This frame was designed using a 7000 series aluminum
tubeset with teardrop shaped top and down tubes. It is compact
and non-sloping. The tubing is plain gauge and gives a frame that
is rigid and fast, while giving a level of comfort that will let
you go for long rides and feel good about it. Of course, it feels
like a racing bike in that it is not mellow on bad asphalt, but
it is not an extreme case like the ones that gave aluminum frames
a bad name. Some of my customers have used it on very long 2-day
rides and felt good even though they had plenty of potholes and
cracks along the way. It is good and light enough to put some
high quality parts on it, although I would rather keep a brand
new Dura-Ace gruppo for the Alu 8 racing frame that I describe
elsewhere on this page. It definitely has a modern look, so you
will want to stay away if you want your bike to look like a racing
bike from the seventies or eighties. It offers high value for
anyone on a tight budget and if you build it up with a decent
set of parts, you will be able to keep up on those fast club rides.
Please note that this frame requires an Italian sized 36x24 bottom
bracket like those found on Italian racing frames. Also on the
smallest size, like many very small frames, be aware that there
will be toe clip overlap. That means that at very low speed, when
turning, the front tip of your shoe might touch the front tire
when your foot is positioned up front. It is built with down tube
shift lever braze-on bosses for those of you with screw-in old
style shift levers. Like all our aluminum frames, it has a replaceable
rear derailleur hanger. Be aware that many front derailleur clamps
will overlap the lower water bottle boss on the seat tube. You
can simply put the clamp over it but you will lose the ability
to use this water bottle boss. Finally, it can be a good idea
to put spacers in the headset unless you like your handlebar to
be very low relative to your saddle height. Or you can use a stem
that brings the handlebar higher. Both colours available are rather
discreet, being dark blue or black.
This frame was designed to rival the high end
frames available elsewhere, but at a down-to-earth price. I wanted
this one to be fast, fast, fast. And comfortable. I wanted
it to satisfy someone who is accustomed to the better brands from
Europe, America or anywhere else. I am satisfied and I expect
you to be as well.
The idea was not to reinvent the wheel. I simply took the
geometry and proportions that are widely used in prestigious high-end
frames when they are not of the sloping and/or compact variety.
Those numbers rarely vary by much, giving head and seat tube angles
that are between 73.0 and 74.0 in a mid-size frame. Simply an
efficient and proven geometry. It couldn’t go wrong, and it didn’t.
I achieved this through the use of a tubeset that is close
in thickness to what you will find on a prestigious Italian tubeset
that I have personnally used in the recent past. Its unique downtube
shape ensures good rigidity while giving it a striking and modern
appearance. The top tube has a teardrop shape and it has a head
tube designed for the 1 1/8 inch headset and fork size. You can
use a one inch fork if you wish by using a set of adaptor rings
currently available. I stayed away from the integrated headset
on this one (as well as others) because I’m not convinced we need
that.
The
result is a frame that flies. Push on the pedals and you will
be rewarded without delay. A high performance road racing frame
is something that should have a somewhat invisible feel to it,
it should have very little inertia, and that is what you get here.
And the nice thing is, it feels good on bad surfaces because it
absorbs enough of the impacts and vibrations to make it what is
commonly called a comfortable ride. It still is a racing bike,
mind you, but certainly not a harsh one. In fact, it is exactly
where I like them to be in terms of road feel. Of course, a titanium
frame will give you optimum balance in this regard, but then it
is the price that I find less… comfortable! Some will also mention
carbon fiber or steel as their material of choice but this ratio
between performance, value and aesthetics was unobtainable through
anything else than aluminum. Even though I have owned and used
frames that were way more expensive in the past, only once did
I have one that I would rather use, and its retail price was 11.4
times higher than this Alu 8 frame! So, you decide…
Once again, in order to have full compatibility with down
tube shift levers, I had some lever bosses brazed on the down
tube but, as most of us now use combined shift/brake levers, I
had some cable housing guide tunnels welded on the head tube in
order to avoid the wear on the paint that is caused by the friction
from shift cable housing. The derailleur hanger is replaceable.
I finally found the red I was looking for. Someone recently
asked me if it was an Italian bike. It’s that kind of red. Ferrari
red. Put it in the sun and watch the reactions.
Now if you prefer, it is also available in matte black.
Understated and industrial-looking, it can be matched with good-looking
parts to make a bike with a very serious appearance.
