andre nickatina

So Stratton of keirinculture got some pics up of his upcoming track frames he's putting out...




Looks good to me so far. Anyone heard anything as far as builders, tubing, geometry, price?
Thoughts??

piratelove

I think a friend of mine is going to get one.
They look great, but the only thing I'm bummed about is that they're 4130.

cc700

the lugs look nice but those track ends look superugly.

sp00ki

not to start a fight, but it seems we have PLENTY of framebuilders specializing in lugged steel track frames. any idea when a builder is going to something different for the fg market? off-the-peg ti frames, for instance? or maybe something with full fender mounts?
i mean, everyone i know rides a lugged steel track frame. surely someone out there is equipped to fill another niche...

cc700

i ride a welded steel track frame, but i guess you don't really know me.

sp00ki

eww! i most certainly don't!

ugh... i never!

andre nickatina

KHS/mercier/spicers can take full fenders with a little mechanical work and tinkering. my KHS is evidence of this, just had to make a small mod to the front fender to get it all working.




and yeah, that does kind of suck that it's 4130. i want to see someone stock some kaisei 4130 quad butted, that stuff is supposed to be way nice. but 4130 does make sense for the street and brakeless riding. i think the ultimate would be if someone made a track bike with 4130 seat/chain-stays and some really nice stuff for the main triangle, maybe columbus genius or reynolds 853.

chase.

...even something as minor as a nicer lugset (richard sachs?) could mean fastback stays, sloping crown fork, and a little bit of distinction. while i appreciate the economics of more competition in the lower-price lugged steel frame market, i'd like a named tubeset from columbus or true temper and a frame that doesn't look like everyone else's with different paint and decals.

JellyMeetsJam

Faux-njs that will probably cost just as much as a used njs frame on ebay...

We'll see though, if it's 500 for the frame and fork it'll fly off the shelves.

Legalize It

Wow it looks just like everything else. Boring.

jussik

so, how much is that going to be?

Since the price is the deal breaker here, me thinks.

andre nickatina

Oh hell yeah, maybe some lugset like what Makino uses a lot, that Long Shen badassness with the window cutouts... that'd be real nice. I definitely agree, it took people long enough to realize the kids want a lugged track frame instead of road geometry or welds (which I don't have a problem with personally as long as they're not bucknasty like Leader frames). Distinction is key.

sp00ki

Right, and that's my point. You can get almost anything working with effort, but it'd be so awesome if a framebuilder, instead of trying to make the next big same-old-thing, said something like "hrm... there aren't any/many fixed gear bikes with fender/rack mounts, but lots of fixed gear riders work as messengers in the rain, commute, live in areas with snowy winters, etc... lemme make something that gives them a ton of options 'out of the box'."

I mean, it's none of my business, and i'm sure the builder is just starting off with something he/she enjoys, but it sort of irks me that every new builder i hear of is doing the same "lugged steel brakeless track bike-- but more for the street!"

ahand

i like that, how much you think those are going for?

daveed

And here I'm thinking something hyrid-y in thick-tubed aluminium. Hey, I fixed one like that and I love how it looks against Italian steel.

Legalize It

+1

Thats why whenever i got NJS frames im pdx i sold em within a couple weeks.

andre nickatina

Dude we have like 3 builders finally stepping it up to the lugged generic type **** lately. Kazane, Alien, and Spicer (I think??). Who else were you talking about, spooki?

kyle!

well there's the 925, san jose, one way, etc for all those spots.


or are you talkin' handmade business??

if so, yes i agree-ish.

curiousincident

Mhmm. I'm in the planning stages of a new build for the spring and I'm this close to picking up my friend's ****** aluminum tubed Cannondale from the early/mid 90's and using an eccentric hub - I had been looking on ebay for some nice NJS/whatever frame to pop up but I just got so sick of em.

jussik

I know some people prefer new over anything else but I still think a used keirin frame for less than 500 USD from Ebay is better than any of these new frames. it comes with the seal, you know...

sp00ki

kogswell
bob jackson
i.f.
debernardi
vanilla
etc
etc
etc

and lots more. we've all done the "hrm, what frame should i buy now" in the past (or as we speak), so it's needless to say that there are TONS of builders making lugged track frames from steel and charging everything from $500 to $2000 depending on what they offer. i settled on a bob jackson, but could've gone a million different ways and gotten similar quality from a pre-built option.

operator

If you want those options, track ends are a stupid choice. And track geometry too. What you're looking for already exists in this world in the way of road frames.

operator

+1

If it's priced within an IRO, boring. If it's priced substantially lower then it should fly off the shelves. Hell i'd buy one just to build up a couple of winter beaters/commuters.

johnnyedge

my friend drew said that stratton was coming out with his own frame. i think it looks sick. nothing different but still cool. i like the way njs stuff looks but i really can't justify spending $500-600 on a used frame, so hopefully the price on these frames wont be so high

sp00ki

it's not a stupid choice. on a daily basis i see at least a handful of people riding track-type bikes with clip on fenders who would surely, if given the choice, choose full fenders.
ask any messenger or commuter who prefers track bikes why they use clip-ons, and you'll hear "because there aren't any decent track bikes with fender mounts. i don't want to get wet every time i go through a puddle, so i use a plastic clip-on i have to detach every time i leave my bike."
my gf rides an iro as her rain/lockup bike with a clip-on in the back when it's messy out. she's jealous of my aluminum hondos, but doesn't want to bother converting a road bike. she's used to track geometry, so why switch? in fact, if i had the option of buying an affordable track bike with mounts, i'd be using it instead of a converted nishiki for bad weather. the type of dropout is irrelevant-- there's a market for track influenced frames with variety, but there doesn't seem to be anyone filling it outside of the custom built game.