I'm starting the long process of finding a new "lifetime" bike, and am curious for suggestions. I'm a larger guy (190lbs) who has his primary success been in crits and field sprints- although I am in the process of getting down to around 175-178 with the goal of racing more in hillier races over the next 2-3 years. I used to ride a Litespeed Ultimate, and that bike was great for crits- I could put it into any turn, pedal right through, and never felt like the wheels were coming out. Now I'm on a Trek OCLV, and it understeers a bit, but has the advantage of being dossile enough to swap out rain jackets on a ride- the Ultimate was just a bit too unstable for that for me. I'd ideally want something somewhere in between. Super stiff for sprints, handles like the Ultimate, or slightly less so if it means I can grab bottles and change clothes more easily on the bike. Slightly lighter for kicks wouldn't be a bad thing either- 3.4 lbs for the Ultimate frame was pretty strong.
Here's my list so far:
Custom or stock Carbon: Crumpton, Calfee, or Parlee
Custom or stock Ti: Serotta, Seven, IF
Look 585
Cannondale Six13 or CAAD7-8
Kestrel Talon with a 40mm rake fork instead of the 45mm
Orbea
I like the idea of going custom, and since most of these frames are in the 2000+ range anyway, I figured the difference in cost was nill. What are some other notable frames for crits/ sprinting?
Here's my list so far:
Custom or stock Carbon: Crumpton, Calfee, or Parlee
Custom or stock Ti: Serotta, Seven, IF
Look 585
Cannondale Six13 or CAAD7-8
Kestrel Talon with a 40mm rake fork instead of the 45mm
Orbea
I like the idea of going custom, and since most of these frames are in the 2000+ range anyway, I figured the difference in cost was nill. What are some other notable frames for crits/ sprinting?