Hey all,
I'm interested in upgrading my track frame and wondering if you all think it will be worth it, and if it can be done for ~$500 USD or less. I ride a Dolan Precursa with Omniums and some unbranded alloy high-spoke tubulars laced to Dura Ace hubs. A pretty simple rig.
About me:
I have been a road racer for a bit over 10 years, track for about half of that. By track, I mean weekly ATRA Tuesday night series (TNR), Men's "A" the last couple years. I can score points and make a mark on a race, but no way I'm winning many of those with the talent here. But I have fun.
I've been particularly dedicated with training and racing on the road this year, and just earned my last remaining category 2 upgrade points. I'm ready to switch to weekly track racing, training only if I want to and otherwise coasting for a few months. Long term, I see myself focusing on Master's criterium racing, USAC track racing or even XC MTB. I'm engaged, and with marriage and children on the radar, I see my available time for this going down for a while fairly soon. I'm 32.
My participation in track this year has been limited to Thursday night Madison training sessions and some volunteering. I'm looking forward to starting TNR in a couple weeks; I'm faster than usual. So some of this is me just wanted to treat myself to something nice
.
What I want:
Something that is faster, cooler or just more fun to ride. Just more enjoyment. I recently purchased some lightweight 50 mm carbon tubulars from a friend at the recent SDVA veloswap, and ordered some aero road bars for it as well (Bonty Aluminum VR-CF aero). It's really only a hop, skip and jump away from a whole new rig at this point. The Dolan works (cannot be faulted for that), but just doesn't bring me any joy, in a Marie Kondo sorta way.
I was close to winning a bid on a used Stradelli last week but got sniped. I know that these are branded, open mold frames that are available from Alibaba under a multitude of different trade names (Dengfu, Tideace). Are those reliable frames? I'm worried about the non-round seatpost and other potential QC issues.
I'm not tied to carbon, and would purchase a Fifty-One Point Racing custom if money was no object. I'm tempted by the Bianchi Super Pista frames, but wondering if it would be a big enough difference, performance wise and enjoyment wise.
Thanks,
Tmonk