ipmonkey

Another buying advice thread...

I've been riding an old 61cm steel-frame Bianchi Pista, and want to upgrade to something lighter. I live in the mountains, and do hill sprints, and sometimes hour-long hilly rides (hard). I just sold my road bike (a 61cm Specialized Allez) to get budget--both bikes were a good fit, but I prefer the pista's geometry--the pista felt more compact, like it was under me instead of more stretched out, and handled better. I road an outdoor velodrome a few times, but moved, and now only have the road, unless they build up a new one in CO. My other sport is olympic weightlifting and I've done long rides and long climbs, but prefer hard sprints... my old steel road frames used to flex a lot. The pista has larger triangular tubes, and seems solid, but heavy, so I'm leaning towards aluminum, unless there's a really light, stiff steel frame in my price range.

That being said, everything on the Bianchi seems heavy. I'm heavy too, so not sure if I should just cut moving weight on the wheels, cranks, etc, but I'm leaning towards a whole new bike. I have zero bike building knowledge myself, and not even sure of exactly what parts I would need to build custom. My budget is ~$1000. I've read plenty in here, plenty about IRO and Wabi (customer service sounds great for both), but their products don't really match what I'm looking for.

TL;DR
Aluminum or light steel. Full bike, or somebody that can recommend what to buy to build. $1000 budget. 61cm, hard sprints, and will take it to the velodrome when we get one, probably for shorter events. Thoughts on these (looking at new models--in order of price):

Specialized Langster (MSRP $720)
Felt TK3 (MSRP $979)
Bianchi Pista Sie Giorni (MSRP $999)
Jamis Sonik (MSRP $1100)

I know--"buy used." If I find a 61cm bike that fits my needs, I will. I'm not counting on it.

-or-
Pake French 75, Cenlli or Super Pista, and incremental build up as I can afford it... but then I'm off my bike for a while, especially with the latter two.

Thoughts? Other recommendations? Thanks

[edit] I fluctuate 5-10lbs; maybe I should invest in better wheels and cranks, and stop thinking about total bike weight...???

johnnytheboy

in b4 kilo tt

jpsawyer

The Jamis Sonik is a great bike, but the current stock build is lacking compared to what it used to be. Since you are bigger I would recommend an aluminum frame for stiffness as I imagine you are a pretty big, strong guy. I would also recommend you do a fit calculator, the competitive cyclist one is highly recommended, to see which frame will fit you best. All the frames you listed are good ones, especially the Jamis and Felt. Another one to look at is the Specialized Langster Pro, though it is a bit outside your budget. It has a great stock build compared to most bikes that come stock. So do the fit calculator and see what sizes it recommends and then compare them to the geometry of the frame and then go from there.

vw_thing

While I am not very experienced in this area, I would definitely add a +1 for the TK3. I ride a Felt Gridloc, which is a more comfortable road version of their TK3-level track frame from 2010. The balance of weight and stiffness is perfect for me, at 185lbs and more of a weight lifter build than that of a cyclist. My only complaint with my Felt is the lackluster crank set, which I would hope is not an issue on the track bike. I'd at least recommend finding one to test ride, since I imagine your exact strength requirements are different from mine.

Guess I'm probably biased, a TK is on my buy list one of these days...

seanifred

you could probably build up a dolan pre cursa on your budget.

but from the options you gave...felt. the sei giorni fell flat when i tried it out. expected more.

ipmonkey

Thanks for the feedback.

The Pre Cursa was my first choice, but I read somewhere about cracks near the bottom bracket happening more than they should. Maybe it's just a rumor, or caused from people in London jumping curbs and hitting potholes. Seems more than likely that Dolan frames come out of the same factory as the other contenders.

Also, it'd be nice to test-ride, but it's pretty hard to find a 61cm track bike to test ride anywhere near where I live (Denver metro). If the LBS's carry anything, it's usually a smaller frame, so I'll probably just have to pick one based on feedback and geometry and commit.

seanifred

hmmm...

ive been commuting on my pre cursa for close to three years i think and no such crack has happened on mine.

Jaytron

That's funny, because the track forum says the Pre Cursa is a great bike. People racing on them for years.

BIK3S R K00L

https://denver.craigslist.org/bik/3494378331.html do it

seanifred

wow nice. wish i was taller....and in denver

EpicSchwinn

This topic has me interested too... I have a steel frame that I've been thinking of building up but I'd really like to try an aluminum track bike. It seems to always be cheaper to get a complete than do a build from scratch.

I went and checked out a Jamis Sonik (pre 2012) yesterday and I was really impressed. Carbon cranks and that American Classic are worth as much as the bike costs total practically. It felt really light too. I've also thought about the Felt TK3 but on an aesthetic level I think it's a fugly frame. The components are all no name too. Giant Omnium is kinda cool but it's $600 over budget.

linus

johnnytheboy

Langster Pro frame retails @ $660

EpicSchwinn

With about $600-$700 in to either frame, the remaining $3-400 budget wouldn't go far when you have to buy everything else for the bike. I think he would get the most for his money buying a complete even though there aren't very many options out there. IIRC the complete langster in the spec of that picture is around $1,600

jlafitte 

$900 for a Big Block complete, leaves $100 for some nice pedals. Not particularly light though, my 49cm weighs in about 21 lbs.

GENESTARWIND

my centurion weighs in at 23 pounds, with gears drop bars heavy saddle and seatpost. once i switch over to fixed and drop the rear brake, fix the saddle and switch to bullhorns i should lose a little.

seanifred

man...want omniums so bad.

ipmonkey

Well, maybe this was a bad idea, but after reading obsessively about this for a few days, I ordered the Dolan Pre Cursa (frame-set only) from the UK--paid the extra $75 in shipping to get the 60cm (vs buying in-country from DPM). I'm looking at Wabi for wheels, cog, lockring, shopping for a Omnium crankset & GXP BB, and have a list of the other, less expensive parts. I'd like to have two complete functional bikes when I'm done, so I can gift or sell the other one, but I may need to scavenge off my Bianchi for a bit.

Now over to Sheldon Brown's site to read up on how this works. Getting a straight chain line concerns me.

For others who are interested, the full Dolan pre-built bike is priced competitively with decent parts even after paying the shipping cost and import duty (mid-$900 in USD... not paying GSP helps). I found this in my searches too...

https://www.evanscycles.com/products/...-bike-ec043393

seau grateau

Chain line is easy. Just make sure you get the right bottom bracket for your cranks.

AristoNYC

Go for the Pre Cursa
I have a 6cm and its great. I did however find it a bit uncomfortable for a 75mi ride, but track geo would explain that.

I have the Wabi's and they are nice and light.

linus

True.

I want it.

ipmonkey

Here's the almost end-result of my quest. It's getting my 105 pedals, a new (probably Specialized) saddle, and a front brake.

It rides great--responsive, stable, and ~17lbs bathroom scale weight.

FakeFuji

Needs compact drops and hoods, and I will hnnnng all day long.

The blue is beautiful

EpicSchwinn

u tall bro?

Looks solid

gotta agree with fooj that the bars look a little weird like that but do what's practical

max-a-mill

scares me that you go on hilly rides brakeless... but i guess you've been doing it for a while and if your still alive it works for you.