thehugoball

Hi, I ride a beautiful Italian road bike from the early 90s that I have modernized over time. It's a custom built frame by Fabiani in Rome, a small boutique builder. I currently run a 10 speed drivetrain with a beautiful Dura Ace hollowtech crankset, Ultegra derailleurs and shifters, 105 rim brakes and the wheelset is Mavic Open Pro with Ultegra hubs. Basically it's a really nice, modern spec-ed 10 speed on a vintage frame. I have been wanting a carbon bike for a while now, so I'm wondering if I can save some money by purchasing a new or used carbon frameset that I can transfer all the drivetrain parts and wheels to, and then eventually I might return my Fabiani to a more traditional, period appropriate build. I would appreciate any advice on the following questions:

A) Is my idea a sound one? meaning that can the componentry I listed be transfer to most carbon frames of recent production and be useful and worthwhile?
B) What frames in particular would work well with this concept?
C) What is the usual rear wheel spacing on a recently built carbon frame? This bike was originally 126mm, but I cold-set it to 130mm when I installed the current drivetrain.
D) Are there any specific compatibility or performance problems you might foresee?


Thanks so much!!!!

squirtdad

As long as it is 130 mm and standard dropouts (no thru axle) only things you would have to change are BB (assuming you are italian thread). and clean the chain

Barry2 

I'm in the San Francisco Bay Area, so YMMV, the price difference between a used carbon frame and a complete used bike is not much.
People seem to price their older used frames close to current retail for a NOS frame.

Small stuff, like the nuts holding the brakes on are going to get in the way of your build.
When the brakes came new, they arrived with nuts of 4 or 5 different lengths. It's not that you cant source 3rd party nuts, it's just a delay while your bikes is in bits.
That assumes the brakes required for the new frame are compatible with what you have and not Direct Mount.


All the best

Barry

Crankycrank

My first question is what are you expecting to get from a CF frame that your steel bike doesn't have? Not trying to discourage you or say one is better than the other but CF is a very generic term for many different types of bike performance and you would be wise to test ride a few to see if you like one model or don't others or don't like the feel compared to your steel frame. Just sayin'.

rccardr 

It would not be hard to swap over your component group to a conventional CF frameset.
But agree with others that it may not be the best economic decision.
Instead, I purchased a Canyon Endurace CF. 11 speed 105, disc brakes, everything new and intended for use on a CF frame and under $2k delivered to my door.
So, there’s that.

thehugoball

I'm looking to get into racing and feel like I would like something a little more up to date, plus I'd also prefer to return my Fabiani to a period-appropriate build. I've have a number of nice campy components standing by for it.

thehugoball

Was just on ebay and saw this frame, what do you guys think?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Carbon-fibe...torefresh=true

thehugoball

Another option:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/SPECIALIZED...Condition=3000

HillRider

Any new(er) carbon frame will have a 1-1/8" or a 1-1/8 x 1-1/2" tapered steerer and certainly be threadless so you will need new headset, fork, stem and probably new bars to match the current 31.8 mm stem clamp diameter. As mentioned, if your bottom bracket is Italian threaded you will need a new bottom bracket. That will be no problem if the new frame is English threaded but if you buy a frame with one of the multiple press fit "standards", finding a suitable bottom bracket may be something of a treasure hunt. Finally, you will most likely need a new seatpost as it would be just luck to have the diameters match.

This swap is doable but won't be real cheap.

thehugoball

Another one, same seller as the other Tarmac:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/SPECIALIZED...Condition=3000

thehugoball

Thanks, My calculation is that if I get a frame for around $700, maybe I need one or two hundred more in unanticipated parts, cables, etc. Seems much more economical than spending $1500 on a used full bike or $2000 or more on something new. Plus I have most of the additional parts needed for something like this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/SPECIALIZED...Condition=3000

I have the correct sized seapost, a racing saddle, handlebars, tape and stem. Might need a longer recessed brake nut. I think I have a SIS shifter cable & housing set lying around, and brake cable and housing galore. So all in all I think I have most of what I'd need. Would love to know what others think about this frame.

Barry2 

A lot of people will tell you not to buy used carbon if you don’t know it’s history.
I won’t go that far. I purchased a used carbon bike myself. But I would not buy sight unseen.
I would stick to something local that you can fondle before purchase.

I looked at one for a buddy and found a crack in the rear of the fork.
The owner was all kinds of surprised........ I think!
He asked for an offer, and I offered to home home without.

Barry

zacster

I'd say no to all of those frames. If you are going to buy a frame get a new one. I can't say how old they are but they look a little dated to me. New frames have wider clearance for wider tires. While I don't agree fully with them, new frames are also disc brake and through axle, and this just seems to be the future. I myself prefer threaded BB, but this is also an older standard. I MAY buy a used frame if it were a real bargain, like $100 for a De Rosa or Pinarello that a pro is tossing and even then only if it is in perfect shape.

As far as swapping parts, given that they are no longer a current groupset, far from it at this point, it may not be worth doing. I would only swap if I had another frame laying around that was better than what I was riding, but I wouldn't buy one to do it. I think buying a new bike with at least 105 11sp on it would be a much better idea. I've done parts swaps, but only when the parts themselves were still relatively new. That Canyon is probably a good bet. I rented a Spec Roubaix with 105 and disc brakes a few months ago and it was really nice.

My current carbon bike is 15 years old with Chorus 10sp on it. I don't see any path to upgrade it that would be worth doing myself so I'll just keep riding it as is. At my age I don't see myself getting another one either. Since this one lasted 15 years already I'd be 80 if the next one lasted that long too. Hopefully I'll still be riding, but maybe not that all out race bike anymore.

WizardOfBoz

The steel bike seems like a real jewel. That said, I have my steel (Lemond Zurich) and CF (Trek Domane 6.0) and the CF is (IMHO) nicer to ride. Certainly a bit more efficient.

As others have said, I'd be very wary of a used CF frame. A detailed, careful inspection before any money changes hands, to be sure. And to agree with the above, I think you could probably find a complete bike for not much more than a frame. I understand that money's tight, but I'd probably cut my filet and champagne budgets back to pay for the difference, and keep the Fabiani intact.

fietsbob

N+1 time, .. leave that one as is, buy the carbon wonderbike you desire, already built..

New .. don't buy 2nd hand carbon .. the reason someone is selling it won't be shared..


BB on that Italian or British thread?

zacster

I would buy a 1 or 2 year old used carbon bike if it had never been crashed, but nothing older. And only if it were at a significant discount over new.

thehugoball

Italian

robertorolfo

Added the appropriate quotes for you. Nice frame though.

thehugoball

Well aren't you Mr. Funny man! Ok sure, maybe it isn't beautiful, but I got it for $50 from my friend when his bike shop was going out of business, so at lease it was a sweet deal!

rccardr 

Sounds like you have the bits, experience and enthusiasm to get this done. Good for you!
Have never done business with that seller, but he has lots of experience on eBay and 100% positive feedback. If the frame fits you, it has all the right numbers to make it easy for the swap.
Generally speaking, like others have mentioned, I’m somewhat leery of used carbon frames. On the other hand, I’ve purchased complete CF bikes for the groupset and sold off the frames...seemed to be a lot of demand for them as they flew out the door. And no complaints from the purchasers.

While for myself, as posted above, I just bought new CF, this may be a good route for you. Caveat emptor, and all that.

Litespud

The other possibility is to build up the Fabiani with Campag parts (as god intended), eBay the excess parts and use the money to offset the purchase of a new complete CF bike