Frame choice

gandi

Hello,
I am just after some of the regular track riders opinions,i am going for a new track frame and at the moment i am looking at 2 in particular -
1 - Planet x carbon
2 - Dolan Forza
What i was wondering is the Forza worth the extra money, and are there any others within the price range that might be worth considering,size wise ,i will be after the xs or sm depending on the make/geometry.

Thanks for looking.

gllewellyn

Personally I'd say for for the Planet X (but thats what I have, and I love it, so I'm biased!). The Planet X is lighter than the Dolan, and is as stiff as anything so I don't know what the Dolan would offer as an advantage...
if you can, I'd suggest trying both to see if the geometry of one suits you better than the other - however that will always be difficult to judge as it'll be so dependent on other components, bike fit, etc...

Another option, as an alternative to carbon, is the Cinelli Vigorelli (available for PX: http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/FRC ... i_frameset) which is about the same weight as the Dolan, and is a very popular frame, and cheaper than both the carbon frames...

gandi

Cheers gllewelwyn,
I got my heart set on carbon frame as i ride a nice 20yr + steel at the moment,in fact i also use it for work and training,it is a track frame with the forks drilled for front brake then come track time i swap out the bars,stem with the lever and caliper on for a different set then just change the rear sprocket and chain.

paddlemyowncanoe

I have both and when riding can't tell the difference. I can when I look at them though and the Forza is a much better looking bike. Lots of competitive riders use aluminium frames - smooth surface so no comfort or efficiency gains with carbon.

FransJacques

Does anyone have experienc with this frameset. It goes by (at least 2 brand names):

Pro-Lite Treviso: http://www.lfgss.com/thread105019.html OR http://kissenatrackracing.blogspot.co.u ... bikes.html
AND
Ribble Track Pro: http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-t ... IBBFRAK200

Any issues with quality or stiffness or usability of the rear dropouts or retro-fitting the full-aero seat post etc??

Cheers

schweiz

I've just bought the ribble frame. I only finished building it yesterday and ridden it for 15 mins on the rollers today. It'll get its first proper outing on Tuesday night. I've gone for a standard 27.2 mm seat post for the time being. I'll be posting some pics on here once the 60 mm carbon tubular rims arrive from China (hopefully on Tuesday) and I can build the wheels up.

schweiz

Well I've ridden the Ribble twice now. I've covered over 130 km and I have to say I'm really pleased. I can only compare it with the BMC TR02 hire bikes at Velodrome Suisse but it rides well even with the wheels stolen off the singlespeed. I'll post more when I try out the tubs.

Crank, BB, hubs, sprocket(s) and chain are all Miche Primato. Bars, stem and seat post are PRO Vibe 7s with a Selle Italia SLR saddle.

FransJacques

130kms? how long was your track session? 5 hours ;-)

schweiz

3.5 hours of track time. There was one session of 2 hours riding (in about 2 1/2 hours) and one 90 min session with just a short drink break.

I ride with a Garmin and a GSC-10 speed sensor and I average about 40 km/h.

schweiz

And I put 80 km onto the new tubs last week.

It was the first time I had ridden and fitted tubs so was cautious to start off staying on the measurement and sprinters lines but by the end of the session I was sprinting down from the top balustrade. They're well and firmly glued on!

schweiz

viewtopic.php?f=40044&t=12951130