The right Crit bike?
11-16-11, 12:51 PM
#26
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Thanks for all the help so far fellas. Gotten some good pointers. I definitely believe its not all about the bike and more about the rider and the ride itself, but my ride is on its last leg. The group set is constantly having to be worked on, the shifters on the down tube make it a pain to shift in tight packs and I'd like to be able to get into a more aggressive position.
11-16-11, 01:00 PM
#28
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No love for the BMC aluminum bike?
11-16-11, 01:35 PM
#29
Making a kilometer blurry
I'd race one. I think you can't go wrong with pretty much any reasonably popular brand of bike. If it's the road bike in the lineup with a short-ish head tube*, then everything else should be just dandy.
* I wouldn't want to crit race on something like a Roubaix or Synapse, for instance.
* I wouldn't want to crit race on something like a Roubaix or Synapse, for instance.
11-16-11, 01:36 PM
#30
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Not sure you are interested in expanding your options, but check out Velo Vie. Makes a great crit bike for me. It had very sharp handling and is as stiff as any frame out there. And for the complete bike, it's got pretty good specs for the money.
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Cat 2 Track, Cat 3 Road.
"If you’re new enough [to racing] that you would ask such question, then i would hazard a guess that if you just made up a workout that sounded hard to do, and did it, you’d probably get faster." --the tiniest sprinter
Cat 2 Track, Cat 3 Road.
"If you’re new enough [to racing] that you would ask such question, then i would hazard a guess that if you just made up a workout that sounded hard to do, and did it, you’d probably get faster." --the tiniest sprinter
11-16-11, 03:13 PM
#32
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Not sure you are interested in expanding your options, but check out Velo Vie. Makes a great crit bike for me. It had very sharp handling and is as stiff as any frame out there. And for the complete bike, it's got pretty good specs for the money.
11-16-11, 04:10 PM
#33
Senior Member
Velo Vie is out of Arizona. I believe the frames are manufactured in Taiwan, though Velo Vie specifies the design. I used to be on a team that was lightly sponsored by them; one of their reps came by and talked with us during one of our team meetings. I got my frame at a slight discount (basically the "sale price" advertised on their website and a custom color paintjob they've since adopted for their 400 model). Overall, I have been very happy with it.
Here's a pic:
Here's a pic:
__________________
Cat 2 Track, Cat 3 Road.
"If you’re new enough [to racing] that you would ask such question, then i would hazard a guess that if you just made up a workout that sounded hard to do, and did it, you’d probably get faster." --the tiniest sprinter
Cat 2 Track, Cat 3 Road.
"If you’re new enough [to racing] that you would ask such question, then i would hazard a guess that if you just made up a workout that sounded hard to do, and did it, you’d probably get faster." --the tiniest sprinter
Last edited by Brian Ratliff; 11-16-11 at 04:19 PM.
11-16-11, 05:47 PM
#34
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Good lookin machine, i'll consider them for sure.
11-16-11, 05:53 PM
#35
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Anyone have any experience with FRANCO bicycles? Their Balcom series with 105 set is with in my budget. Haven't heard much about them though.
11-16-11, 06:20 PM
#37
i got nothing.
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11-16-11, 06:22 PM
#38
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I was friends with Julian Franco in the 90's, we raced motorcycles together. Hes a great guy. I dont have any personal experience with his bikes, but Ivan Dominguez seems to like them.
11-16-11, 07:43 PM
#42
Senior Member
fyi the older 50 cm road bikes used to come with 70, 70.5 deg headtube angles. 72 was "steep". This was to avoid toe/foot overlap with the front wheel. No one differentiated between "race" and "comfort" - it was either "road" or "touring".
When I got my first 73 deg headtube angle bike (TCR) in about 2000-2001, it was incredible.
That meant that for many, many, many years, I got along fine with a bike that had a slack headtube angle, a bike that didn't officially corner well. Long stays (longer than 40.5 - the early Cannondales were terrible there; my very first race bike had insanely short stays, in the 38s I think), splayed out fork, whatever, I didn't really have a choice.
So, although I'd prefer to get a 73 deg headtube angle bike, although I'd want to get a relatively stiff frame, really anything works, as long as it fits reasonably well.
When I got my first 73 deg headtube angle bike (TCR) in about 2000-2001, it was incredible.
That meant that for many, many, many years, I got along fine with a bike that had a slack headtube angle, a bike that didn't officially corner well. Long stays (longer than 40.5 - the early Cannondales were terrible there; my very first race bike had insanely short stays, in the 38s I think), splayed out fork, whatever, I didn't really have a choice.
So, although I'd prefer to get a 73 deg headtube angle bike, although I'd want to get a relatively stiff frame, really anything works, as long as it fits reasonably well.
11-16-11, 08:06 PM
#43
Making a kilometer blurry
Yeah, I seem to remember you had a couple of, how to put this... "dynamic-radius" turns in that TT though. I may have your races reports jumbled...
11-16-11, 08:24 PM
#44
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11-16-11, 08:27 PM
#45
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Thanks for all the help so far fellas. Gotten some good pointers. I definitely believe its not all about the bike and more about the rider and the ride itself, but my ride is on its last leg. The group set is constantly having to be worked on, the shifters on the down tube make it a pain to shift in tight packs and I'd like to be able to get into a more aggressive position.
11-16-11, 08:28 PM
#46
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Of the bikes listed, I'm partial to the Supersix as I have a System Six (acquired via eBay) and I love it. My guess is that the Super would climb like a billy goat, accelerate like Tom "The Mongoose" Mcewen, and corner like Ricky Bobby.
11-16-11, 08:32 PM
#47
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Fit, remember the fit. Mentioned above, I'll repeat it. Without a proper fitting bike you won't be happy. You may get by but you won't be happy.
Fit also changes as you get more fit... err conditioned. You'll start out with your bars slightly higher and closer, later moving to a longer, lower position. I helped one of my teammates adjust his fit after a couple years of racing. It was pretty dramatic.
....
Fit also changes as you get more fit... err conditioned. You'll start out with your bars slightly higher and closer, later moving to a longer, lower position. I helped one of my teammates adjust his fit after a couple years of racing. It was pretty dramatic.
....
11-16-11, 09:07 PM
#49
Elite Fred
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11-16-11, 09:11 PM
#50
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Files and settings transfer