Custom Ti Frame
 

I posted this same thread on the triathlon forum, but my question about the dual junction seat stays is relevant to regular road cycling too.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...riathlon-Frame

I have been looking at buying a triathlon frame from Pride Cycles, but I cannot find anyone who actually has one of their bikes. Before I get too serious about buying one, I was wondering if anyone had any information about their frames. (There is a small post about them on a different website's forums, but I didn't want to get yelled at for linking other forums)

Here is a link to their triathlon frame web page:
http://www.pridecyclesusa.com/TriFrames.html

When I spoke to the owner, he made it sound as if all of their triathlon frames have dual junction seat stays (which I haven't seen before). He stated that it improves lateral stiffness, but I would like more opinions.

Here is a link to what their road frames look like (including pictures of their dual junction seat stay system):
http://www.pridecyclesusa.com/RoadFrames.html

Does anyone have any opinions about these frames and the viability of racing of one?

well i would have to say that anytime you add another triangle structure to a frame you will increase stiffness from a relative standpoint, however there are plenty of mfgs that achieve more than adequate stiffness without the "dual junctions" so i would argue that they would be unnecessary on a properly designed frame.

personally i dont like the way they look at all.

If your just starting out, why a little known builder? Why not a Lynskey, or more well known builder with a longer track record?

I have never seen, much less ridden a Pride bike. However I have a ti bike and used to own a GT, which also used a "dual junction" geometry. My observations:

1. I love ti frames for my road bike, but I don't have a clue if they are a good choice for a TT bike.
2. That "dual junction" geometry will definitely stiffen the bike and the ride, maybe to a point where the vibration dampening qualities of titanium are lost. My GT was an aluminum frame and a 25 mile ride on it would shake the fillings right out of your teeth. I've heard from others that Cervelo's aluminum P1 TT bike feels the same way. But that's supposed to be no big deal to triathletes.

That is the cheesiest looking website I have ever seen. And the bikes look cheesy. Of course the bikes may actually be wonderful. The typos on the website don't help.

The owner is the former plant manager at Litespeed from what I can tell.

I have been looking at titanium frames from Lynskey, Guru, and Javelin. I just saw this company and was wondering if their claims about the strange looking seat stay's abilities were legit and to see if anyone knew anything about the company.

I'm mainly looking into titanium because I travel a lot with my job and I have heard too many stories about airlines destroying carbon frames. I actually spent a good amount of time looking at the 2010 Cervelo P1 and everything I've seen about it says that it's great, except for a harsh ride.

Thanks for the help, everyone.

Yeah, when I talked to him, he said that he worked there for a long time (I don't remember the exact amount), but I wasn't sure how much a plant manager had to do with actually building and designing the frames (I know that my boss has no idea what we do all day, so I wasn't sure if they had the same disconnect with what actually happens).

If you want durability then ti is definitely the answer. Have you looked for a Litespeed TT bike on ebay? This year they've gone to carbon, but I'd think there are some used ones on sale at a good price.

This is one ugly bike. If the "dual junction" seat stays are for stiffness, I'm not sure why you would need it on a frame for a smaller rider (like this one). This frame also looks small enough that the builder could have considered 650c wheels.

http://i49.tinypic.com/30dgmxe.jpg

However, their prices seem great. I'd see if they had made a few "normal" looking bikes before pulling the trigger.

Ti is the most durable high performance frame material of course. No doubt about that.

yes, it appears to be approaching crank arm overlap if it got any smaller.

according to their website they also make traditional geometries and traditional rear triangles.

I would seriously consider getting one of their frames at that price if I were looking to replace my training bike. I might do so anyway since that bike is not the most comfy ride.

http://www.pridecyclesusa.com/files/...s/P6010027.JPG..

Here's a Litespeed Saber on ebay that is ready to go for triathlons...save yourself the $$ and get a used one

http://cgi.ebay.com/Litespeed-Saber-...item3ca919dbec