No, Soma isn't lugged, the fork can be though. But he said he was flexible with those guidelines. And it is made out of nicer steel than the alien or kilo. Actually, if you want to compare something to the kilo, wouldn't it be the alien since they are both made out of 4130?

ATX,
Some of those would deff be nice, I'll have to search harder! Soma isn't bad either.

DevilsHaircut,
That leader sure looks nice, I'll be patient and see if I can catch one cheap.

I looked at what I think was a 2001 Pista. It looks like this one

https://web.mit.edu/jsoltren/www/three.html

It claims to be a 2001 on this page. The frame does not appear to be lugged though. Like this one that claims to also be a 2001 https://velospace.org/node/6351 Which does look lugged.

The bike I looked at I took a picture of here for my records.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/evanhor...36664/sizes/l/

It is the $400 price range if OP is interested in it I can pass along the details.

Akkando, What size was the black/celeste pista that you looked at? I do have a soft spot for bianchis, even if that frame isn't as fascinating as some of the others mentioned above.

He told me it was a 55. It felt like a 55 when I road it, but I am new. He was selling the bike for $425 or $450 at the time, I don't remember. That was a week ago. If he still has it I bet he would sell it for less. He seemed liked he was done with the who track bike thing, if you just want the frame I am not sure if he would cheapen it more... I think he wants to get rid of the whole thing, no use for the parts. But who knows, he doesn't seem like he needs money super bad, and like I said if he still has it, he would probably be willing to cut a deal now. He was nice when I met him.

Also the reason I did not buy it had nothing to do with the frame, I quite liked the frame. I was sort of just looking, it felt a little strange to ride, the tires needed air, and he may have stripped something..... something seemed off with peddaling... then again it was the second time I road a fixie, and in the rain for that matter.

It is a cool looking frame for sure. Two more pics of his frame. File size is LARGE
https://ease_one.shackspace.com/Bikes%20006.jpg
https://ease_one.shackspace.com/Bikes%20008.jpg

I meant in terms of design. They are all chromoly; the Kilo TT is Reynolds 520, Alien is some mystery 4130 blend that is probably heavy, the lugged Leader frame is some mystery type of Reynolds chromoly, and Somas are Tange Prestige which is from what I understand comparable to higher quality Reynolds steel blends. Design wise they look very similar to the Kilo TT frame on Bikes Island.

Ultimately in a $400 bike you aren't going to get high end materials. But it's a track bike so it'll be relatively light in any case.

yeah. Well, at any rate I think OP should get a used frame. It's the only way to get something unique unless you get a custom paint job or something (which Alien does, and I think IRO should do).

OP, since you (like me) are coming to fixed from a road biking background, you shuoldn't have too much trouble with aluminum. I rode aluminum on the street for a while before i ever rode steel and it didn't bother me at all. If you want something fast (and maybe different looking) check out any of the aluminum bikes.

Also, Dolan has a bike that you can get for 650 shipped (aluminum w/ CF fork) at probikekit.com. It's pretty good looking, complete w/ parts, and probably fast as hell. check it out.

That not-marin does look nice. It's likely to be a little big for me, though, at 57cm, especially because of the higher BB on track bikes.

Yeah, aluminum doesn't bother me, I've just found the steel on my trek 400 was nice.
The Dolans were out of stock in 56, which is my size.
I'll keep hunting. Anyone that comes across something they think I might be interested in, PM me!

https://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-ALUMINUM-TRA...3A1%7C294%3A50

https://cgi.ebay.com/Aluminium-Blue-T...3A1%7C294%3A50

Leader and some mystery bike brand. If you wanted aluminum. Obviously not lugged and such, but it is a "modern" alternative option.

The higher BB means that it would be a tighter fit. The TT is 57cm, the seat tube is 56cm.

BTW, I parted the bike out. So, all that's left is the frame, fork, and headset at a reduced cost.

I'm not writing this because I'm trying to sell my bike. But, Leader bikes always look like they are trying to hard. The Visp is untried.

I think the OP would be best off finding a nice used frame like the Fuji Track Pro you mentioned earlier, or a Fuji Track Comp or Felt TK3. If he found any of those used, the frame would be in his budget.

Personally if I had to choose I'd prefer your bike over those frames, Carleton. I actually reposted your listing to our Polo mailing group in case someone was interested. It looks to be in pristine condition.

Yeah, the common leader frames are too overdone for me- the VISP looks a little better, but nobody here has ridden one, who knows how much they weigh etc. Same goes for the other cheaper ebay frames.
I'm going to keep my options open for a bit, and keep looking for some good deals.

https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...category=98084

Looks like the new ones are out.

I wound up picking up carleton's frame, now I'll just have to find components that are on par with it!