frame advice

[jonny jeez]

Hi.

I should start by announcing that I know very, very little about bike building or SS conversion...but I'm bitten and fancy a go at building my own.

I've shopped for a while and would just prefer to make something up to my own "design".

So...the first thing I need to do is find myself a frame and to that end, I need to pieces of advice.

1- Where is the best place in the UK to pick them up
2- What type of material/ brand is best.

To let you know that I'm not relying on you lot to do all the work I can say than in answer to point 1, I've trawled Ebay and seen a few that tickle my fancy.

And to point 2, I can say that I am aware I need a roadie type frame, not an MTB. That I need a good long latitudinal drop out not a vertical, that I need to consider a modern continental frame or any european/oriental make so as to avoid dodgy reverse threads and such... and that I need to beware dings and dents. In terms of cosmetic condition, I'm not fussed as I would plan to shock blast, paint and coat the frame before use.

Other than that I have no idea if steel over chomolly/ally is favoured, which brands are "in vogue" etc.

I quite fancy a frame that has intricate joints...are they called butts?.... (I had a reynolds frame tourer as a kid so wouldn't mind revisiting that for sentimentality).

I want to make the bike fit for purpose, and that means a summer commuter that will cover a fair amount of dry miles so perhaps weight isn't the issue and strength is.


any advice?

J

 

[Boris Bajic]

If you have friends who cycle, I'd ask around to see if anyone has one they don't want. Cyclists tend to be hoarders and a nice, steel road frame from 20-ish years ago (when horizontal drop-outs were common) would be an ideal place to start.

You mentoion chromoly. You can find it, but it is rarer and may cost.

The thing to look for is good-quality tubing. The 'butting' you refer to is in fact a system for making tubes thinner in the middle and thicker at the ends. Many fairly common or garden manufacturers made models with butted tubing. The fancy-dan pieces holding the tubes together are lugs. Some are fancier than others and some people get very excited about them. If you want fancy lugwork, your search will become harder.

Do not be seduced into buying a lovely-looking frame that is the wrong size. It sounds as if you are building a 'keeper'. The first thing to get right is the frame size. This sounds obvious until a wrong-sized frame starts peeping back at you from eBay.

And... Don't forget that it will be cheaper if you buy a complete bicycle and replace only what you need to replace. If you buy a frame, you may be surprised as the cost mounts with BB. brakes, cabling, bars, both wheels and all the rest of it. If you start with a runner, you may need only to buy a rear wheel, a sprocket and some spacers.

If you're thinking of leaving it as a fixie for eternity, consider asking the spraying folk to cold press the rear gap to 120mm so you don't need spacers.

Also... (Just for fun) if you start with a complete bike, weigh it before you start the build. You will be amazed at the weight loss.

I didn't bother about cosmetics myself, but I'm told that if you care about these things it's cool to remove the darailleur hanger and the various braze-ons for gear cabling and the like. Worth thinking about before the respray.

Have fun. It is a huge rush building up a thing like that.

 

[Psyclist]

What's your budget for a frame?

Have a look on Retrobike.co.uk, SingleSpeedComponents and Hilary Stone (I've already set the links on the appropriate sections)

Reynolds 531 is a decent material if weight isn't a compromise and strength is, which is a common material on cheap'ish frames.

Hilary Stone has many parts on their site too, I spent a lot on my bike buying through his site.

Alex.

 

[Cycleops]

Hi.



I quite fancy a frame that has intricate joints...are they called butts?....


any advice?

J

These are called 'lugs'. You will generally only find these 'fancy' lugs on older bikes, about pre '80. Expect to pay a premium for these frames, they are much sort after especially if it's from a respected frame bulider.

 

[simon.r]

Chromoly is a steel alloy containing chromium and molybdenum - I'll stand corrected but I think the majority of reasonable quality 'steel' bike frames are made of chromoly.

'Ally' is an abbreviation for aluminium (tho' aluminium frames will be alloyed with other metals).

See here for more detail.

I'm biased, but you could do worse than look at On-One's Pompino (or Pompetamine if you fancy discs). I suspect you'll struggle to get a decent second-hand frame and get it painted for much less than the price of a new Pomp.

 

[jonny jeez]

I'm biased, but you could do worse than look at On-One's Pompino (or Pompetamine if you fancy discs). I suspect you'll struggle to get a decent second-hand frame and get it painted for much less than the price of a new Pomp.

Blimey they are cheap.

nice dropouts too I'm told fixed bikes can leap out of forward facing dropouts. not sure if that an urban myth or not.

...so is is considered naff to use a frame like this if I want to go for a retroish look, I shan't want discs, so will those unused lugs look odd?

you are right though, a frame at circa £50 and a paint for another £100 doesn't compete with this...and its good to go.

J

 

[simon.r]

The Pompino will only take V's or cantis, the Pompetamine only discs. The Macinato will take caliper brakes - IME it's quicker handling / more flickable than the Pomps, whether that's good or bad is your call

Naff? Who knows?! I don't think so, but I'm hardly an arbiter of cycling style

 

[Basil.B]

At the moment I have a Pompino and a Macinato.
Both are good value frames, though the Macinato is lighter and quicker handling.
The Pompino is a good winter bike, I have just built up the Macinato for summer use.

 

[swee'pea99]

If you have all the bits, a frame might be a good move, but as Boris says, buying bits can end up being a pricey business. If it were me, I'd look out for a good old bike made in 531 or, better yet, 653/753 (they do come up, if you're patient) - chances are a bike like that will come with good 'bits' from headset to pedals to wheels to saddle to seat post to bottom bracket to etc. The only new bits you'll need then are a new single chainset (you *can* just use one ring of a double, but it doesn't look right) and a single sprocket. (If you do go this route, try to get a freewheel, not a cassette. Cassette wheels can be converted, but freewheels are a lot simpler: just screw off the freewheel, screw on the sprocket.) You'll also need to re-dish the wheel. Much easier than you might assume.

Highly recommended! The build is enjoyable in its own right, and the riding is in a class of its own.

 

[Psyclist]

...so is is considered naff to use a frame like this if I want to go for a retroish look, I shan't want discs, so will those unused lugs look odd?



J

Take a look at my old Macinato. I went for a retro type look on it.

 

[jonny jeez]

Take a look at my old Macinato. I went for a retro type look on it.

Blimey, if it were to swap the frame colour thats almost exactly the bike i'm looking to build.

But hold on, where are the disc lugs on yours,

Very nice

Edit, just read all the replys, i see its the macinato...i assumed that was a type of style that you had gone for when i read your post

I'm such a noob

 

[jonny jeez]

If you have all the bits, a frame might be a good move, but as Boris says, buying bits can end up being a pricey business. If it were me, I'd look out for a good old bike made in 531 or, better yet, 653/753 (they do come up, if you're patient) - chances are a bike like that will come with good 'bits' from headset to pedals to wheels to saddle to seat post to bottom bracket to etc. The only new bits you'll need then are a new single chainset (you *can* just use one ring of a double, but it doesn't look right) and a single sprocket. (If you do go this route, try to get a freewheel, not a cassette. Cassette wheels can be converted, but freewheels are a lot simpler: just screw off the freewheel, screw on the sprocket.) You'll also need to re-dish the wheel. Much easier than you might assume.

Highly recommended! The build is enjoyable in its own right, and the riding is in a class of its own.

A very good point.

The pomino looks good (although if i were fussy im not sure i like the rear stay design...my mtb has that single point seat tube design ( dont know the tech name ). So id opt for the macinato if i went that way

Tempted though. Very tempted

The big point is, as you and boris quite rightly point out, that i'll need forks, bottom brackets headsets etc...i'm looking at this old falcon frame right now.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111034036413?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

I could use the bottom bracket, polish the crank, chainring and the headset, just swap out the chainring bolt things and remove the small chainring, perhaps replace the forks as and maybe grind off the rear mech lugs.

What does this look like...it ends today so i may just pick it up regardless if it stays this cheap.

 

[jonny jeez]

If you're thinking of leaving it as a fixie for eternity, consider asking the spraying folk to cold press the rear gap to 120mm so you don't .

I'm fascinated by this comment but have no idea what it means...can you elaborate for me pleae?

 

[swee'pea99]

The rear gap is the distance between the rear droputs - where the wheel goes. Obviously when you replace a freewheel block with a single sprocket there's a bit of space (the sprocket being that much thinner), so ideally you want to reduce that gap - from (typically) 126mm to 120mm. Personally I've never bothered, but that's what purists do and that's what Boris means.

As to the frame you're looking at, TBH, unless you're in a big hurry, I'd wait for something nicer to come along. I once had one of those old Falcons, and it was a bit of a clunker - heavy and ungainly, not much fun in the ride. Frame is everything, so if it was me, I'd be looking for 531 at the minimum. My own fixie was built up from an old 653 Dawes I got off ebay for a song, and it's an absolute joy to ride. Unless you're in a big hurry, I'd take my time and wait for the right one to come along. Something like this, perhaps...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VINTAGE-R...1174243452?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item3f233e947c

 

[Boris Bajic]

I'm fascinated by this comment but have no idea what it means...can you elaborate for me pleae?

As above.

I'm not a purist, but my frame had to be straightened after a side-on collision so I askd them to squish the rear gap at the same time at no extra cost.

I wouldn't have bothered had the frame not been banana-ed in an accident, but I do prefer it now and it's simpler whipping the wheel in and out.

If I were a purist, I'd have removed the cable guides and the rear hanger... but they are all still in place.