Originally Posted by Odin
My 540's are still straight as a die, but the spokes were breaking on a weekly basis. The LBS said that they were starting to get a few in of similar age/mileage. Mine are about 3 years old/5-6000km. They only break where they hook into the rim..
Bugger!! that is SO crappy! I can't remember the last time I broke a spoke, but I use 30mm deep rear rims.
Originally Posted by Odin
Thanks kotter, I've got eBay set up to email me whenever a frame comes up
I love Pinarello and Colnago porn. I'd like to get away from compact frames with the next one too if possible.
ACR have about 25 De Rosa frames that have been hanging up there for at least 2 years, so I reckon they'd be in for some wheeling and dealing. I guess you still can't be assured that an untried frame will be stiff enough, but apparently, Mario Cipollini rode resprayed De Rosa for years, and he wasn't slow.
The good thing about Bicycle Recycle is that 90% of the road bikes are 2nd hand, so they're less fussed about test rides.
I know a BIG guy (well over 100kg) who was a bit of a sprinter, and he was happy with his alu Giant, and I can't believe he never busted it! You never know, you might be a bit of a beast of a sprinter, and therefore need 'uber' stiff stuff -- more so that the av-er-age bear. It could be your cranks -- Baden Cooke had to get special chainrings made for his bikes coz the chain was falling off during some of his sprints.