new frame & forks for commuting

le_boss
le_boss Posts: 183
edited October 2011 in Road buying advice
hiya

ive decided to get a new frame & forks for commuting to work and for use in the winter.

im on a pretty strict budget so want to keep it under £150 if i can, although could stretch to £200 at a push.

i have a tiagra groupset on my current commuting bike which i will switch over. only looking for new frame because i find the position on this one too aggressive which is causing back ache.

have been looking for something like the specialized allez but really struggling to find just a frame.

i have seen ribble winters frames and also their sportive frames which are a good price. how good are these? which would be the most comfortable for a commute?
any other recommendations?

thanks

Comments

  • Garry H
    Garry H Posts: 6,639
    If you're after relaxed geometry, the Ribble winter frame won't be for you. Relatively long TT and short HT. It's more or less has racing geo with clearance for mudguards and a slightly longer wheelbase.
  • If you are interested I have a specialized sirrus frame which I had been using as a winter comuter. I bought it November 2008, so I think it's the 2009 model, it has a carbon fork and carbon seat stays so it's pretty comfortable (especialy compared to the Dolan Preffiso that replaced it) I had converted it to drops and you can use long drop brake calipers - see photo below for how I had it set up. If you are interested I can let you have the frame, fork, BR450 (long drop brakes) mudguards and rack. I think it's the large size, I have a 34" inside leg and I'm a shade under 6ft.

    specializedsirrus.jpg
    Dolan Preffisio
    2010 Cube Agree SL
  • amaferanga
    amaferanga Posts: 6,789
    Planet X Kaffenback.

    That Sirrus above is seriously weird looking.....
    More problems but still living....
  • That's because it has the world's longest head tube.... I had to get a college at work to turn down the top spacer on the headset from 40 to 20mm and it was still to upright for me. The flats of my Dolan must be a good 60mm lower than the flats on that Sirrus. If you want something "upright" your not going to get more upright than that! Will stick the frame in the classifieds at some point.
    Dolan Preffisio
    2010 Cube Agree SL
  • ynyswen24
    ynyswen24 Posts: 703
    amaferanga wrote:
    Planet X Kaffenback.

    +1
    bought a kaffenback frameset as it was just about the cheapest I could find at the time. It's far exceeded my expectations.