elemental

For my next road build, I'd like to try something steel (for a variety of reasons that probably don't need enumeration here). Frame/fork budget would be under $1000, then build with Rival (unless, of course, the frame is Italian, in which case I'd need to look at Centaur). I need a horizontal TT (that one is a must), sporting geometry (not CAAD, but along the lines of what's sometimes called "stage race" geometry - definitely performance-oriented). Bike will be used for recreational weekend riding, group rides, and charity rides, no plans for racing or touring.

I'm having a hard time finding frames that meet this criteria, and I'd appreciate suggestions. What would you ride?

gavo

https://www.breezerbikes.com/bikes/de...nturi_frameset

I know this is $1100, a bit more than you mentioned but I think it looks fantastic.
Soma does the Smoothie for around 500 I think, although I'm not sure if it would meet your criteria.
I'd love to do something along the lines of what you're suggesting myself.

thenomad

Just go Ti

or

colnago master

DeRosa

If the paints bad, have it powdercoated

bikerjp

I was going to suggest Gunnar, but after adding in the fork it's more than $1,000. However, the Gunnar Sport frame is $900. I've been eyeing one for a while but no money

SlimRider

I think you might be looking for this one:

The SOMA Stanyan ~ $730
www.somafab.com/archives/product/stanyan-frameset/

bikerjp

That is a sweet bike, but pay attention to the head tube height. I was eyeing that too, but the short HT left me thinking it was not going to fit they way I wanted. YMMV.

revchuck 

Another possibility is to look in the Classic & Vintage sales forum: https://www.bikeforums.net/forumdispl...-Vintage-Sales

A lot of us - myself included - have gotten older framesets and updated them with new components. If you get an 80s Japanese frameset, or a Trek from that era, it'll probably have a 68mm BSC BB and 126mm rear dropout spacing...which is really easy to make into 130mm (current standard) spacing.

Here's mine, to give you an idea.

elemental

Hmmm, very interesting - hydroformed steel is unique. Don't love the sloping top tube, which also applies to the Somas. The Stanyan might be traditional (hard to tell), but I have to admit I can't stand the color.


I do really like this idea - I've always had a De Rosa thing. Is eBay pretty much the best source for these, or is there a better way?

Crass though it may be, I'm into the idea of a De Rosa frame powdercoated deep red (only if the paint is bad) with Centaur (Athena?) and 40mm black rims. Heresy? Probably. But it would look awesome.

nelson4568

some and orange vela make great frame sets under 1100
my personal favorite https://www.masibikes.com/framesets/crit

canam73

https://www.gvhbikes.com/inventory.html has some steel KHS and Viner frames as well as Soma.

Jed19

Nice frame! What is up with Masi having no geometric numbers for the frame on their website?

revchuck 

Jed - They do. I had a hard time finding it too. Rather than a chart on the website, under the "Geomtry" tab there's a .pdf file you need to download.

guadzilla

Handmade Italian bike for approx that price:
https://www.pelizzoliworld.com/

Plus, the builder looks like he eats babies for breakfast. An added bonus.

datlas 

Where do you live??

If there is a custom framebuilder nearby, I would start there.

RTC

I'm currently building up one of these. The frameset runs around $700-800 depending on where you purchase it. Great fast road bike with a lot of options!

https://allcitycycles.com/bikes/mr_pink

sced

There are some great buys on Ebay. I got a NOS Viner Nemo frameset for $300 that sounds just like what you're looking for. I built it up with Campy. It's a delight to ride.

dalava

You should be able to find one in your budget here: https://www.racycles.com/list.aspx?catid=10,30,522

knobd

Not to hijack but what do you guy's know about the Viner Competition frames? At $450 they seem like a nice deal. I may be in the market for a steel frame for 2013 and will start my research soon. I did a quick and dirty internet search and it appears that the Dedacciai Steel is pretty good. They don't have my size in the competition frame but do have it in the T13. I would imagine the steel in the T13 is a better grade since it's $850.

SSRI

like the rev sez vintage would be a good possiblity.
my main concern is rust, but other then than if you dont mind a few paint chips.


got this frame with a chris king headset.
threw on some classic da i've been collecting.

LesterOfPuppets

They have Ciocc COM frames with carbon fork/steel steerer in 54 and 55, $900
and
Debernardi Zona carbon fork in a couple of sizes $707
and
Guercciotti EL/OS in 58cm, steek fork $992 :

https://www.smartcycles.com/frame_closeouts_list.htm

Ayyyyy

Some dude here in Eugene is selling off a bunch of nice frames, mods please edit if this link is considered spam...just a suggestion though:

https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=112093

elemental

I wasn't that impressed with these when I saw the complete on the All City site, but I Googled it again and saw the build they brought to Eurobike:




I like the frameset color much better, and those "wet white" WCS parts on it are just awesome. This is really tempting.

Suburban Grind

I built a 58cm size of this NOS frameset:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Old-Stoc...item3f15ae41af

It's the 1992 Miyata Team steel model. They have 56cm C-T's remaining, if that's a fit. It was $800 + $44 shipping just over a year ago.



I built it with mostly NOS Dura Ace 7700 9 speed drivetrain, brakes, seatpost & headset, 7900 hubs w/ DT Swiss rims, and Nitto 1" threaded stem and bars. It's a highly detailed frameset with nice extras like number hanger, chain hanger peg, braze on FD mount, and pearlescent paint. It's rides precise, stiff and responsive, seems like it would be well-suited to climbing, descending, and sprinting.

I also like the looks of this 1993 Pinarello Maxim from NY state - looks like a great frameset (minus some deteriorating decals) in your price range:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/great-used-1...item33607d3c6a

elemental

This bikes looks awesome and I realized I'd ignored it until now. The vintage/NOS suggestions are appealing. I'd be in a little over my head trying to make sense of tubing types, finding geometry info, and determining what's worth riding and what isn't, but it could be an interesting way to go.

rjones28 

There's a Mondonico in the Classic and Vintage Sales forum https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...RA-Leggero-(NJ)