What the hell did I buy?
 

Looked all over the internet and can't find this thing??

I was told it was a road bike, I am going to do a flat
bar roadie with it, compact double, ten speed on the
back. 25's or 28's not sure yet, we have some bad
roads around here. Just going to be sort of a beater.
I have a new Salsa custom.

I like the look, it has a new fork, seat post, both CF.
The frame is aluminum. two minor chips in the paint.
What you see in the picture weighs four pounds.
It seemed cheap to me. I was told it is a 2008?
I think the frame has a certain grace to it's look!

http://imageshack.us/a/img833/6123/dscf2165jq.jpg

Time trial frame and fork

Pretty steep seat tube for a road bike...

+1

Flatbars on a TT/aero bike should be a first

Heh - flatbars on that would truly be an unusual build. Might make a cool drop bar bike though.

:twitchy:

Too old and fat for drops. Tried it, didn't like it. My new Salsa has
regular hybrid bars. Compact triple mountain group, 28/11 on
the back. 28 tires. 19lbs. Love it! I ain't no racer, just love to
ride.

It had a 34/11 in the picture, changed it to the 28/11 on the
second day.

Thanks for all the come backs.

http://imageshack.us/a/img844/8966/dscf2160b.jpg

That doesn't look like a crazy steep seat tube angle to me, and the top tube is longer than the seat tube (based on paper measurements on screen). Nothing about it says bad geometry for either road or flat bar bike. Just because it has artistic air foil shapes doesn't make it a TT bike. Go for it.

That's the plan! It is the right size BTW, 54cm. TT would explain the lack of bottle cage mounts...

It's definitely a tt frame. It's a small company with little presence in the cycling community. From what I have gathered they rebrand frames from asia. Looks like a nice frame though, Instead of flat bars, I would try bullhorns, u could use barend shifters and brake levers on the same bar.

Maybe check their website.

http://www.javbike.com/

Edit: Here is someone selling a built up one. Might give you ideas.

http://tulsa.craigslist.org/bik/3233475111.html

I'd agree with the bullhorns. With flat bars you will feel like you're constantly falling down on your hands and your back will be scrunched. Bull horns can still get you upright, but you'll be balanced properly to be comfortable on that bike.

another +1 for bull horns. More hand positions.

Did you check that it will fit 25s or 28s? Frames like that usually have pretty tight clearances.

I tried the wheels from the Salsa, they are fine, in fact, I ordered the same wheels for the Javelin, and the same tires.
I ordered the 28's and the 25's. It is close, but will be fine.

The story is, a customer bought the bike, it was too big so the shop ordered a smaller frame. They used the fork and
seat post from the old frame, leaving the used frame with the new fork and post. He paid for the new frame and told
the shop to try and sell the frame, That was four years ago, the fellow has disappeared, moved, registered letter came
back, phone disconnected. The frame has been in the store room all this time. I got it for less than the price of the fork
and seat post. No tax as it is considered used.

The customer paid over $1500 for the swap.

Build it to suit. But, bullhorns are really functional and will look perfect on that frame. Lots of urban/commuters use them.

Thanks for all the advice, I will keep it all in mind, and report back, all is subject to change at this time.

Like this??

http://www.bikepartsusa.com/bikepart...gory=handlebar

http://www.bikepartsusa.com/bikepart...gory=handlebar

One problem I have is my favorite seat is no longer available. Zefal gel. I have done several
century's with no thought of the seat or affected areas. Going to have to find something
close. Also going with a double seat mount cage for the bottles.

It's a 77 degree seat tube angle as close as I can tell, which is very steep for a road bike. Time for as much setback as you can get on that seatpost!

more like this. You could add what you posted above if you wanted. I had the Syntace bullhorns like this and really liked them. They come in options with or without slope/drop (see how these drop a little from the center? Found that very comfortable.)

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=273697

Good to know, especially since the geometry link shows one frame with 78, one with 76, and all the rest with 74.5 or less. It looked like several of the TT models use a seatpost to get the steep angle, from a base 74.5. How did you measure seat tube angle without wheels? Every measurement I have ever seen take it from a line parallel to the ground. Measuring from a top tube is not legit because any slope to the top tube will make the STA appear larger than it is.

And again per their geo table, all of the steep seat tube bikes have a top tube shorter than the seat tube. I don't get that from the pictured frame at all.

He could have drawn a line between the dropouts.

I tried that, but with the frame on an angle, you have to draw a line between the rear, find its center, then go from front drop to new center point, and then assume that the cocked frame in the photo doesn't impact the seat tube angle. And you have to be accurate within 2.5 degrees, because that is all the difference we are talking about

I shouldn't say that it is definitively isn't 77, because I have no empirical measurement data to say that. What I am saying is that we are all guessing, and I don't see how anyone can say it is absolutely a TT frame. The top tube looks too long compared to seat tube, which seems the easiest measurements to compare.

What's wrong with the Salsa?

IMHO, the Salsa is going to be a nicer bike to ride than the proposed buildup of the Javelin.