rickdog81

I am going to Trento, Italy in a few weeks. Vicenza, where the EAI bareknuckles are made (according to some forums), is a short 30 minute train ride away. I would like to attempt to buy an bareknuckle and hopefully get a deal. Anyone have any idea where the factory is located?

Thanks

ern

italian made bk is discontinued.

the_don

If that is near Treviso, you can visit the Pinerello shop and meet the main man, I heard he sometimes spends time in the shop there.

Actually, it's about 50miles from Treviso!

erichsia

One of the cradles of bicycling heritage and culture, and you want to leave with...a Bareknuckle.

ern

psirue

haha
well said.

PoN

from:
https://www.thebikebiz.com/Frames_s/127.htm

Bare Knuckles have been continued! Get all sizes and colors agian.

Hands down our favorite and consequently our best selling steel track frame is the EAI Bare Knuckle. Euro Asia Imports developed and brought the Bare Knuckle from Italy and we couldn’t be happier with the results.

If you’ve been riding an entry level steel frameset such as a Surly Steamroller, Bianchi Pista, Pake, or IRO Mark V and are looking for the next level the EAI Bare Knuckle is it. The Bare Knuckle is handmade for EAI by a small shop in Venezia Italy. The tubes of the Bare Knuckle are mitered and TIG welded in Dedacciai COM 12.5 double butted cro-moly. Double butted tubing theoretically yields a stiffer bottom bracket and head tube area while keeping down the weight. Each Bare Knuckle frameset comes with an attractive 1-1/8” lugged sloping straight blade fork up front and Columbus drop-outs in the back.

The EAI Bare Knuckle does an amazing job on and off the track. It’s tight geometry and steep angles are still designed forgivingly enough for comfortable road use. They are currently being made for use with a 1 1/8" threadless headset, a 27.2 mm seatpost and 120mm rear hubs. If you are looking for a top quality steel track frame at an affordable price look no further!

Avaialble in even sizes 48-62 Colors: Blue, Sage Green (Khaki), Black, Purple, Kawasaki Green, Red, and White.

deathhare

Halcyon Days

What do you guys suggest he buy? An Italian branded frame made in....Taiwan / China ?

erichsia

Ciocc, Pinarello, Coppi, DeRosa, Cinelli, Casati, Gorilla, even Bianchi still make bikes in Italy, even if it's only a couple of models. If I was set on coming back with a bike in hand, it would have to be something that I couldn't just order from Bike Biz or Ben's.

tgscordv6

He basically disses anything that isn't NJS certified.

mihlbach

Goddamn those things are expensive. $735 at thebikebiz. When I bought mine they were under $600. Its a good frame but jesus christ, but its just a plain tig welded frame with a steel fork. The tubing is decent but nothing to brag about. I would never pay that much for a heavy plain steel tiged steel frameset. There are just too many other options now.

deathhare

$735 for a tig welded frame is hilariously overpriced.
I had no idea they'd gone up so much.

Moximitre

yeah, I got mine for 550 2 years ago and I was told that was high... over 7 is nuts.

Cyclist0383

Instead of going with a single frame in mind why don't you just go and see what nice bikes or frames you can find? There are tons of cheap frames in Europe that you American kids think are the cat's meow. I recently sold a really nice late 70's Colnago track frame (it was even pinned) to a friend for $30.

adriano 

hilarity is you commenting on overvalued frames.

deathhare

How so?
You think $735+shipping for a mediocre, tig welded, "street" track frame with ****ty paint and no custom options is a good deal?

adriano 

the pot has met the kettle.

however, youre doing well charging what the market is willing to pay so i tip my hat.

deathhare

I feel dumb. I guess it blew right over me that you were implying that the frames I get for people are way overpriced.
If that's your opinion, I totally beg to differ.
Have you seen them in person?

The people hand building the Panasonic track frames have personally been doing it since the 70's and didnt just start making these things for quick cash or something. This is a true track frame with real track geometry, not some trend jumping street crap that probably wont be around 10 years from now. The Panasonic NJS frames will still be being made when you and I are old men.

Not to mention the exquisite paint available in 28 colors as well as all the other options.
Just talking about them in the same thread as Bareknuckles is the hilarious part.

PS: We make almost zero money on these things and only sell about 1 frame per month.
We have jobs, do this really for fun, for assisting other people and would do this regardless of cash.
Hence the raffle we did last year where someone got one for $20.

Check YellowJersey's pricing and you'll see why we started helping people get these frames.

So..with probably about 10 seconds of web research you could find out that our cost on these things is right at $1000USD. Guess how much shipping from Japan is? Just under $100.
Now go to our site and see how much we charge people for the frames.
Then use math.
Then STFU.

Yo!

My two NJS Pansonics are easily superior in every aspect to adrinos kilo tt.

He's got NJS envy deathhare.

mihlbach

Its not the the BK is a bad frame. Its a very good track frame...the geometry is right on (IMO) and its stiff as hell..too stiff for the road really. But thats it....its purely functional and has zero bling value. There are no lugs, no graphics, the paint job sucks, the tubes aren't aero....nothing. Thats what I don't get. Why would you pay close to a grand for a frame like that. It should be priced more like a Soma Rush, which is basically the same thing..a no-frills TIGed track frame with name brand tubes. Perhaps cost of producing frames in Italy is higher than Tiawan, but still, the BK has zero "Italian Heritage" value to it. The BK is not worth buying just for the sake of having something Italian.

I'm sure dhare's prices for Panasonic frames are good, and I don't doubt the quality, and if NJS is your thing, then thats great. But if I were gonna spend that much dough on a "real" track frame, i'd get something less anachronistic, since I am not racing under NJS rules. On the other hand, if all I wanted was a good steel FG frame for street use, there are plenty of great options for hundreds less than a BK.

adriano 

as i said, i respect your business practices, which are sound, but the frames are overpriced, apparently not by you, and the irony remains.

i really wish my merlin was njs certified. tom kellogg, step up or quit!

acorn_user

Have a look at a list of bike shops. There are a lot of small frame builders in Veneto, but most of them are small and not well known. Bike shops in the area will have the contacts. They probably carry Italian frames with their own label. Don't expect to be able to buy an actual Bare Knuckle though. That's not going to happen because of OEM agreements. You should be able to buy a very nice steel frame with some other name though. If you go to Verona, I'd recommend Chesini or Grandis.

adriano 

njs is a mark of standardization, not of quality.

deathhare

You insist on acting like you know something about things you clearly do not.

That bit of info specifically says that it IS about quality but also about other things.

One of the biggest and most important things that NJS does is to control a level of build quality and strength of the frames.
Every year all NJS builders are required to submit frames that will be load tested and destroyed in various ways. If a frame fails at all before certain load levels then the builder will likely lose their certification.
Many builders are long gone.