Shutter

Ok, so I'm looking at getting a frame that looks like the one below... Are they hard to ride? Does it hurt the back leaned forward like that?
I know that the question depends on the person but I thought I would ask...

I really like the look of this frame but I'm not sure of its intended benefits?

Also I know that the front wheel has to be 650... Are 650 wheels hard to find? I was thinking of getting an aero spoke one...

Is the rear wheel still a regular 700 ?
.

wearyourtruth

it's not made to be comfortable, it's made to to put your body in the most aerodynamic position possible.

that's why most of the guys you see riding them on the street have put risers on them like a jackass

gomango

I haven't ridden one of these for twenty years.

A great frameset for going in a straight line, but I can't imagine tooling around the lakes on one.

Folks would be looking for the rest of the circus performers following me.

photogravity

This guy has it all wrong: he really needs to put ape hangers on the bike to really do it right!

photogravity

so gomango, are you saying that circus performers don't follow you already?

Bianchigirll 

I agree that Concorde looks like a great frame, but bikes are meant for going as fast as you can over a shortish course, and normally closed off and devoid of obstacles.

The front 650c wheels are not hard to find since it is a fairly common size for Tri bikes and Bianchi makes lots of 'ladies' specific geomentry bikes with 650 wheels. an aero spoke may be a bit pricey though.

I have not been out on mine yet but I am sure after the first ride or two it will not see much of the road

Shutter

Oh! Forgot to ask ! Is there a frame size for these bikes? If I take a 57 on a regular road bike then is it the same here? I'm buying in the bay so I need to know in advance

gomango

Ssssssh, you'll blow my cover!

ColonelJLloyd 

Are you seriously considering buying a time trial frame to do anything other than time trial racing? Seems like a silly idea to me.

thenomad

Sounds great for looking at, or riding on the velodrome or a TT circuit; not so much for real "riding".

Unless of course you call wobbling around slowly in a starbucks parking lot and trackstanding while smoking "riding" then yes, its good for that too.

+1 on the apehangers

Trakhak

Yes, TT bikes like that came in frame sizes. The seat of the Battaglin in wearyourtruth's post (post 2 in this thread) is at the right height; i.e., for this style of TT bike, if the frame is the correct size for the rider, then the seatpost is nearly buried in the seat tube. (Sorry, Bianchigirll, but it's true.)

Don't know if or how you can get the seller of the eBay bike to measure it correctly, but the measurement you need is the effective top tube length. It should be the same as or very close to the effective top tube length of a conventional road bike that fits you right.

Or another, probably fairly reliable approach would be to (1) measure from near the top of your road bike seatpost (i.e., at a point equivalent to the point on the Battaglin's seatpost where it enters the seat tube) to the center of the bottom bracket and (2) ask the eBay seller to measure that frame from the top of the seat tube to the center of the bottom bracket. If the two measurements are within a centimeter or so, you should be good.

Note that that frame was designed to be used with bullhorn bars. If you get the frame, please don't put drop bars on it. That's always embarrassing to see. Also, please set the saddle so that it's horizontal. Don't know why everyone who buys one of those frames thinks the saddle should be pointing down. Also unpleasant to see.

sloar 

I would love to have a vintage
Tt frame. I did triathlon racing for several years. My trek ttx
Was
The
Most comfortable bike I ever owned. If you get it setup right they are awesome

Chombi

You do understand that you will be always feel pressured to always be really fast and ride laser straight on the road with no sitting up on the saddle and toodling around and no stopping for any breaks. You also have to wear one of those funny aero helmets and very revealing lycra skin suits too, or you'll look all wrong on the bike and nasty roadies would chase you down for being a TT poseur and throw you and your bike into a ditch.......

Chombi

Shutter

Hahahaha... ok... Everybody here makes a valid point... I would probably do exactly what everybody is telling me NOT to do... soooo I think I will stick with regular frames for now =)

Thanks for all the tips!!!