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@3Vince
Hi all,
First off, you'll need to excuse any lack of coherence in this post - I think I'm coming down with man-flu... that or still suffering from the weekend ;)
I currently have two bikes, one a Ridgeback hybrid and a fixed gear that is built round an old Raleigh pioneer (hybrid) frame. The tube size for the Ridgeback is 19" center to center and the Raleigh about 20". Both have 700x32 wheels/tyres on them.
Both bikes feel about the right size, though the Raleigh possibly a bit short on the top tube (I've got a feeling that when I replace the handlebar stem it'll make it about the right length).
I'm about 5'10" or there abouts and have a bloody long back.
I currently use both bikes for my very short commute though I've taken the Ridgeback on a few longer rides - longest being about 30mi round.
On one of the longer rides, it was uphill pretty much all the way and in to a headwind - I felt my hands naturally trying to get into a position that I'd want tri-bars for when the winds were at their strongest and the hills at their steepest.
So enough about the back story, here's what I'd like to build:
I'm looking for a fixed gear bike that I can do some fairly serious mileage on. I'm based in particularly windy part of Scotland and there's also a fair few hills.
Ideally I'm planning to cycle from Edinburgh to Dundee on this bike.
My thoughts for this bike was to build it around a VISP (ebay) frame with triathlon bars on it and something around 700x23 for the shoes.
My childhood was spent on crap mountain bikes and I've only had the two hybrid based bikes for a couple of months now, so I'm no expert on what I should expect from a road bike or anything for distance cycling - so feel free to correct me if my choice of frame or bars is totally inappropriate :]
I've heard that the VISP frames run a little small and I'm thinking that maybe a 57cm frame would be the right size, but I'm not sure, can any of you lot help?
Also, if anyone would like to suggest alternative frames/bars or an entirely different setup, I'd be willing to at least listen ;-)
Also, I know VISP frames aren't the lightest, but I'm not overly concerned about the weight of the whole build as I really don't think in the end of the day it'll make /that/ much difference (perhaps I'm wrong?)