benk0

Yeah, send me to the road forum and I'll go...

I was wondering if anyone's riding a geared road bike that shares a similar geometry to a "true" track frame. I'm riding a circa 92 Cannondale and would LOVE something that is as tight as that.

I know NOTHING of road bikes... this would be my first and would like to keep it under $1000. Components don't matter all that much as long as they work well.

Thanks.

jacobpriest

Fuji Team.
its full ultegra components, which is nice (for me)
Alum. Frame, carbon fork.
Real ****ing comfy and a good bike for the money. Find a used one on Ebay.
(i ride one)

operator

Ultegra is a complete waste of your money. You're only saving yourself a couple hundred grams from your wallet and maybe the gruppo over 105.

jacobpriest

it has different shifters than the 105 that i like a lot better.

MDRawk

105 is more than just fine....a new 105 bike should be around 1200-1500 so a used bike can be had for under a grand no prob.

beppe

In terms of tight wheelbases, almost all competition-level road bikes now have them tight enough that 28 are the biggest tires you can run. I think I probably can't run bigger than 25s on my Orbea Lobular.

In terms of high bottom brackets--ha! No.

In terms of seat to bar drop, fork rake, stiffness and the like, you can find what you need, but even track bikes have different specializations for different events.

Cheers.

Surferbruce

funny my lbs won't even bother ordering 105 cause ultegra is so close in price.
find an old gios road bike, infamous for super quick handling and steep angles.
my cervelo soloist has a very quick handling front end.

MDRawk

!!! It is $500 more !!!

calculator

Gios Compact Pro!



Steel, agressive geometry, and probably more than a grand fully built. But anything Italian and decently high-end should do ya. Look for early 2000s stuff with Ultegra+ or Daytona/Centaur+ groups. I saw a nice Tommasini w/ Daytona 9sp go for around $900 on ebay about a month ago.

Dave

stevo

tri bikes have forward geometries. TT bikes also though a little less so.

A QR kilo with 105 is a pretty good deal imo

tlupfer

...and 71 degree head tubes optimized for use with aero bars.

stevo

72.5, but valid point.

monkey

Oh god, someone please buy this before I submit an offer:

https://cgi.ebay.com/1984-Gios-Torino...QQcmdZViewItem

please....

wangster

under a thousand... best bang for you buck would be either a Giant or a Felt... both has awsome bikes with a good gruppo for around a thousand, depending which model. both has great reviews.

chicagoamdream

Nooooooo! Damn you, monkey!

edit: And with a white Turbo?! What are they doing?!

monkey

I know exactly what they're doing: killing me.

ImOnCrank

Hmm... my size and ends on my birthday. Ooh ooh I know what I want...

Aeroplane

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but you're talking about tire clearance. Wheelbase is the distance between the hubs.

isotopesope

if you're looking for tight road bike handling, try finding criterium specific frames. things to look for are seat and headtube angles and short stays. same things that will give you an idea how a track bike would handle.

my guerciotti handles like a track bike. i'm currently in the market for another road frame... definitely lugged and italian. my guerciotti is a 58, but i should be on a 60 or 61. there is a frame on ebay right now i'm eyeing.

rvabiker

$560 for 105, $690 ultegra and free shipping...

https://www.probikekit.com

bbattle

Best advice is just to get out there and start test riding some bikes. All or none of the suggestions given here could work for you.

My guess is that timetrial/triathlon bikes would have the very aggressive geometry of a track bike. I wouldn't want to ride one for a 100 miles.

In your price range, Trek 1200, maybe last year's 1500.

A Lemond Croix de Fer is steel but a bit out of your price range. Traditional road geometry.

What sort of riding do you want the road bike for? What sort of shape are you in? What terrain will you be riding on?

marqueemoon

I have a 90's Davidson Impulse that I like a lot. Very tight and fun to ride. They're handbuilt here in Seattle. This one's on ebay right now with a $850 BIN. A sick deal if you ask me.

msneeri2@hotmai

i have a late 80's 59cm Atala that is just as tight as my bareknuckle. slight pedal overlap and evrything. def.lower BB, other than that pretty much the same. i'm thinking it must have had some criterium influence at least. These frames are nice, they are lower-end columbus steel, def. not the lightest, but very comforftable even w/ steep angles. They're pretty cheap, too. frame/fork in good shape shouldn't be more than 250-300 i'd guess.

beppe

Sorry, I was being lazy. On road bikes (not tri or tt bikes), you can effectively substitute tire clearance for wheelbase to make things a little easier to visualize. I often do this for people who don't really know what's up but have ridden a lot. I should have been more specific. Thus:

Because UCI makes road bikes have 2 triangles, and because down tubes are almost always at the very bottom of the head tube, you can often effectively eyeball wheelbase by visually adding the space between the rear wheel and the seat tube with the space between the front wheel and the down tube. Using this (unscientific) method, I was including the fact that my bike can't take more than 25s (or maybe, maybe 28s) as a reference for how close the rear wheel is to the seat tube and the front wheel to the down tube.

Again, sorry for the confusion. This is not an exact method, obviously, but I find it's useful for people who are looking but maybe don't have an expert's automatic understanding of the terminology, even if they could deduce it out.

Aeroplane

I see what you're saying, and it does make sense, kind of. Greater tire clearance will tend to yield a greater wheelbase. But, things like head tube length/angle, fork rake, seat tube angle, and bb drop will affect it just as much, if not more.

Most high-end road bikes have very, very little tire clearance. So do most high-end track bikes. But they still handle differently, and have different wheelbases, geometries, and trail.