jaxblax98

I know some of you might say, "do a search there might be threads on this", but i want an opinion on my situation. I really like the geometry of track bikes and enjoy riding fast. I'm trading my Raleigh Furley (2013) for a Giant Omnium frame, crankset, and MAvic Ellipse wheels +150-200 cash. I live in toronto and bike around 12km a day, sometimes more. Also almost always on a bike path or in bike lanes. I know its meant to go fast and I do like going fast, but is it too fast for the roads of a city? Also, I'm getting a free 2014 Bianchi Pista around august september, any thoughts on the bike?

Overall question is:
Do you think it's worth getting the omnium in my situation? If not, any suggestion on a track bike that would other than the Pista because I already know that it'll do perfectly. I just need something to ride for 4-5 months.

Leukybear 

I'd keep the furley. That frameset has you covered in many ways for commuting with BB30 & derailleur hangers & disc tabs.

Then ride off those anxious feet with the pista. The pista is one of the long tried and proven entry track bikes.
The experience you'll get on the road with the pista is going to be much better than the omnium which is meant for the track.

Carcosa

^ This.

Save the money to make the Bianchi extra rad when it gets there, and keep the Raleigh to ride in the rain and lock up.

jaxblax98

I've been riding a KHS Flite 100 fixed (48/16 gear) for a while. It's my brother's because he left it here while he goes to university. He comes back next week and I dont think I can go back to the raleigh after having the huge speed range on the KHS. I fully appreciate the quality of the furley, but it's just too slow for me now.

Huffandstuff

I don't understand how a bike is slow.

TejanoTrackie 

Didn't eat its Wheaties ?

sickz

. .

Jared.

What? Bikes aren't slow or fast.

TMonk

A Giant Omnium is about as good on the road as your Furley is on the track.

TMonk

Beach Cruiser v TT bike. I do get what you're saying though, and agree with you, I just felt like being argumentative.

@jaxblax98, any difference in performance that you are experiencing between the Furley and the Flite 100 is mostly due to your body position and/or tire choice between the two rigs. Look at your reflection when you are riding both bikes - are you more upright on the Furley?

That Furley is a very utilitarian bike that can do it all - I think it is worth keeping as you can configure it for many different uses. The only thing not so utilitarian about it is the PF30 BB. I'm going to disagree with @Leukybear and say that for a commuter or utility bike, ease of use and serviceability are king, which means BSA BB > Any of that press fit or BB30 crap.

Leukybear 

In my opinion, BB30 is actually not all that difficult or bothersome to service in the *unlikelihood* that problems do arise in the first place. And I've been an early adopter of BB30 since having my dogma 2 and I've never had problems with BB30 from the time I ran a BSA adapter for 7900 cranks to the point I got myself some full on BB30 cdale hollowgram cranks toward the end of my ownership of said bike. No problems. Hence the wide adoption of said standard in the bicycle industry as we see here.

Even in the great unlikelihood you have problems, the possibilities and backwards compatibility far outweigh the mere inconveniences, such as running an eccentric BB adapter as in the case of OP's furley assuming he has the SS/FG version and not the geared one. Thanks to that BB30 he has the option of going either geared or SS/FG with vertical dropouts.

Also for BSA sticklers, you can do what I did with my 7900 cranks and get a BSA BB30 adapter. All adapters install just like BB30 components (pressed in) and are set and forget; once it's in, you can treat it just like any BSA BB bike with servicing. You can even use an italian BB if you wanted to provided you have the right adapter.

Also, components designated for BB30 & PF30 are interchangeable between the two styles of BB.

Wspsux

Slam the stem on the Furley, get some thinner tires and a fixed hub while waiting for the Bianchi. Then switch the Furley back. Or am I missing something crucial to the Furley's build that won't allow this?

jaxblax98

The furley has disc brakes. I'm not sure if that would make a difference when riding fix, I just know that it's excess weight that I could easily be replace by regular brakes. Also if I wanted to switch the brake I'd have to switch the wheels and end up paying more than I would have to trade for the omnium. I might just get smaller tires and keep the bike til I get the pista. When I meant it's slower, I meant that the acceleration of the bike is a lot faster on the khs than the furley.

TMonk

BB30 issues are certainly addressed on a case by case basis, where mfg frame tolerances and mechanical aptitude are both important variables. I think it's a far cry away from "great unlikelihood" as far as experiencing issues goes. I've had two experiences with BB30, one bad and one good. The good one was with a Soul Faith using Cdale hollogram cranks, the bad was with a Blue Axino using Sram Red cranks. Same bike shop.

As far as "set it and forget it" goes, sure, a BB30 setup may work, but if this is what you are after, BSA is a better choice. I prefer to "set it and forget it" myself, and don't particularly enjoy tinkering with my bikes. For a user like myself, there is little to no reason to use anything other than BSA bottom brackets and Shimano cranks.

Having said that, if you do like working on your bikes, and find a crank/frame setup that has quality interfaces, then BB30 may be a good choice as it is a lot lighter and marginally stiffer. Also, one unarguable advantage to BB30 is having a wider selection of crank choices, I'll give you that.

Leukybear 

Assuming it's from a brand name make, they should all have it down by this point. 5+ years is a lot of time.
Most teething problems have been dealt with already.