Modern Classic Steel/Alloy Frames

[MacB]

Crosscheck is semi horizontal drops, I originally ran a 9 speed hub and am now moving my SA 3 speed, the SRF3 to it, just waiting on axle spacers to respace the hub. If there isn't a slope to the dropouts then rim brakes come out of line as you move the wheel for tension.

You do need to check axle lengths though, the SA 3 speeds you can get in UK, old style or new style, all have shorter axles. I got my SRF3 from Harris Cyclery in the US and made sure it had the 175mm axle.

If you want cheap then I could recommend buying my Dawes bike which I'm taking the 3 speed rear wheel from, it has 126mm rear spacing. You can see pics on my Flikr account:-

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37729119@N08/sets/72157622858305141/

I'm actually moving towards disc brakes now and plan on getting an On-One super commuter with discs, alfine hub, and the integrated alfine STI style shifter. The Surly will become my 3 speed/fixed/SS runaround and the Dawes will become surplus. As the Dawes is an older frame, I'd sourced new 1" threadless forks, seatpost, stems etc all to fit, none of those bits would be transferable to an On-One frame. So you could be looking at a complete bike minus SA 3 speed rear wheel....just a thought.

 

[g00se]

Stuff where?

Doh! Here

In particular: http://activesport.co.uk/shop/artic...d.html?shop_param=cid=1704&aid=2289.FMAYB46K&

 

[g00se]

What about the Surly Steamroller on that site. Or the Kona Rat (though that's getting a bit more pricey).

 

[brokenbetty]

Out of interest why are you loooking for a new frame that looks old rather than an old frame? Not that one is better than the other, I was just thinking price is a consideration and an old frame will be a lot cheaper

 

[Jezston]

Out of interest why are you loooking for a new frame that looks old rather than an old frame? Not that one is better than the other, I was just thinking price is a consideration and an old frame will be a lot cheaper

I'm still considering that too, just that with a modern frame I can be sure of what I'm getting, the geometry, condition, materials etc. Also means I could potentially sort something out on a cycle scheme or hire purchase.

 

[MacB]

Brixton Cycles are worth a look for your requirements as well, good for advice too

 

[P.H]

Hi, can anyone direct me to the websites of UK manufacturers of steel frames? Particularly after nice classic-style lugged frames - although affordability is a bonus which sadly rules Mercian out!

No, British made and lugged is going to be a fair bit over your budget, Bob Jacksons are about the cheapest at £400. 

As you now seem to be looking at foreign tig welded frames this one from Byercycles is worth a look for £180, they'll also build it up to spec for you.

 

http://www.byercycles.co.uk/bikeprice 01- 01- 08/05R1008.html

 

[brokenbetty]

I'm still considering that too, just that with a modern frame I can be sure of what I'm getting, the geometry, condition, materials etc. Also means I could potentially sort something out on a cycle scheme or hire purchase.

Ah, I hear you on the cycle scheme.

I really wish it could be used for second hand bikes / parts. I object to public money being used to fund new bikes that are mostly bought from chain stores when it could be used to put old bikes back on the road by paying for LBS skilled labour. (That's a criticism of the scheme, not of people who very reasonably take advantage of the savings.)

 

[Hover Fly]

Steve Goff would come just inside 300 quid for 531 or 525
http://www.steve-goff-frames.co.uk/frames.shtml

 

[downfader]

For flat bar - Planet X's Kaffenback frame (and in a lurvley yellow colour)

http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/FRPXK/planet-x-kaffenback-frame £165



For drops I hear the Surly's are nice. If I had the money an Enigma Extensor would be on my shopping list. Though thats £1400 for JUST the frame!

 

[P.H]

Steve Goff would come just inside 300 quid for 531 or 525
http://www.steve-gof...uk/frames.shtml

Frame only, another £85 for a fork.  That may be what was asked for but most of the other prices are for frame and fork.

 

[dan_bo]

Ah- looks like you've plenty of answers anyway. Very competitive market as you can see.

 

[CounterfeitKelly]

Kaffenback - vertical dropouts. Works as a lovely drop bar light off road/all rounder though.

 

[MacB]

You do have to give some thought to how much you want to spend and in what manner. If it's CtW then finding a shop that will do a build or supplies a 3 speed bike would be a must. Complete bikes may not give you exactly what you want but they can be a massive amount cheaper. For example I can find complete bikes, with 3 speed Sturney Archer hubs, for under £200. Now the bikes are hideous and details of which hub are sketchy, but you get the drift. Whereas going for yourself, here's my experience:-

I got the Dawes frame for £40 and planned to build up a cheap runaround that could be left outside shops etc........another £650 later, I had my bike but not quite the 'leave anywhere' I'd hoped for. Though I lacked any bike parts then, so everything was being bought new. Despite the complete bike prices above you need to take into acount what you pay for parts if you go self build.

SA 3 speed in UK, AW steel shell about £56, SRF-3 aluminium shell about £70
Rim - £30
Spokes and build - £40

So you've got £140 on the rear wheel alone before you've looked at front wheel, tyres, tubes, chainsets, chains, etc, etc.

To be fair if you take away labour charges, and a couple of my errors, then my build was around £600. I went highish spec on the wheelset so the pair, including tyres, tubes and build were about £330, the new forks were £70. Add in the frame and headset and you take the cost to £470 for frame, forks, headset and wheels. Then you need to factor in chain, chainset, BB, pedals, stem, spacers, bars, brake levers, brakes, grips, seatpost, saddle, guard&rack if needed, bottle cages. Hard to get much under £250 for that lot unless you have stuff lying around or really know your second hand bits.

You can save money on the wheelset but doubt you'd get below about £220 inc tyres and tubes with a 3 speed rear, worth checking that they include shifter in their price as well. Then allow £10 chain, £30 chainset, £15 BB, £25 headset, £3 spacers, £15 stem, £20 bars, £5 grips, £15 brake levers, £25 brakeset, £5 bottle cages, £20 saddle, £15 seatpost, £5 seat collar and £20 pedals. That's another £228 before considering anything like mudguards, racks or labour if you need a mechanic to build, and you wouldn't be buying top spec stuff at those prices. That gives you a spend of about £450 before buying the frame and forks and paying any labour, as you've seen you could easily spend another £400 to cover those, add in some extras and you've got a £1k bike.

My Surly Crosscheck build, accepted the rear wheel was the heart of £400 on its own, worked out to nearly £1500. The frame and forks I got for £285 at the time and went for much higher spec parts than on the Dawes...but you get the drift

Not trying to put you off a DIY job here just throwing in some realistic figures. You'll read plenty of stuff on the web about how cheaply a bike can be built up. It can be done with patience, a keen eye and experience, for anyone else it'll be a heap of garbage.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Unless you've got someone who'll lend you tools you'll spend quite a bit of money on them too, each new component you buy will require a special tool - BBs, cranksets, cassettes, etc...