carbon frame with fork without breaking the bank

Hey Brandon,

You might check on eBay as well as the forums here and slowtwitch. If you’re on Facebook, check out the Tri n sell it and triathlon swap group on the marketplace. I’ve seen some good deals on frames there. Might be hard to find one for $500 but you never know.

I thought about building my own but eventually abandoned that idea due to finding a great deal on a Cervelo P2.

Good luck.

As mentioned, Slowtwitch classifieds & eBay are good places to look. I would also look at mybikeshop.com. I assume you have your fit measurements (stack/reach, etc..) so you know what frames would fit you.

I think this is too small a budget

i am having trouble getting a professional measurement. i've talked to 3 local shops and get the feeling the only thing they want to do is fit me for a bike they have on their floor or one that i buy and bring in (not fit me and give me any recommendations towards sizes/brands). even though i've come right out and said i just want to pay for a fitting so i can find a used bike elsewhere because a new one is not really in the price range i'm looking for. then they go into this whole spiel about buying used, and the only reason someone sells a bike is because a) it has a ton of miles on it or b) its been in an accident. so i feel like i've run into dead ends with that. ive steered a little towards googling size charts for specific brands and aimed for those size recommendations. if i run accross something i've been interested in, one of the first questions i ask the seller is what their height is to know if its in the same ball park.

i found a 2009 scott plasma ltd a guy has for sale, asking $400 for it. size m (54cm) which i thought sounded good because thats the size road bike i have, but upon further research for a scott plasma, it sounds like i may be more of a size SM according to their charts that i googled this morning.

agreed, many reasons someone may be getting rid of a bike! when he said that i realized he was just being a classic salesman! i will look for that database on slowtwitch. i am in new york, syracuse area. driving is no problem to a point but plenty of college buddies to catch up with throughout the state if i need to drive to somewhere say buffalo.

yes i was there a couple years ago when me and my wife were looking at regular road bikes. i had not contacted them about a fitting because i think after the first couple places i talked to i was fed up with the same response and was expecting the same from them. thank you for looking on slowtwitch and giving me the information. i will stop in there and see what they can do for me!

If you decide on building your own bike, don’t forget to factor in cost of tools, unless you know someone who will loan them to you. Wrenching on bikes requires some very specific tools. I live around 45 minutes from the nearest bike shop so it was worth it to me to buy the basic bike specialty tools and learn to work on my own bike.

Did a quick search on eBay, looks like there are some unbranded Chinese carbon frames in the 500-600 range. Now you could start a big debate on the quality, or lack thereof, regarding this frames. I wouldn’t be scared to buy one and built it up, but there are others who wouldn’t due to warranty issues and such.

Good luck!

i've been eyeing up those chinese frames for some time now. i've tried googling reviews and what not on them and not much luck. wish i could get someones feedback that might have actually took a chance on them. if they're solid frames i think it'd definitely be worth the investment. but on the other hand if it bit me in the a** id be very upset knowing i could've put that $500 towards a sure thing

In late 2013 I bought a 2013 Felt B12 frameset off of eBay for $700. Listed for $1800. Have to look at numerous sites and be patient.

https://sidelineswap.com/gear/bikes/frames/493403-diamondback-serios...

Just stumbled on this site while looking for bikes for a friend.

This may work for you.

While I'm a fan of the corporate policy but NOT the individual store "policies,"... I think Performance's Fuji brands are solid and provide a great deal. I just "upgraded" from a Fuji Altimira to a Trek Emonda & the difference in ride quality if huge. But, the Fuji was/is still a solid ride.

Good luck.

There was an article and thread on ST over a year ago and it was not positive.

If you choose that route, go for one of the more reviewed sites. For example Dengfu.

While they are more reputable, if something goes wrong, good luck with warranty and exchanges. Also take a peek at the guy who recently bought a fake brand name frame and zipp wheels on ST

R&A at www.racycles.com/ has some new but older framesets in the outlet section. They have limited sizes but a few Cervelos in there.

Also check out

https://www.theproscloset.com/collections/triathlon-frames

Edited by marcag 2018-09-05 3:41 PM