the similar price range that tend to wet peoples' whistles a bit more.

I think 2-3 weeks ago one went on ebay for around 125 bucks or something crazy cheap. Anyone remember exactly?

DeBernardis are italian.

Almost all italian bikes have notoriously weak paint.
It has no relation to the quality of the bike.

I seem to remember that frame having a tendency to crack in and abouts the bb lug. one I clearly recall, but there may be others floating in and abouts the grey matter of my brain.

I hear the paint thing about DeBernardi's all the time.
I figure they put as little paint on the bike as possible to keep the weight down.
I don't make a joke.

My helicopter has 35-50 pounds of paint on it.
A comparable lugged-steel Mercian frame has two thick gorgeous layers of paint on it.
What does that weigh as a percentage of the whole bike's weight?
When I consider how much I spent to get 50 grams off my stem, skimpy paint sounds like a bargain.

Steel-lugged frame.
How can it break?

I like it.
I've many times considered getting one.

I hear the paint thing about DeBernardi's all the time.
I figure they put as little paint on the bike as possible to keep the weight down.
I don't make a joke.

My helicopter has 35-50 pounds of paint on it.
A comparable lugged-steel Mercian frame has two thick gorgeous layers of paint on it.
What does that weigh as a percentage of the whole bike's weight?
When I consider how much I spent to get 50 grams off my stem, skimpy paint sounds like a bargain.

Steel-lugged frame.
How can it break?

I like it.
I've many times considered getting one.
zonal is aluminum

zonal is aluminum

The original post specified the thron frame.

http://www.bullteksports.com/miva/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=BS&Product_Code=DBTHRONTRACK&Category_Code=TrackFrames

Lugged steel.

is the frame drilled for a brake?

oh i misread.

is the frame drilled for a brake?

Yes, it's drilled for a front and rear brake.

I bought myself one a few weeks ago. True, the paint is ****e. It chips so easily! :(

On the upside, the build quality is pretty good. Lugged Columbus Thron Steel!

I figure I will chip the hell out of it and then do a real nice paint job, ala powdercoating...

BTW, here's my DeBernardi:

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/2530/debernardimb9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

I rode a DeBernardi for a while. Solid feeling frame, nice comfortable steel, kinda slack geometry for a track frame. No complaints.

DeBernardis are italian.

Almost all italian bikes have notoriously weak paint.
It has no relation to the quality of the bike.


i thought the debernardis are acutally made in mexico. sorry if im mistaken

I own one, but don't have much to say that hasn't been already. I bought it used on Craigslist for a decent deal. I don't know if I would have purchased it new.

Yes the paint chips.
Yes the geometry is relaxed (for a track frame).
Yes it is drilled for brakes.

For a lugged frame it's about the only act in town unless you go custom here in the states....either go used Keirin...or import from Japan...or perhaps check Fyxomatosis.com that bloke has some nice lugged steel from time to time....there's that 'new'Soma Delancy...and the Cochon thing on the BikeBiz...but for 500 the Debernadi is about it that I've run into.

Same story here as some of the others. I bought mine back in april. Love the bike, but the paint chips like nothing else. I'm going to repaint it this winter i believe. Build seems quality, but lately there's been this strange clicking noise coming from the bottom bracket area in certain parts of the crank rotation. I've taken the whole thing apart, greased it all up and put it back together but it's still there. I tried tightening the chainring bolts too, so that's not it. i'm hoping it's not a failing joint on the BB, that would be no good.

Mine is one of the old gold to black fade jobs. got the frame off c-list.. I had it painted.
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y266/roscoenyc/DB1.jpg

Worked on mine for years before retiring it. I'm a big fan.

The paint job, as has been commented ad nauseam, chipped to bits within months but I was into the beausage look of it.

I hear the paint is awesome. I read where some italian said they're the "huffys of Italy" or something. That pretty much ruined it for me.

Are you sure they weren't talking about the Bianchi Pista that we get here in North America? I seem to recall a thread about this on these forums, quite some time ago. It would make more sense because the Bianchi Pista is mass-produced, just like the Huffy, and it is not nearly as nice as the D2, the Bianchi Pista that the Italians get, which would further add to the "Ha-ha, we get better stuff than you do" mentality.

Are you sure they weren't talking about the Bianchi Pista that we get here in North America? I seem to recall a thread about this on these forums, quite some time ago. It would make more sense because the Bianchi Pista is mass-produced, just like the Huffy, and it is not nearly as nice as the D2, the Bianchi Pista that the Italians get, which would further add to the "Ha-ha, we get better stuff than you do" mentality.Nope, the DeBernardi. It's also mass produced, and Thron is among the lowest grades of tubing that Columbus makes. The Bianchi Pista is made in Taiwan, so calling it "The <anything> of Italy" is a misnomer.

i'd ride one.
i don't care if the paint chips, it's gonna happen. i think they are cheaper than most other lugged frames, i saw it somewhere listed for $450 but then never found that again i don't think....nevermind here it is (http://worldclasscycles.com/track_frames.htm) also you can get a full custom bob jackson from them for 800, but you can get it cheaper directly from bob jackson.

The only issue I've heard was a guy I met who had a tube failure. The seat tube cracked about 4 inches from the BB. This was not a build issue it was a tube failure, not Debernardi's fault. The dude got the run around from them and then they offered to sell him a new frame at cost. Really weak customer service.

This (and the paint) is the only negative issues I've heard

Nope, the DeBernardi. It's also mass produced, and Thron is among the lowest grades of tubing that Columbus makes. The Bianchi Pista is made in Taiwan, so calling it "The <anything> of Italy" is a misnomer.

Huffy's are made in the U.S.?

']ahhhh...the beloved Chipperilli!

mine is awesome, yet upon recently riding it - it feels like it shrunk. i am 5'10" and it is a 53cm...way too small. seemed right at the time.

consignment shop, here i come!


hahaha.. I hope that's a joke. I tried the cayne that my LBS had in stock and it was a 53cm. I felt like a clown riding that.

']ahhhh...the beloved Chipperilli!

mine is awesome, yet upon recently riding it - it feels like it shrunk. i am 5'10" and it is a 53cm...way too small. seemed right at the time.

consignment shop, here i come!

if your serious about selling your Debanardi let me know I might be intrested in buying it

To anyone who rides one of these, im looking for the standover height for the 51 and 53cm. Im looking to pull the trigger on one but im undecided on which size to get. Wish I could ride one first but the only shop I know that has one deals mostly in just frames and not set up completes. Hows the toe overlap also, seeing that its a more relaxed geometry, i know this comes withe territory of track frames but I had a 52cm KHS flite and the wheel would hit the crank arm! if turned at just the right angle/time. Any help would be appreciated.

A guy at my work rides one, I always notice it locked up... Sheldon Brown style. It's one of two track bikes, and the other's a '05 or '06 pista. I ride the third fixie, a converted raleigh, I always feel bad when I lock up my f....ugly bike next to that sleek red machine.

To anyone who rides one of these, im looking for the standover height for the 51 and 53cm. Im looking to pull the trigger on one but im undecided on which size to get. Wish I could ride one first but the only shop I know that has one deals mostly in just frames and not set up completes. Hows the toe overlap also, seeing that its a more relaxed geometry, i know this comes withe territory of track frames but I had a 52cm KHS flite and the wheel would hit the crank arm! if turned at just the right angle/time. Any help would be appreciated.

you know a shop that has one...on that is tangent...you can actually touch...take some wheels up there and mount them and see what the standover is.