Ben! You stole me thunder. My thoughts exactly. Here abouts the I'm seeing alot of riders on compacts. I can't say at this point if the bike will agree with me, I need some miles on anything. I have a compact on order. There are many here on the boards that often do things an injustice based on "0", I mean ZERO real experience.

Sure I see the manufacturers fingers in the sizing and agree that there should be more than sm/med/lg/Xlg, not likely to happen though. As I go thru the various offereings from bicycle manufacturers, small volume frame designers/importers and custom builders. There are enough different designs to go around.

I may like the compact design. I may not. I withhold my judgement till I have sufficent miles to make an comment based on experience........as if anyone cares about my opinion.

i know that the bike can be made lighter on a sloping TT, but overall weight depends on the seatpost used.

Perhaps I'm mistaken, but isn't Giant a Taiwanese company?

Taiwan is NOT the "Peoples Republic of China." Taiwan is a democracy. The true government of China fled to Taiwan when Mao and his communist ****tards illegally overthrew them. My Taiwanese wife never lets me forget this.

People should follow the Taiwan situation more closely. China is always threatening them and the United States is legally obligated to defend them at all costs. A chinese incursion into taiwan has a high probability of going nuclear.

A compact frame allows for a shorter wheelbase and a small savings on weight. Shame about them limiting the sizes available though.

I don't like compact because it looks wierd with the huge amount of seatpost showing. One of my friend's has a Specialized Allez, and it looks really weird with a foot of seat post

[QUOTE=A compact frame allows for a shorter wheelbase .[/QUOTE]

How is that?

:D lets fight, sucka.

I may sound like a bastd for saying this, but both governments are just as legit. The communist revolution happened because the gov't in China at the time was corrupt and exploitative. Now, I'm not saying that it excuses the cultural revolution and the may 4th incident and all the other crap that's happened, but at the time it was a pretty legit reason for overthrowing a government.

Yep, same thing happened at the Tour de France last year. I wonder how long it will take the UCI to make traditional illegal.

And lots of seat post exposure is way cool. ;)

Running dog imperialist revisionist counter-revolutionary supporter of criminal Chang Kai check no criticise superior and happy Peoples Republic. No unisex bike for you.

Hell yeah....


Mario Scirea, Eros Poli, Mario Cipollini and Valerio Tebaldi are all very interested in where this info came from!!

:D

Mario Beccia, Wladimiro Panizza, Leonardo Piepoli and Emanual Sella could possibly translate into English as Happy, Doc, Sleepy and Bashful. :D

Who in Italian cycling would be Dopey?

Hmmm......

Baffi?
Marco Velo?

I'm running out of shortarses.....

:roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao:

Great thread!

That was the idea.

Obvious one...Bettini

I pit my superior Szechuan cooking skill against you Japanese warmonger Iron Chef person.

Thanks for brightening my day

Compact geometry comes from Mountain bikes. On a mountain bike its generally a positive thing to have as much standover as possible. Since mountain bikes were very cool in the 90s some guy said, "Hey lets make road bikes look more like mountainbikes, if we do this we can use less metal, make less sizes, and have stiffer and lighter bikes."

I'm kinda TOed about it so I am buying up vintage Lugged steel frames on ebay and storing them in the desert, one day the world will bow at my feet and begg for a bike with a straight top tube.

lol, this is easily the best "topic change" I have ever seen. From nuclear war to compact frames in 5 seconds flat.
:D

Former pommy pro and frame builder Dave Lloyd started making (custom) compact bikes in the late 80's. They were the first modern ones I ever saw.

I suspect Mike Burrows flogged the idea off him or was in contact with him at the time. Burrows sold the unisex idea to Giant.

I aim to have everyone on this forum calling compact frames 'unisex' by the end of June. Please assist me in my quest.

All of the sloping top tube frames I own are too big for the average-sized female to ride - hence - no unisex. Sorry, but I can't help you in your quest.

I never thought I see debate on Chinese-Taiwanese sabre rattling in a thread about sloping racing bikes.

Fantastic.

I warn you grasshopper - I know karate, jiu-jitsu, and savate! And good old-fashioned barnyard ass-whuppin'!

http://www.101lifestyle.com/images/c...kie_chan21.jpg

I'm waiting for somone to invent the Mega-Ultra Compact, where the top tube meets the bottom bracket.

If Compact is good, then M.U.C. is Compact TIMES ONE HUNDRED, BEATCHES!!

Love hearing Texans talk about Communism too. Too funny. Even funnier when you look in their cupboards.

Trials bike. No seat tube (or saddle!)