well good for you for making a decision
even though the sparton isn't an upgrade over your hour. even though it has LUGZZZZ

I was just looking for tight geometry & no holes :) And it comes in 31 flavors!

http://www.geocities.com/thebicyclestore/bici_007.jpg

http://bp0.blogger.com/_OMAhGf_RYE0/...h/Sparton2.jpg
http://velospace.org/node/9123
http://www.bikecult.com/works/archiv...onST500Cbg.JPG
http://www.bikecult.com/works/archiv...onST500Crs.JPG
http://www.bikecult.com/works/archiv...onST500Cfv.JPG
http://www.bikecult.com/works/archiv...onST500Csa.JPG

http://apt11.com/wp-content/uploads/...ton_frames.jpg
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OMAhGf_RYE...0/Sparton2.jpg

i still say get the Alien. i think it's made of a slightly better steel than the Sparton.

"tight geometry" ??
you just want a low clearance fork?

because the 71 degree headtube angle on the sparton is anything but "tight"
have fun on your new dumptruck.

do you mean steep geometry? because it doesn't have that either. it's like a road bike with no clearance and track ends ....

people have done this. unless they have changed in the past 6 months I can tell you pretty much whats up. The pain job is mediocre, almost of rattle can quality. Lugs seem to be of stamped quality though they may be forged. inside the headtube sometimes needs to be cleaned of paint before installation of a headset is possible. The facing of the BB shell is of questionable quality and possibly needs to be redone or at least cleaned of the paint that fills the threads.

Search for sparton and you'll find lots of threads. The bottom line is you get what you pay for. If you dont mind spending a few hours refacing and doing the finishing work on the frame then maybe it's worth the 250 it sells for. Regardless you still have a hi-ten frame when you could have dropped the same amount on an IRO or a bit more for an alien.

yeah, he came in *****ing about the quality of sparton frames. At first he said he was just riding around and his fork bent to ****. Their quality of finish is questionable but we all knew that a fork wouldnt just fail like that. After a bit of poking he revealed he was riding full speed without hands when he lost control and slammed into a tree. This was after a few pages of him swearing up and down that the frames are **** because his fork bent out of no where. Everyone made fun of him and he became a laughing stock in every thread.

I think the angles are different on the smaller frames, much the same with pretty much any manufacturer. I need a larger frame so the angles get steeper. Again, you can't go by the chart on their site (which sucks)

My Hour is listed as 75deg HT & 73.5 deg ST, btw

With less fork rake & no holes it would be better than it is.

http://velospace.org/files/Anti2009.jpg

$800 can get you a new panasonic if you can read japanese, or use babelfish.

Why not just get a new fork? Or some Bondo?

I've got a dented up 3rensho with Sparton decals.

But I mainly ride your mother.

He's buying more cred dude, don't be a dick and hate on him. Riding is all hard and strenuous and **** and if he can move up the fixed gear cool scale by replacing his frame before he's had to replace a set of tires or a chain, who are you to stop him? :innocent:

I ride a dented to **** Panasonic. Don't spend $800.00 on a dented 3Rensho. I'm not a big wuss like some people who think that a dent = imminent TT failure, but that thing's dented. It's just not worth it.

Don't buy a Sparton either. Did you miss all the threads around here about unchased BB shells and unreamed head tubes and 6 pound weight?

Do buy a Yamaguchi though. Better yet, go take his frame-building class and build one yourself.

haha yeah, it seems like this thread mainly assumes Sparton = 3Rensho = NO HOLES.

Seriously, if its that big a deal, get a sparkle undrilled Alien. It is cheap and steep, relatively speaking.

Maybe with your "sherriff starr" crank set!!

aaaaaaaand the freaks have come out!

What's the wait time on an Alien frameset?

Or use eBay

The Sparton frames are 71.5 ht, 72 st, with a 32mm rake fork, in all sizes, as a previous poster in this thread linked. That's a touring bike HT angle. I've never seen a frame manufacturer offer a frame more than about .5 degree different in geometry between sizes, until you get really big. So, even if the chart is wrong, although I have no idea why it would be, your larger frame is not suddenly going to become a steep 75/75 track frame.

Why do you feel your Hour frame would be better with less rake? What ride qualities are you looking for? Also, why no brake holes? If they really bug you that much you can cover them with tape, a bolt, or even a brake.


If you want to spend around $1000 for a track frame, there are a lot of options, many may be much better than a 3Rensho frame, dent or not. If you want to spend around $300 on a track frame, there are a lot of options there too, many of those are probably way better than the Sparton frame.

What about this frame: http://bikeisland.com/cgi-bin/BKTK_S...ls&ProdID=1100 with a new un-drilled fork? I bet Spicer has something that would work too.

I recently got to a point similar to yours. I wanted something that would ride a bit better than the Steamroller I owned. But, rather than deciding based on brake holes and lugs, I went with ride quality, quality of steel, and geometry/fit. I ended up with a used Serotta track frame, and I'm extremely happy.

P.S. - No way Sparton frames are "hand made" at that quality and price level.

does the top tube slope on all the sparton frames?

A dented, jacked up 3Rensho or a Sparton would both be excellent choices for you.

A Chris Kind headset on a Sparton is like lipstick on a pig.

As others have said, that 3Rensho is not worth $800. The dood crashed hard and in a bad way to get that dent in that spot, there are many other things that could be wrong with it besides the obvious.

And your Windsor (if that is what it is) is a vastly superior bike to a Sparton.

This may have been addressed already but Miyata was never NJS. That is not to say they don't make great bikes, I in fact think they make the best bikes and I would kill for a Team Miyata Pista.

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j1...ta_track-1.jpg

Are they paying you to post this crap or what? For **** sake...

dude, get an Alien frameset and be done with all this.

shill. and a dumbass.