sloping top tube on a road bike

jinka

Who started this sloping top tube on racing bikes and does anybody dislike as much as me.?

Also to me all these bikes are all the same.Far east alum blah blah

Wheres the italian class gone etc?

copacetic

giant started it so they could offer cheaper bikes. I prefer them myself.

jinka

How are they cheaper? Less material?

copacetic

jinka wrote: »

How are they cheaper? Less material?

they only make a few sizes.

Lumen

There are still some very nice fast bikes with horizontal top tubes.

Exhibit A, De Rosa Neo Pro.
Exhibit B, Enigma Esprit.
Exhibit C, BMC SLC 01 (ok, it's progressively sloping, but near enough).

edit: as for why, it's commonly held that this is because the frames are easier to fit in fewer sizes, due to increased standover clearance. This means dealers have to hold less stock, and mfrs have to use fewer moulds etc.

Morgan

jinka wrote: »

Who started this sloping top tube on racing bikes and does anybody dislike as much as me.?

Also to me all these bikes are all the same.Far east alum blah blah

Wheres the italian class gone etc?

Get over it, grandad.

gman2k

Morgan wrote: »

Get over it, grandad.

and it's easier for Grandads to get over the sloping bar:D

Lumen

jinka wrote: »

Who started this sloping top tube on racing bikes and does anybody dislike as much as me?

FWIW, I tend to agree with you.

However, my initially strong dislike has ebbed away with time, and I now focus my hatred on a broader set of targets, e.g integrated seatmasts, fat head tube junctions, cosmetic carbon fibre weave, excessively thick clearcoat, and "anatomic" handlebars....

niceonetom

I love sloping top tubes.

blorg

Just about everyone does sloping now... Trek and Cannondale held out for a while- indeed Cannondale used to have a page on their website moaning about compact geometry - they took it down when they started making compact frames themselves.

Lumen

blorg wrote: »

Just about everyone does sloping now... Trek and Cannondale held out for a while- indeed Cannondale used to have a page on their website moaning about compact geometry - they took it down when they started making compact frames themselves.

Good find!

jinka

Morgan wrote: »

Get over it, grandad.

na,just some of us dont follow like sheep....grandson!

Aquafresh

jinka wrote: »

Who started this sloping top tube on racing bikes and does anybody dislike as much as me.?

Also to me all these bikes are all the same.Far east alum blah blah

Wheres the italian class gone etc?

No, they're hideous, even the expensive 'nice' bikes look like **** these days with the sloping frames. They're so asthetically unappealing it's sickening, really are limited in choice when looking for a nice bike. The only positive I suppose, is that the good looking flat top tubed bikes look nicer now, when compared with the competition.

blorg

Hideous?

DirkVoodoo

Gettin' in here as well, BANG!

jinka

Colnago always look great dont they?. Shame I can never afford one!

blorg

jinka wrote: »

Colnago always look great dont they?. Shame I can never afford one!

That bike (the CLX) is actually their entry level carbon frame and looks great, aesthetically I think it is superior to their higher-end carbon frames (which are also all compact geometry, BTW.)

Look here at the photos from Bike Radar's bike of the year - there are a few frames with traditional geometry in there but the vast majority are compact. It's a bit of a losing battle.

Personally I have had both traditional and compact and I really don't have very strong feelings on it either way, I have had great bikes in both geometries.