Carbon or aluminium

Right so the end of the month will bring nice lttle bonus, and I would like to retire my floppy Bob Jackson to road and commuting duties and buy myself a proper track frame.

I'm think about £500 can be allocated to the frame without too much crap from the girlfriend so the planet x and dave hinde come to mind as beefy tarck specific machines.

My instant reaction is the planet x but my concern is that if I do crash then would the carbon be a gonner?

Ta!

personally i would rather have top end alloy than cheap carbon. or if i could find the right builder a steel frame made from oversize and shaped deda eom* (or similar tubing) possibly a brian rourke but that would be over your budget.

• shaped tubing that is nearly as wide as the bb shell, stays are trianglular shaped then into round. build a stiff frame that's not heavy.
  

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How much are those new Fuji Track Pro framesets? Or the new Omnium - both tasty

Right so the end of the month will bring nice lttle bonus, and I would like to retire my floppy Bob Jackson to road and commuting duties and buy myself a proper track frame.

I'm think about £500 can be allocated to the frame without too much crap from the girlfriend so the planet x and dave hinde come to mind as beefy tarck specific machines.

My instant reaction is the planet x but my concern is that if I do crash then would the carbon be a gonner?

Ta!

go for the dave hinde
stiffest there is - according to the crane
IMO porn

if not those fuji's also look good - and judging by the amount of crashes there have been at HH lately its probably better to be riding alu than cheap carbon

Steal hael's Felt?

I wouldn't buy a frame from Dave Hinde if he was the last bike shop on the planet.

Personally I'd get an aluminium frame as the stiffness is ideal for track racing and, should you crash it, it'll be easier to repair locally. After racing at HH all summer on my steel Casati I decided I'd rather have a bike I'd be less precious about crashing on, so went for a Cannondale up for sale on here.

Alu = stiff, tough, expendable. :)

Exactly.

Not sure where these are availible in the UK. But the look nice for $799.

http://www.bikyle.com/Track.asp

$700 with those wheels.. sweet.. new commuter..

@smallfurry - what brand is it? ;p

I think it's a Trek.

@smallfurry - what brand is it? ;p

I'd say truvativ, selcof or fiziik?

Felt

planet x?

http://www.planet-x-warehouse.co.uk/acatalog/Planet-X_Pro_Carbon_Track_Frame.html

If I were to buy one, it would definitely be a Planet X

I wouldn't dream of buying the Planet X. I don't reckon that that is good quality carbon fibre. I agree with MrSmyth: better to have good aluminium than poor carbon fibre. I'd stretch and get this new Cervelo:

It's intended to be a less expensive version of their olympic frame. It is also fit.

Planet X frames are very good. The carbon is as good as any other plastic frame (ALL carbon frames are made in about 10 factories in the far east). Mine is stronger, stiffer, lighter and more crash/knock/bash/scrape resiliant than my dolan track champ. What's not to like. Best proper track frame you can get for £500 bar nothing. They are also the only one that do half price crash replacement.

Alu frames are prone to cracking/breaking at the welds in crashes, which will generally write them off.

I don't reckon that that is good quality carbon fibre.

Based on?

Aren't the Planet X's only so cheap because they did a deal with the factory that in return for Planet X designing the frame, they got the frames cheap on the condition that they could be sold to/as other brands by the factory?

I.E they are that price not because it is cheap carbon, but because it is a widely produced frame. Like Giz said i dont hink their is an issue with the quality, maybe only the exclusivity

My assumption has always been that Alu is a bit more resistant to accidental knocks than Carbon, eg droping your bike when trying to get it off a roof rack or similar - is this the case?

Isn't someone on here riding for Planet-X? Adman? Their team was doing ok last time I looked..

Depends on how much you want to invest innit.

babydino gets a mention in their latest article: http://www.planet-x-warehouse.co.uk/?p=5795#more-5795

I still harbour carbon paranoia and I've crashed carbon bits pretty damn hard and they've been fine.. one day I might get over it.. who knows..

@smallfurry - what brand is it? ;p

You'd need to check under the BB shell I think.

I'd stretch and get this new Cervelo.

Cervelo + alu = good
and
red = fastest

Therefore a winner. Also do'nt Cervelos come with a lifetime garrentee of something?

Dont know much about this frame other then the headtube and the seatpost clamp are teh sex.

http://pedalforce.com/online/product_info.php?products_id=11740

I rode the red bike at Rollapaluza last night and was beaten both times, how does that fit into your red bike = fastest theory?