CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Stuff

New frame or new bike?

(9 posts)

  1. fimm
    Member

    My poor road bike is on its last legs. It is a Giant OCR and has something called an integrated headset which is wearing out and can't be replaced because they don't make them any more. I think.

    Anyway I could go for a new bike, but think it might be cheaper to get a new frame and put the rest of the components from the Giant on to it. Does this sound reasonable? If so, where would I look for a new frame? Both shop and online suggestions welcome.

    Also, I'd really like to put mudguards and maybe a rack onto my bike (if I had unlimited amounts of cash I think I'd be looking at a light tourer or an "audax" bike, rather than the full on road machine I have at the moment). I suspect this makes a new frame more expensive and I'm wondering if I just go for something fairly cheap now and save up for my dream bike...

    Any thoughts/comments welcome.
    (Incidentally The Bike Works can't fix the Giant, so I think it is definitely on its last legs. Or wheels...)

    Posted 11 years ago #

  2. Coxy
    Member

    Try to contact a headset manufacturer - like Hope or Cane Creek and see what they say.

    What is the original make of headset?

    Posted 11 years ago #

  3. DaveC
    Member

    Dawes have a good range of bikes to suit a variable budget.

    This might suit for later on... ;O)

    Surley Big Dummy

    Posted 11 years ago #

  4. Baldcyclist
    Member

    Cane Creek on the OCR, wouldn't have thought it would be that hard to replace? Maybe something else going on if it's not fixable?

    Posted 11 years ago #

  5. kaputnik
    Moderator

    can't be replaced because they don't make them any more.

    As Chris King explains here (http://chrisking.com/files/pdfs/Int20HeadsetsExplained.pdf) the trouble with Integrated Headsets is that "because the bearings are not securely pressed into anything, they will move around, even when properly adjusted"... ..."it is also going to be your expensive frame takign the abuse". In a traditional headset, it is the replacable cup which is taking these forces and getting damaged. In the "integrated" design it's basically your frame. As the headset wears out, so do the bearing surfaces on your frame.

    So, yes, the fancy-pants integrated headset has been slowly grinding your nice frame away!

    If you're looking for a replacement frame why not look at the Ribble "winter" road bike. It's a good road bike frame but with all the eyelets and clearances required for rack, guard and slightly less skinny tyres. But it's also a decent road bike.

    http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/pp/road-track-bike/frames-frames-audax-winter/fraw

    Ribble can build as a full bike for you.

    There are many such similar bikes on the market now, suppliers are slowing coming round to the demand for road bikes which aren't race-spec bikes and have the abilities to make a decent commuter or light tourer out of them.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  6. fimm
    Member

    @kaputnik thank you for the link and explanation. That makes things a lot clearer. The bike is I guess at least a decade old and has had a lot of abuse from my boyfriend and then from me...

    That Ribble frame looks very interesting. :-)
    My boyfriend rebuilt the Giant for me, and also did a transfer of stuff onto a new frame when the one he had cracked, so he'll be able to do the building up. It will just take him a while.

    Any more links to nice bikes? :-)

    Posted 11 years ago #

  7. Uberuce
    Member

    Hrm. My fancypants new Dolan frame has an integrated headset from Alpina. It's also called a hidden headset, which may mean semi-internal, and indeed 'semi-internal' is ringing bells from when I unwrapped it in the first place.

    Then again, if I get as much as a decade out of an aluminium track frame being ridden on road by a clumsy turd like me, then I'll be doing well, so even if it is the grindy frame kind, it may prove moot.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  8. fimm
    Member

    I think it is that old. If you were an expert in obscure Tour de France teams of the period, I think you could date it quite precisely, as it has a very distinctive paint job. (I've seen quite a few similar Giants which are yellow, black and white - mine doesn't have the white part.)

    Edit: apparently it is a Giant OCR ONCE team replica c. 2000 - 2001. So my boyfriend and I have probably had his money's worth out of it...

    Posted 11 years ago #

  9. kaputnik
    Moderator

    Bikepedia says that the yellow/black paint is the 2001-2002 model.

    Posted 11 years ago #

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