Frame Gurus...
 

I'm looking to get a new frame and I need some opinions.

Does this look like a legit frame? Looks pretty good, but I don't know, I might be missing something.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Aluminum-Road-fr...ayphotohosting

would be a pain in the ass to make that a single speed compared to something with sliding dropouts.

yeah, ss could be done with a tensioner. fixed gear would require an expensive hub or math.

This is another photo of the same frame (from a different auction):

http://i2.ebayimg.com/02/i/000/99/ac/5921_1_b.JPG

The dropouts just look like short Campy style dropouts.

Can you explain why it'd be difficult?

IMO it's not worth buying a new frame if you are going to have to use a tensioner or fancy hubs and math. Just get a frame with at least horizontal drops. but thats just me.

Seriously. Math sucks.

I agree with him/her BTW

you cannot tension your chain by moving your wheel back and forward. the wheel is locked in that one spot so getting proper tension is close to impossible without some fancy stuff. you want your drop outs to face in a horizontal direction. just cruise through pictures on here and look at everyone's drops.

because you can't tension the chain in vertical dropouts, you'd need a dangling tensioner or an eccentric hub and that's all just silly if you can get a frame with sliding dropouts with a fork for less than that frame plus a good fork.

beat to the punch by the rest of the bunch

if you can find a frame with sliding dropouts for less than 88 bucks for god's sake post it ;)

you could totally find better.......dont be impatient

Ah, okay that makes sense. Yeah, I'll thank myself in the long run if I get a frame with sliding dropouts. Thanks a lot, guys.

Is possible to find a decent road frame with (somewhat) tight geometry for around $100? Steel would be preferrable, longetivity is more important than weight, to me.

for sure. I have got like 4 for under a hundred. use craigslist or go to a shop that guys old frames. The best way at a shop is to bring in a frame or something to barter with and you can get them on the cheap. I got set up with a Miyata 112 for 40 bucks that way. You may need to be willing to do some work on the frame like painting but it's worth it.

i'll take the opposite side here...

if you're saving all that cash on what does appear to be a pretty reasonable frame at a very good price, why not run an ENO eccentric hub on it? you can get a new one for ~$125...of course, then you need a rim and a wheelbuild. i just got a complete ENO wheel (for my SS mtb), barely used, for $150.

that hub is a beautiful piece of equipment...as nice as phil or paul and absolutely rock solid. i slapped it on the bike, went for a 2min test ride around the block, then loaded up and went to Pisgah Nat'l forest where it got a serious trial by fire. ~50 miles of pounding, ~7k feet of climbing (including some brutally steep grinds), zero issues.

Another hey-yo for the ENO eccentric hub. It's much more of a hassle to find a frame that you like and that fits you with track ends or horizontal drops than it is to spend a little more on a hub that rivals Phil's quality and gives you the ability to convert any bike.

They've got a point, it took me a couple months to find a frame my size to convert and several more to find a nice one to replace the junker. Now I have frames coming out my ears, but when I was looking there was nothing to be found.

There is a Leader track frame- the 720TR that is $139 with horizontal drops and supposedly weighs 3.1 lbs (in 56cm) w/o the fork. While $88 is smelly filthy dirty cheap, $139 isn't too bad - it is more like partially submerged bargain basement cheap.

oh yeah one more thing. "sliding dropouts" usually refers to vertical dropouts whose length can be adjusted, like this:
http://www.haggs.nu/catalog/images/SLIDING%20INBRED.jpg

you don't need those. any frame with horizontal dropouts or track ends should be fine.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/images/dropf-camp.gif

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/images/dropf-short.gif

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/images/dropf-nohang.gif

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/images/dropf-sub.gif