Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Is this a good frame?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Cinelli-Track-bike_W0QQitemZ270082716517QQihZ017QQcategoryZ98084QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item270082716517

Yeah... maybe I'm considering a fixie to add to my weekend roadie and commuter...

yea it is, but that price will probably skyrocket towards the end of the auction.

well, if you're doing it for early season road miles, I'd suggest finding a frame with room for a brake. If it's just for the velodrome, it sure looks good to me. Alternately, you could also buy a second fork with a brake hole.

collectors are gonna go a little crazy over it, though the repaint job isnt so hot. be prepared to pay. if you just want to try out fixed, id recommend starting elsewhere.

Well my primary motivation is cause a) it's a lot more efficient than my triple chain-ring commuter right now and b) my commuter weights upwards of 32lbs, the last time I weighed it. So I'll probably replace my commuter with this if I end up liking it. I no longer dive into intersections at 20-30mph, even with my current disc brakes, so brakeless is probably enough stopping power for me.

search cinelli auctions that have already ended, and then think about buying it.

You've never heard of Cinelli? That thing it going to hit 800$USD at the very least.

Well my primary motivation is cause a) it's a lot more efficient than my triple chain-ring commuter right now and b) my commuter weights upwards of 32lbs, the last time I weighed it. So I'll probably replace my commuter with this if I end up liking it. I no longer dive into intersections at 20-30mph, even with my current disc brakes, so brakeless is probably enough stopping power for me.
:rolleyes:
seriously, just :rolleyes:

how would no brakes be better than disc brakes?

plus, commuting on that?

get an IRO, its a lot more affordable, ideal for commuting, and less expensive.

Yes. Get that because you want a track bike, not because you think it'll be a great commuter. I think it'd be kindof a crime to ride that in the rain all winter. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying don't buy it to ride on the road, I'm saying that it will be a lot of compromises, which you'll only want to overcome if you really really want a track bike. If you want a light, fast, fixed gear commuter, you can get one for a lot cheaper than a Cinelli, which won't be as stealable, nobody will curse you for locking outside, and will be more comfortable into the bargain.

If, however, you want a Cinelli track bike more than anything in the world, then most of us here would understand that, and say go for it.

Honestly, I think that starting to commute brakeless without ever having ridden a fix (or...?) is a bad idea. Buying a collectors' track frame... expensive as hell but it's your call.

Well here's something I might regret saying later but how much could that auction possibly end at?

$1000+

You've never heard of Cinelli? That thing it going to hit 800$USD at the very least.

I have... on my bar tape. Plus, seeing as how it belonged to a dead guy, I figured, who'd want that right? :p

Not I'm not dumb enough to start commuting brakeless immediately but lately, I don't even use the brakes all that much anyway, so the point's pretty moot about that. Plus, I could stand to drop 15 lbs off the thing.

These 2 also look pretty good, especially the last one.
http://www.racycles.com/tk/catalog/giant_tcr_omnium__06_4829140.htm
http://www.racycles.com/tk/catalog/colnago_dream_pista_3718584.htm

What is it you really want out of the finished bike? Light weight? Super twitchy handling? Lugs and retroness? A Cinelli is pretty much the holy grail of track fans - more so than Masi or Colnago even.

Something light, looks good (not sure why but I've gotten into this whole good looking bike kick since I overhauled my road bike, come on, you all do it too), handles better (my commuter's the equivalent of a humvee right now), that's about it.

So I guess a newbie getting the holy grail of track bikes is something of a sin and I should bring my 9mm along with me to rides, just in case I get kidnapped and they make me eat the lockring from my own bike in some sort of weird track bike ritual surrounded by naked 18 year olds...

Naw, some people will whine at you, but screw them. It's just an awful lot of money for a bike that's not, by most peoples definitions, an ideal commuter. If it was me, and I liked the look of that Cinelli so much, I'd probably go look for a 70's road bike frame with relatively tight geometry. Chances are you could pick up something nice for $100, it'd already be drilled for a brake, would outhandle your Humvee without dancing around like a squirrel, and you wouldn't be so terrified to lock it up outside. That said, I totally respect knowing what you want, and buying it, because it's what you want damn it, and to hell with the consqeuences.

If however, you like those strange shaped items you linked to, why not buy one of those?

Well I was figuring that if the auction ended lower than the first strange shape, then it would be a good deal but apparently, I'm wrong on that one. The 2nd colango strange shape is nice but i just realized it's 1800, not 800 as I had read, so scratch that. Ideally I wouldn't want to spend more than 12-1300 on this.

If the Cinelli auction ends at under $695, then it's a steal. My advice - ride a track bike in the interim, make sure it's what you want.

Buy it, realise it's not what you want, give it to me.

If you want a gorgeous track frame at a decent price, check out that dude who sells all the used keirin frames on ebay and myspace. He's got a ton of pretty things, and few are over $800.

The fact that it's been repainted will discourage a lot of serious collectors, I doubt you'll see Ken Denny bidding on this one. And the paint does look a little weird, which is surprising as cyclart is usually pretty good. But, it's still a "real" Cinelli(before the brand was sold to the Columbo family) so it's definitely worth some money.

I'm guessing this will go for around $1500, but who knows, ebay is strange these days...

slvoid -

one commuter to another...

these two bikes are on my short list for when uncle scam hooks me up with my refund.

http://www.jamisbikes.com/usa/bikes/07_bikes/sputnik.html

http://www.konaworld.com/bikes/2k7/PADDYWAGON/index.html

all the fun of fixed gear but with the ability to add brakes and actually take it out for some serious miles on the weekends (road not track geometry).

and if my shop carried lemond or bianchi i'd be staring at their new SS/fixed road offerings too.

for racing around the city and doing alleycats maybe a twitchy trackbike is fun but for day to day comuting and generally hitting the roads for longer rides on weekends a bike like this is just much more useable.

perfect fairweather commuters if you ask me.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=014&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=330054811997&rd=1&rd=1
this one went for 3350.

If you want to keep the bidding down on a cool track frame, do not post a link here. Now you have us all drooling over it. Too bad it's too small for me.

That Cinelli will skyrocket--you can count on it. (It's not all that light, by the way).

Is it really the best way to begin riding fixed? Probably not. I strongly suggest looking into the IRO group buy. You can build that up very, very nicely and for less than the price of the Cinelli frame alone. If not the IRO, then there are plenty of other fine choices.

And please, don't try brakeless right off the bat. Brakes on the street, brakeless on the track.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=014&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=330054811997&rd=1&rd=1
this one went for 3350.

Good lord, that one looks a lot worse than the one I posted...

yes, but its unrestored.

Look into Keirin frames. This guys http://keirinculture.com/ is out of Richmond VA and always has a nice stock of stuff. And if you ride a 53 you shouldnt have trouble finding a keirin frame that fits you...

Ok, the seller pulled the auction, which one of you offered like 5 grand for this??

Yeah... maybe I'm considering a fixie

YES

i been sticking around bikeforums just waiting for him to post that




...and now some fuch hadda go and ruin it! :mad: