I've been thinking about getting a pursuit track frame for awhile now, failing that doing a TT frame conversion to fixed as my next project. However, I know the geometry is much different than track and road frame geometry. Naturally you are going to be in more of an aero position on a pursuit/TT bike of course.

My question is this - if I ride a 59 sized track frame generally, what is the average conversion to pursuit/TT?

I want it to be city rideable which mainly just means I don't want to have my head down all the time and would like the fit to be comfortable. I know all these requests may be somewhat antithetical to the idea of a pursuit frame (afterall it is made for fairly short & very speedy rides) - but DAMN they're sexy.

Can pursuit/TT people talk a little about their setups and let me know any caveats?

Thanks!

Get a frame with a 650c front wheel. 24" wheels look super aero but are a real pain and force you to ride far too low for any real city riding IMHO. 650c are also common enough that most bike shops either stock or can order good tires and tubes.

With a 650c front and a slightly taller stem, the difference in height between saddle and bars on mine is only about 1" more than my track bike, so its still a very comfy bike to ride.

The hardest thing, as you know, is working out what the effective top tube (ETT) length is on an aggressively slopped frame. Pursuit frames come in so many designs that I don't think there is a golden rule to say if you ride a 59cm then you need a...

Generally you'll need to add a few centimetres. I know my friend was looking at a frame with a 53cm ETT which had an actual top tube of 56/57cm. I'll measure mine when I get home and hopefully it may give you some idea.

my pursuit frame (check the sig) has an actual TT of ~56.5 and an ETT of ~53 (c-c). I'm 6'1" and it fits me surprisingly well. You can see how compact it is and how the height of the seat tube dictates the rider's minimum inseam length. It was this last feature that convinced me to get it, despite how small it seemed.

...not sure this helps much, other than to reiterate the fact that normal sizing/geometry guidelines don't apply.

Which pursuit frames have you looked at?

great question.

Ive been wondering the same thing myself.

i just bought this...
https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...e=STRK:MEWN:IT

nice score!

Just measured my Eisentraut which has an actual TT length of 60cm and ETT of around 56/57cm. Hope that helps.

Wow, that's a hott ride. I used to live in orlando, so I've hung out in gville quite a bit. Anyway, yeah i've seen several frames which i was worried about the seat tube length.

Mostly I've just been getting stoked when I see a random pursuit frame on ebay and whatnot, the most recent being this (which I am totally crying in my beer because someone just did the B.I.N.):

nice frame! that'll make a cool conversion. i usually don't like conversions, funny bikes being the exception.

thanks.
that colnago is gorgeous, but I don't think I could handle a 24" front wheel.
I still want one of the straight seat tube, sloping top tube KHS aero frames. I met a guy in Atlanta this weekend who rode a really nice one painted light blue and with gold campy cranks.

nice rides folks, love seeing those bikes

I ride 56-58 - the Nishiki here is a 56, but feels a little bit smaller. Riding in the city isn't bad - it's got zip and control, but for long hauls and extended climbs it can be a little tough on the back. I'd say get a frame that's a little bigger than what you've got, if possible - I'm trying that next.

yeah, that a friend of mine, his bike is hot. its got serious pedal overlap though. i rode it around one day and it would take me some getting used to. my spicer has some toe overlap, but 1/4 of my foot was in front of his wheel. were you in atlanta this weekend?

Yea, I raced in the sopo rally. I think Justin is the owner of that khs, yea? I only noticed one Spicer; a small pink one (rachel's i think?).

cool, yep that would be justin's bike. the spicer you saw was indeed rachaels bike. i had to work so i wasn't able to do any of the rally. if you had made a trip over to sevananda food co-op down the street from where the registration was, you would've seen my spicer parked out front. what did you think of the rally?

total thread hijack, but here goes...

It was my first, but I thought the rally was pretty well done. I had a lot of fun even after I missed the turn through centennial (?) park and went a mile out of my way. The afterparty at Lenny's was great as they were generous with the drink tickets and everyone I met was really nice. Later, my friends and I rode back into the city (downtown, midtown? I don't know) with Lamar, Mikey, and Andy. We earned our WOF spokecards riding through stalled traffic on Peachtree and into underground atl.
Overall, an incredible weekend.