Who still makes non-compact frame road bikes?

Does any major manufacturer still makes non-compact frame road bikes for
sale in the U.S.?

Friend is looking for a new road bike and is about to give up on shops
and go to bikesdirect.com. He's willing to spend about $2K, which rules
out all the custom frames which are still normal size. He needs a 56cm
frame.

There are still a couple of touring bikes made in non-compact frame
designs, but he wants something lighter (the touring bikes are all steel
frames and the wheels are heavier as well).

Op 27-4-2012 17:31, SMS schreef:
Does any major manufacturer still makes non-compact frame road bikes for
sale in the U.S.?

Friend is looking for a new road bike and is about to give up on shops
and go to bikesdirect.com. He's willing to spend about $2K, which rules
out all the custom frames which are still normal size. He needs a 56cm
frame.

There are still a couple of touring bikes made in non-compact frame
designs, but he wants something lighter (the touring bikes are all steel
frames and the wheels are heavier as well).

Tell him that there is nothing wrong with a slightly sloping toptube.
Longer headtube, more comfortable position possible without an ugly
stack of spacers etc.

Lou

Lou Holtman wrote:
Op 27-4-2012 17:31, SMS schreef:
Does any major manufacturer still makes non-compact frame road bikes for
sale in the U.S.?

Friend is looking for a new road bike and is about to give up on shops
and go to bikesdirect.com. He's willing to spend about $2K, which rules
out all the custom frames which are still normal size. He needs a 56cm
frame.

There are still a couple of touring bikes made in non-compact frame
designs, but he wants something lighter (the touring bikes are all steel
frames and the wheels are heavier as well).

Tell him that there is nothing wrong with a slightly sloping toptube.
Longer headtube, more comfortable position possible without an ugly
stack of spacers etc.

Lou

That's true but if one prefers a level top tube there are
well priced good quality Italian built Torelli Corsa frames:

http://torelli.com/frames/torelli/st...sa-strada.html

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

Op 27-4-2012 18:10, AMuzi schreef:
Lou Holtman wrote:
Op 27-4-2012 17:31, SMS schreef:
Does any major manufacturer still makes non-compact frame road bikes for
sale in the U.S.?

Friend is looking for a new road bike and is about to give up on shops
and go to bikesdirect.com. He's willing to spend about $2K, which rules
out all the custom frames which are still normal size. He needs a 56cm
frame.

There are still a couple of touring bikes made in non-compact frame
designs, but he wants something lighter (the touring bikes are all steel
frames and the wheels are heavier as well).

Tell him that there is nothing wrong with a slightly sloping toptube.
Longer headtube, more comfortable position possible without an ugly
stack of spacers etc.

Lou

That's true but if one prefers a level top tube there are well priced
good quality Italian built Torelli Corsa frames:

http://torelli.com/frames/torelli/st...sa-strada.html


Still steel, but indeed a level toptube and a decent headtube lenght.

Lou

On 4/27/2012 9:10 AM, AMuzi wrote:

That's true but if one prefers a level top tube there are well priced
good quality Italian built Torelli Corsa frames:

He wants to buy a complete bicycle, not begin a project. The negatives
of the compact frame geometry are too great for him personally, but lets
not turn this thread into a debate over the relative merits of each
geometry. Suffice it to say that "a level top tube" is not the issue
with compact geometry.

I told him to go with a Habanero titanium with Shimano 105. They sell
complete bicycles as well as just frames. Maybe he'll do it, since it's
much better than what he can get at bikesdirect, and he's pretty much
resigned to the fact that he can't buy what he wants at an LBS anymore
anyway, so whatever he gets it will have to be ordered from somewhere.

He can come in at around $2100 for a complete bike, less pedals. He also
absolutely does not want a carbon fork, not just because of the large
number of carbon fork failures and recalls, but for other reasons as
well. With the Habanero he can get it built with a non-carbon fork.

I also suggested the Surly Pacer, but he wants a triple crankset, and
isn't sold on CroMo like I am. But even with changing the crankset it's
still a lot less than a Habanero. At least the Surly is available at an
LBS. About 24 pounds which is a few pounds more than a Habanero complete
bike, but this is not really a big deal for him.

In article , SMS wrote:

I told him to go with a Habanero titanium with Shimano 105.

Habanero is the obvious choice, and one can still purchase them without the
arguably-silly threadless headsets.

Mine will be ten years old in a few weeks and has performed well, including
a couple million feet of climbing. It has proven to be a good value.

Art

On 4/27/2012 9:48 AM, Arthur Shapiro wrote:
In , wrote:

I told him to go with a Habanero titanium with Shimano 105.

Habanero is the obvious choice, and one can still purchase them without the
arguably-silly threadless headsets.

That's true, but since the threaded forks and headsets have become
almost a boutique item, it now costs more for threaded. A threaded
headset and fork are preferable of course, but I don't think he'd pay
two hundred dollars more for it. You can correct the biggest problem
with threadless headsets with some after-market devices, i.e. see
http://www.octagoncycles.com/ and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oQYbZeQW0M.

For his riding, the Surly Pacer would be ideal, and still about $600
less than the Habanero even once he had the crankset changed to a triple.

On 4/27/2012 11:39 AM, SMS wrote:
[...]
I told him to go with a Habanero titanium with Shimano 105. They sell
complete bicycles as well as just frames. Maybe he'll do it, since it's
much better than what he can get at bikesdirect, and he's pretty much
resigned to the fact that he can't buy what he wants at an LBS anymore
anyway, so whatever he gets it will have to be ordered from somewhere.
[...]

Do not Habanero bicycles pull strongly to the right?

(Old-timers on RBT will understand.)

--
Tºm Shermªn - 42.435731°N, 83.985007°W
Post Free or Die!

Op 27-4-2012 18:39, SMS schreef:
The negatives
of the compact frame geometry are too great for him personally, but lets
not turn this thread into a debate over the relative merits of each
geometry.

Sure, but I'm really curious what those negatives are that he is willing
to limit his choice enormously. I'm not talking about the extreme
sloping geometry like what GIANT was offering years ago but slightly
sloping toptubes.

Lou

On 4/28/2012 2:18 AM, Lou Holtman wrote:
Op 27-4-2012 18:39, SMS schreef:
The negatives
of the compact frame geometry are too great for him personally, but lets
not turn this thread into a debate over the relative merits of each
geometry.

Sure, but I'm really curious what those negatives are that he is willing
to limit his choice enormously. I'm not talking about the extreme
sloping geometry like what GIANT was offering years ago but slightly
sloping toptubes.

The problem here appears to be that you're focusing on the slope of the
top tube.