Alloy race frames - level TT, threaded BB

[jtbadge]

My main road bike is a Merckx MX Leader with a Shimano 9000/6800 mix. It rides, handles, and descends like nobody's business. I recently added a CAAD10 to try out aluminum on a budget. It's my first foray outside of steel, and at least for a bike that only sees pavement, I am really digging it - easier to climb and pretty damn quick.

I'd like to consolidate my collection and find a frame to replace both of these bikes, to be fit with the 9000/6800 group that's on the Merckx right now. The CAAD is great, but obviously doesn't have the prestige, style, or quality of the Merckx. Merckx is a little big and, at least in it's current build, doesn't really fit the kinds of rides I would be doing on it.

This new frame would need to have:
-alloy frame (aluminum, scandium, other?)
-carbon fork
-race geometry
-threaded BB (so I can use Shimano cranks with no adapters)
-1 1/8" or tapered threadless steerer
-level top tube (because vanity)

I've seen some that I like, such as:
-Zanconato
-Gaulzetti
-Spooky Mulholland
-Merckx Team SC
-Colnago

What options may I have missed?

[oliver1850]

Pinarello Prince? AL Bianchi from Pantani era? Not sure the Bianchi had level top tube. Looks like it may have been level.

http://www.bikepedia.com/QuickBike/BikeSpecs.aspx?year=2000&brand=Bianchi&model=XL+EV2

[KidWok]

Custom Co-Motion Ristretto.

Tai

[hollowgram5]

Vinyl? Low? I know they hit most of those boxes, don't remember if they are threaded BB off the top of my head.

[MagicHour]

Bowman Palace R (https://bowman-cycles.com/product/palace-r/)? Except no level top tube, but ticks all your other boxes. It's considered a budget frame, reviews seem very good (http://road.cc/content/review/222693-bowman-palacer-frame-fork-headset-2017). I have one on pre-order hopefully coming soon.

[mhespenheide]

Level top tube, 1.125" head tube is going to be hard to find in a modern frame. The Low Mk1 comes close, but not on those two requirements (it does have a threaded bottom bracket).

Frank the Welder and Tsunami are often recommended for custom work in Al.

If it were me, I'd either stick with the CAAD10 or look for a Merckx Team SC on the used market.

[foo_fighter]

Klein Quantum.
Rock Lobster

[rallizes]

What size are you considering if I may ask?

[avalonracing]

Klein Quantum.
Rock Lobster

I think it would be a 1" head tube and it is getting hard to find a good 1" fork.

That said, I was riding my 17 year-old Quantum Race with Easton EC90 SLX fork this morning. After almost two decades, tens of thousands of miles and over 100 races it is still my go-to ride.

[jtbadge]

What size are you considering if I may ask?

565-570 eTT would be ideal.

[sandyrs]

I know it's already on your list but the ride of a Merckx Team SC with a newer carbon fork is really hard to beat.

Or you could join the smooth-joint Gaulzetti owners club!

[chiasticon]

Vinyl? Low? I know they hit most of those boxes, don't remember if they are threaded BB off the top of my head.Vynl is definitely threaded BB. made by the same person making Spooky bikes (Frank the Welder). basically the same frame set conceptually, just slightly different geo and tubing. I don't think either has a 100% level TT though, but quite close. the Vynl is more sloped.

fwiw, I love my Spooky Mulholland. simple, solid, stiff, rides like a bike. there's a 56 for sale in the classifieds, if you're that size. also adored the Zanconato alu road bike I had, just wish it'd fit me better. Mike builds incredible bikes and you can for sure get exactly what you're after with him.

[rallizes]

I know it's already on your list but the ride of a Merckx Team SC with a newer carbon fork is really hard to beat.

Or you could join the smooth-joint Gaulzetti owners club!

https://york.craigslist.org/bik/6142906937.html

Strip it, sell parts, new fork, done :)

[Look585]

Bianchi San Lorenzo was a very well designed Scandium race frame from the mid 2000s. Most have likely been crashed and dented at this point, but if you found one in your size it would tick all your boxes.

[JimmyTango]

LOW// checks all the boxes besides the level TT (and the 1.125 steerer-- but I took that req to mean "more modern than 1 inch" and not "can't be tapered") and I really cant say enough good things about the ride of my 58cm MKi frame.

http://i584.photobucket.com/albums/ss290/rileymarmesh/IMG_0051_zpscyem6zof.jpg

[jtbadge]

Vynl is definitely threaded BB. made by the same person making Spooky bikes (Frank the Welder). basically the same frame set conceptually, just slightly different geo and tubing. I don't think either has a 100% level TT though, but quite close. the Vynl is more sloped.

fwiw, I love my Spooky Mulholland. simple, solid, stiff, rides like a bike. there's a 56 for sale in the classifieds, if you're that size. also adored the Zanconato alu road bike I had, just wish it'd fit me better. Mike builds incredible bikes and you can for sure get exactly what you're after with him.

The Mulholland is about as close to perfect as I have found in a current production frame. Unfortunately the one in classifieds is Di2 only.

[foo_fighter]

Nope. This one. 1 1/8". I just restored one last week. The ones with proprietary MC3 AirHeadSets should be avoided though:
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8214/8339111891_3bc659d932_b.jpg
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/21/3c/aa/213caae49334ed551f15119b7f26c5f1.jpg
I think it would be a 1" head tube and it is getting hard to find a good 1" fork.

That said, I was riding my 17 year-old Quantum Race with Easton EC90 SLX fork this morning. After almost two decades, tens of thousands of miles and over 100 races it is still my go-to ride.

[AngryScientist]

Pegoretti 8:30 AM or Love #3. Boom. love mine.

[fignon's barber]

Cyfac Proxidium. They will do custom as well.

[chiasticon]

The Mulholland is about as close to perfect as I have found in a current production frame. Unfortunately the one in classifieds is Di2 only.they have some stock now. I believe you can choose your cable routing preference and color. but you pay full price. the difference versus the one in the classifieds would go a decent way towards funding a di2 shift kit :cool:

[bikinchris]

Klein Quantum.
Rock Lobster

Klein Quantum Pro
or
Principia
See if you ever ride next to one of those!

[livingminimal]

LOW// checks all the boxes besides the level TT (and the 1.125 steerer-- but I took that req to mean "more modern than 1 inch" and not "can't be tapered") and I really cant say enough good things about the ride of my 58cm MKi frame.


no road buzz buzzzzzz from their frames?

[Idris Icabod]

Bowman Palace R (https://bowman-cycles.com/product/palace-r/)? Except no level top tube, but ticks all your other boxes. It's considered a budget frame, reviews seem very good (http://road.cc/content/review/222693-bowman-palacer-frame-fork-headset-2017). I have one on pre-order hopefully coming soon.

I almost pulled the trigger on this frame last weekend. Please post up some pictures and opinions when you get yours. I am looking for a frame that will accept electronic gears and this ticks all of my boxes as far as I can tell but there isn't a great deal of user information about them.

I'm hoping the Brits (I'm a Brit ex-pat) continue to make bone headed decisions and drive the pound even further into the toilet, at this rate they'll cost next to nothing given the exchange rate.

[ultraman6970]

1 - Derosa planet or derosa Merak... pretty much the same bike, both cam in full AL and mix al/carbon stays...do it all bicycles. Both with threaded italian BB. Too late, you did not want the one I was selling months ago :P

2 - Fondriest AL and AL/carbon series, there is a carb level plus U107 at ebay right now... hope is your size.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/232350259772?ul_noapp=true


3 - Colnago dream...It doesnt super climb IMO but it is a bike that people loves, had one, loved it.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Colnago-Dream-Art-Decor-Competition-Campagnolo-Chorus-/152583505429?hash=item2386af8615:g:zy4AAOSwX9FZNbv 1

4 - Any AL Somec...

5 - Ridley aluminum and BMC road racer... those bikes are super nice and look good. Had a road racer in aluminum and the thing was super quick.

THat's my top 4 because I had those at some point in life and I miss them a lot. The good thing is that you can get them for fair price now a days and probably wont have anything to envy to any of the modern aluminum bikes in the market. U get top of the line racing bike for cheap.

[Ralph]

The CAAD 10 may not have the prestige of the more expensive and more exotic sought out and desirable brands.....but it's every bit the frame/bike they are. Especially for performance riding. it's only fault is it's only $500.....just not expensive enough to be prestigious. A pressed in threaded sleeve with epoxy (50 grams.....bike shops install all the time) gives you a 68 MM BB.....no issues if installed correctly.

[JimmyTango]

no road buzz buzzzzzz from their frames?

Actually not like I expected. Two of my smaller teammates who are on last year's frames (which have bigger seat and chain stays) say the ride can be rough, but for us guys over 150lbs (and those of us on the refined tubing) the ride is surprisingly smooth. I mean, you have to keep in mind that they are still CRAZY stiff so I am not by any means saying the ride is "plush", but I find my LOW with a Ritchey Flexlogic seatpost to be more comfortable than the 2010 Giant TCR Advanced SL that it replaced... and every bit as responsive in the BB... and probably stiffer in the front end... but the geo is slightly different so it is possible some of the comfort and performance gains on the LOW over the TCR can be attributed to a better "fit" with my body weight distribution.

But no, I wouldn't say you should be afraid of a a LOW being too harsh when compared to other allow options.

[icepick_trotsky]

That Fondriest linked above has the ugliest graphics I have ever seen.

[NPcycling]

Keep the CAAD 10 and hang great stuff on it. It is a fantastic bike.

[jtbadge]

Two problems with the CAAD:

1. I want to run a Shimano crank without an adapter. The SRAM Force 22 BB30 crank is quiet, and I have ridden with more than a couple of guys locally running Shimano cranks on various adapters whose bikes are loud AF.

2. The paint scheme is ugly, and I don't want to spend a bunch of money to get it refinished, which could just go towards a frame with a threaded BB.

[Drmojo]

Klein Quantum.
Rock Lobster

57cm TT--level!
Aluminum!
pm if intersted

[hollowgram5]

Two problems with the CAAD:

1. I want to run a Shimano crank without an adapter. The SRAM Force 22 BB30 crank is quiet, and I have ridden with more than a couple of guys locally running Shimano cranks on various adapters whose bikes are loud AF.

2. The paint scheme is ugly, and I don't want to spend a bunch of money to get it refinished, which could just go towards a frame with a threaded BB.
Have you tried a Praxis BB? When I was in Cali my shop there used them for quite a few setups. Not that it specifically applies but they even make a campy Ultratorque bb for bb30.

[zennmotion]

My main road bike is a Merckx MX Leader with a Shimano 9000/6800 mix. It rides, handles, and descends like nobody's business. I recently added a CAAD10 to try out aluminum on a budget. It's my first foray outside of steel, and at least for a bike that only sees pavement, I am really digging it - easier to climb and pretty damn quick.

I'd like to consolidate my collection and find a frame to replace both of these bikes, to be fit with the 9000/6800 group that's on the Merckx right now. The CAAD is great, but obviously doesn't have the prestige, style, or quality of the Merckx.

This new frame would need to have:
-alloy frame (aluminum, scandium, other?)
-carbon fork
-race geometry
-threaded BB (so I can use Shimano cranks with no adapters)
-1 1/8" or tapered threadless steerer
-level top tube (because vanity)

I've seen some that I like, such as:
-Zanconato
-Gaulzetti
-Spooky Mulholland
-Merckx Team SC
-Colnago

What options may I have missed?

Custom builders in aluminum, any of these guys could build what you want, might take a little work to find Joe and Russ but they all have decades of experience with road/race bikes.

Joe Wells/Tsunami (Phoenix AZ)
Paul Sadoff/Rock Lobster
Russ Denny

[weisan]

My main road bike is a Merckx MX Leader...rides, handles, and descends like nobody's business...doesn't have the prestige, style, or quality of the Merckx.

jt pal, you sure you want to do this?

[FlashUNC]

Rock Lobster, all day. Beer can down tubes and huge chainstays yet still rides great.

https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1476/25127100486_8066448046_b.jpg

[cadence90]

Principia Rex.

57cm TT (http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-Principia-REX-PRO-Aluminium-Rahmen-Set-58-cm-Frame-set-Road-Carbon-Fork-/172706818413?hash=item283620e96d:g:hE0AAOSwjL5ZLx9 T)
.
.

[stien]

Keep the CAAD, paint it how you like. The quality is there, make it how you like, not for others to swoon over.

[ultraman6970]

You cant even tell if its welded, all the time people was asking me about this weird carbon fiber de rosa frame :D ...cant find pictures of my planet but pretty much is the same than this merak but with carbon seat stays. Wish I could find one little bit smaller than the one i had... price wise? this derosas are going for nothing now...

http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll165/emiliolunatico/DeRosaMerak.jpg

[oldpotatoe]

My main road bike is a Merckx MX Leader with a Shimano 9000/6800 mix. It rides, handles, and descends like nobody's business. I recently added a CAAD10 to try out aluminum on a budget. It's my first foray outside of steel, and at least for a bike that only sees pavement, I am really digging it - easier to climb and pretty damn quick.

I'd like to consolidate my collection and find a frame to replace both of these bikes, to be fit with the 9000/6800 group that's on the Merckx right now. The CAAD is great, but obviously doesn't have the prestige, style, or quality of the Merckx.


Size of MXLeader? If a 57 or 58, PM or email..i'd like to consider buying it.

cp51errc@gmail.com

[jtbadge]

Size of MXLeader? If a 57 or 58, PM or email..i'd like to consider buying it.

cp51errc@gmail.com

It's a 58 in FNG. This is probably a winter time project, but I'll let you know.

[montag]

You cant even tell if its welded, all the time people was asking me about this weird carbon fiber de rosa frame :D ...cant find pictures of my planet but pretty much is the same than this merak but with carbon seat stays. Wish I could find one little bit smaller than the one i had... price wise? this derosas are going for nothing now.

I had a Merak as well. Great frame. The Pro's Closet has a 57cm listed on eBay right now...

EDIT: My bad, it's actually a Team, not Merak. Still looks nice though.

[oldpotatoe]

it's a 58 in fng. This is probably a winter time project, but i'll let you know.

fng?

[texbike]

The CAAD 10 may not have the prestige of the more expensive and more exotic sought out and desirable brands.....but it's every bit the frame/bike they are.

Keep the CAAD 10 and hang great stuff on it. It is a fantastic bike.

Agreed 100% on the CAAD series. 10, 9, 8. They all rock!

Pegoretti 8:30 AM or Love #3. Boom. love mine.

If you want something with more prestige, the Peg's are tough to beat. I'd also add the Fina Estampa to Angry's list. These bikes are fantastic! I had a Fina and it was one of the best bikes I've ever owned. Plus, the Peg's use a standard, threaded BB and an external HS.

Texbike

[Drmojo]

Rock Lobster, all day. Beer can down tubes and huge chainstays yet still rides great.

https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1476/25127100486_8066448046_b.jpg

And I have one for sale!--57cm TT
Mentioned above also...PM if interested

[owly]

Alan Super Corsa Ergal

[cadence90]

fng?

Merckx FNG paint scheme. Black with fuchsia/green/silver details.
I think 1996-1997 only?
.
.

[macaroon]

Not the best colour scheme in the world, but I think this fits your requirements

http://www.dedacciaistrada.com/index.php/en/road/ran-1-detail

[jtbadge]

My interest has been piqued with the Rock Lobster mentioned above. And their new frames are super affordable if that one doesn't work out.

Still looking to shop around a while before I settle on something.

Merckx FNG paint scheme. Black with fuchsia/green/silver details.
I think 1996-1997 only?
.
.

Correct. The pictured build is in fact my bike.

Now has 9000/6800 mix and balleur wheels.

https://www.pedalroom.com/p/eddy-merckx-mx-leader-29250_20.jpg

[cadence90]

Correct. The pictured build is in fact my bike.
Beautiful.

[jtbadge]

Rock Lobster incoming via drmojo.

https://www.pedalroom.com/p/rock-lobster-33845_2.jpg

[Zee]

How large of a tire do you expect that Rock Lobster to handle?

Looks RAD!

[jtbadge]

How large of a tire do you expect that Rock Lobster to handle?

Looks RAD!

I dunno. I'd be fine with a 25.