A nimble track bike for urban (ab)use

I am following the CP board for quite some while and enjoy reading about many different projects. Since I bought my Surly Steamroller little over one year ago I still love commuting fixed and hunting through the city after work.

My wish for a more aggressive track bike increased within the last few months and day by day I saved some money and bought second hand stuff to fulfill my dream. As soon as I am done, the Steamroller shall be used as what it is meant to be: a perfect everyday bicycle with bigger tyres and a smaller gear ratio. I still want to commute on it and I also want to ride on gravel roads and forrest trails.

Back to my current project. I want to transfer the wonderful all black Deep V/Miche wheelset, my seat post and saddle as well as the cockpit. Cranks and headset will remain on the Surly. In the next few days I hope to get silver Omniums for the next bike. I will sell the original 48t chainring and try to get a smaller 46t ring in black. I also ordered a pair of MKS street track pedals.

I am a tall guy (6'6) and can only pick from a small amount of stock frames. First of all, I was sure to pick up another steel frame and was interested in the EAI Bareknuckle. I was attracted by its clean look and the aggressive geometry. Then I fell over the Dodici Gara. I dig its appearance and really like Dodicis customers service. It has slacker angles though – I dont know if it still lives up to my wish of a nimble and agile track feeling. Lately, I also thought about Goldsprints steel track frame. It has a similar geometry as a Cinelli Vigorelli (73°/73,5° angles/58mm bb drop/395mm chainstay length) but is made from Columbus Zona steel. It is also the cheapest way to get the new bike sorted.

I aim to build something strong, which can take a beating and get ridden fast and aggressive. I think the Bareknuckle is the most radical bike of the mentioned ones while the Goldsprint is the most attractive to me because of the price/value relation. Unfortunately I am pretty unexperienced when it comes down to riding other bikes – I wonder how big the differences between those three bikes might be and which other bikes I might put into consideration.

I am happy to share the further progress with you and are keen to know your thoughts.

I am following the CP board for quite some while and enjoy reading about many different projects. Since I bought my Surly Steamroller little over one year ago I still love commuting fixed and hunting through the city after work.
It's nice to hear your enthusiasm kallzer. Have you already tried re*search*ing the forum for threads/posts on those three makes? Or perhaps ask for some feedback in Any Question Answered.

I'm interested to know what it is you go hunting for?

Speed controls! ;]

Have you looked at the brother cycles swift? Its made from zona too and looks very nice when built up

http://www.brothercycles.com/shop/swift-track/

Yep, I did. I really love it built up but 58cm top tube is too short. On my Steamroller I ride a 60,8 top tube and I don`t want to go shorter than 59 actually.

Handling wise I should go for the Bareknuckle but something is keeping my away. I really like the flamed raw effect of the Goldsprint ones but doubt it`s more agile than my Steamroller. On the other side: Do I really need more nimbleness!?

Omniums arrived in great condition! What a bargain!

Going sell the original 48T chainring to get something a tad smaller. Want to ride 46/17 as my hometown is pretty hilly!

Built up a Bareknuckle a few years back, is still going strong and is an absolute joy to ride. Have no experience of your other options, though, so can't compare.

I heard a lot of good things about Bareknuckle`s!

• All I ask myself is why it seems there are hardly any new built-up`s and if the Goldsprint would feel at least as agile as the Steamroller!?
  

There were distribution problems for a while, looked like the Italian manufacturer might go bust. It wasn't all that easy to get hold of mine. But it seems that they're back in business and Hubjub has started selling them again, although only on special order.

Yep, already been in contact with Drew. Which other bikes do you ride? How does the Bareknuckle feel compared to them?

I had a road conversion for a while, now I have a Condor Fratello, the Bareknuckle and a Brompton.

The Bareknuckle is nimble, light and very rigid, which is pefect for what it is, but by the same token its a bike for going fast on a smoothish surface, not one for doing miles of Belgian cobblestones. With Atacs and Sidis I generally don't have a toe strike problem, but I have smallish feet for my size - and it is doable if you turn the wheel too sharply. It has the taller, tighter track geo, and a much more aggressive riding posture than the Fratello, which is what you'd expect in a track bike. Overall, I do tend to find that the agility of the thing tempts me into weaving in and out of traffic a lot more than I do on the Condor, which I tend to ride relatively defensively in contrast. The rare occasion i took it down to Herne Hill it felt just right. It's a lot of fun, basically.

Well, no other track bikes to compare though!? It sounds like almost each and every review and comment Ive read about the BK. Great bike all around! I still wonder if they more relaxed geo of the Goldsprint isnt suitable enough for my riding. I neither go 45 km/h in traffic nor do I ride on the track or doing miles. I just want to commute and bomb some hills every now and then :)

Just shot a black Sugino Zen to complete a silver/black OmniZen set. Still thinking about the right frame.

Decisions has been made! Last weekend I bought a wonderful Goldsprint track frame in Berlin. It built by Colossi and got the Rambler`s geometry. It feels stiffer than the Steamroller and got a more nimble feel, too. I love it so far!

BBB, looking good!

Toby.d and then XH had a Goldsprint - I think the forks used to look a little different but they are rad frames for sure.

That's awesome! Can we get some more photos?
Particularly love the front end. Slammed stem looks boss on this

Of course!

Oooh. Dem forks...

Hey Kallzer, would you let me know what exactly the stem is (size, degree etc.)? It looks fantastic! What handlebar is this? What is the frame size?

I am planning on building up a Colossi Rambler Track!

Thomson X2 im guessing 100mm 17º?

Im guessing ^ is spot on

Rightyright! Frame size is 66cm, handlebars are Crankbrothers Cobalt!

Unfortunately I am not riding this bike a lot. Somehow I seem to be the one-guy-one-bike-guy and just stick to my Steamroller most of the time :/

Hmm, if you keep not using it, let me know. Might be interested in buying it :) Looks lovely, by the way!

Hmm, if you keep not using it, let me know. Might be interested in buying it :) Looks lovely, by the way!

I own it now ;)