Originally Posted by
carleton
Believe it or not, that's an excellent frame. Great angles, stiff. The only downside is the integrated seatpost binder. But other than that, it's great. I've seen several elite US riders ride that frame including a sprinter who was up and coming at the time.
Yeah, it's actually one of my favorite aluminum frames I've ridden (vs. my old Dolan Track Champ (no personality/snap like the Fuji IMO), my street beater Superb Sprint (really tall feeling)). As you said, it's really stiff, and you can feel it.
The only problems I have with it are the 1" threadless fork (ugh), and also the track ends (at least on my model) are inset in the ends, making me have to run Miche axle nuts (Dura Ace/Zipp/Old Zipp hex cap washers don't fit). Also the tubes get dinged pretty easily. The binder hasn't been an issue for me, but I almost never touch my saddle height.
It's good enough for my weekly races, and considering I ride to the track, I don't really have to worry about ruining it (I bought the whole thing back in 2008 for $650 with some tubular trainer wheels) doing some park laps like would with a $$ carbon frame... Though there's still part of me that wants a Bridgestone/Anchor PHM/TR/whatever they're calling it now.