I’ve got the bits to build a lightish summer bike, and need something to do.
My current road bike is good but boring Di2 disc carbon.
Planet X spitfire is nice and not expensive, but any other steel or Ali frames should I look at.
Needs to be lust worthy and fit 28mm tires, under a grand.
Medium and second hand welcome.

Please

i recently bought a planet x spitfire and have to say that the bike is great

frame is very well made and looks great.

it rides really nice too.

i have to admit to not being fast,fit on a bike (both road and mtb) but for the money i am very happy with it 👍

853 road frameset from Rourke?

Oh yeah! Thats the kind of thing.

Double post

Spa Cycles Ti? https://www.spacycles.co.uk/m11b0s143p2371/SPA-CYCLES-Titanium-Audax-Frame-and-Forks

Or maybe see if you can find a Genesis Volare, it wasn’t long ago they were rim braked.

Bowman palace 3c, the lemon sherbet colour is rather nice!

There’s a 95 colnago c97 on Facebook market place Right now. UK bicycle parts forsale or free.

That’s truly lust worthy in the way a planet X will never be.

In a STW recommend what you have stylee:

Ritchey Road Logic. I have one, it’s metal, it’s rim braked, it’s lovely.

25mm tyres and std brakes gives you a lot of choice in 80s and early 90s Euro/Italian bikes. Some real beauties available if you look out for them.
For bigger tyres and deep drop brakes how about a custom classic square geo lugged frame with matched fork? I went for one of these last year and couldn’t be happier with it. Std OS 631 tubes, rides so nicely. Lee Cooper does them at a competitive rate or you may get a Rourke for £1300 or so.

Love the Bowman and Ritchie, not sure about classic frames, just dont know enough about them.

Cannondale Caad13 rim braked model? Love the look of the totally Matt black one and imagine it’ll be in the region of 1100g – so with light kit on it’s absolutely fly.

Fancy the disc version of it to replace my caad 12 disc but just can’t justify it as my road bike is very much secondary to my mountain bikes and is currently sat on a turbo trainer!

Something from Condor

Something to bear in mind with older frames vs modern ones. Modern, mass-produced frames have to conform to CEN/ISO testing – consequently, they tend to use heavier tubes that can feel a bit dead. A new custom frame, or an older road frame will have a tube set selected for the size and even weight of a rider – the ride of a 1980s Columbus SL frame is sublime in comparison to most modern mass-produced frames. The trend in the 1990s was for skinny tyres and lots of chrome. If you go for a classic frame from the likes of Colnago, Pinarello, DeRosa if kept in good condition it will suffer little depreciation as they’re always in demand – they ride lovely too.

On the ‘recommend what you have’ front I’d say Genesis Volare, but there aren’t (m)any of those around so.. Genesis Equilibrium?

I would say use the 20% discount from the STW Members Area but it seems to have expired, but you can get a 15% code by signing up to their newsletter..

I am besotted with my second hand Condor Super Acciaio.

Handling is on the sharp/direct end of the spectrum and could be a tiny bit taller front end but is absolutely beautiful and rides really well.

Snapped up for £1k with Ultegra 6800, had been used maybe 10 times.

Cannondale Caad13 rim braked model? Love the look of the totally Matt black one and imagine it’ll be in the region of 1100g – so with light kit on it’s absolutely fly.

Yes, for me the Caads are peak aluminium. I have a 9 done up with 00s DA and it’s lighter than all but the most expensive disk braked bikes.

Otherwise I have a mate with a steel Ritchey as suggested above and it is nice.

Nothing wrong with a retro frame, but sometimes the sizing means large ones are very tall. Old lugged frames are decently strong and well built. I quite like what The Light Blue do, they have a few nice modern retro steel frameset options:

https://www.thelightblue.co.uk/Sport/frames

I love the Bowmans. Does anyone have one and care to comment on it. I would love one

http://engine11.bigcartel.com/product/steeze-road-gray

Oxymoron IMO 🙂

I was going to recommend a Volare, because I have one, but seems they don’t make a rim brake model any more.

https://standert.de/collections/kreissaege/products/kreissage-rs-rim-royal-navy-frameset

Back in stock next week…