i recently aquired a mid-nineties cannondale road frame that i like a whole lot and rather than doing the eno hub thing i was thinking of just getting track ends installed. but alas, she's aluminum, and i know custom track ends on aluminum frames are a whole different story than with steel. has anyone done this, if so how much did it cost/what kind of difficulties did you encounter if any, is it more hassle than its worth? any info is appreciated.

i'm hardly an expert, but i'm thinking that if you can find aluminum track ends, you're good to go.

a good welder could tig weld either aluminum or steel bar ends. Just make sure its a good welder.

Getting track ends installed, and the bike repainted I assume, seems like a lot more work (certainly money) than an ENO.
Why don't you want to just go with an ENO?

I'm all for customization, but the ENO really is a sweet solution.

the only reason im against the eno is cause im short on funds and i already have a conversion with a slightly large frame, so ebing able to just switch everything over would be nice rather than having to re-do my rear wheel. plus since i only own ONE rear whell making it into an eno hub would make it to where i would have to convert the whole thing back if i got a track frame

the big plus about steel is that you can bend the frame to 120mm spacing and then weld/braze on track ends to use a normal 120mm spaced hub. You can't do this with aluminum as preloading the frame will make it crack. One option is to use a bent and offset track end similar to the IROs, but it would be a huge PITA to DIY and keep it straight.

I dare say a second wheel built with an Eno hub will cost you less than having track ends put on an AL frame, though. Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't aluminum frames heat treated following welding to improve the strength of the frame? If so, if you put new track ends on you'd have to do that again, and that requires special equipment...

for the price of the welding work and the track ends, I bet you'd be more than half way to a pista.

have you looked into a magic gear yet? it might be a better solution...

BAD IDEA.

Aluminium needs to be heat treated after welding. mig, tig, whichever.

There is such a small structural area affected by the dropout joint, all focused one the rider's weight.
Unless you have this done by an aluminium frame builder, who does it properly, it *will* fail. Everyone else who tries will just hack away at it and hope it doesn't break.

my 2 cents- get an ENO or another frame.

Just find the correct frame for the job.

If money is the number one concer, like you say it is, the ENO hub will end up being cheaper for sure. The dropout/weld/spacing/paint is a heck-of-a-job will end up being about 600 bucks.

magic gears

another vote for the eno.

i know a guy who is an amaizing AL welder who has the capability to do it. but even so i still would'nt do it especially with an older canondale that has already been stressed for years the welding and second heat treating (if required, depends on the type of Al used in canondale frames) will only make the frame more prone to failure. get an eno or get a new frame. hyperrevue just picked up a canondale track frame for 300 so they are out there and not too expensive.

thanks everyone for your input

i dont see why, you can use the ENO hub on a track frame, it'd just be a really expensive hub with features you don't need.

Ask this guy. He had it done:
https://velospace.org/node/409