Argonaut Spacebike 2.0

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CrankAddictsRich
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by CrankAddictsRich

campbellrae wrote:Not really, I looked long and hard to try to find a suitable off the shelf frame.

It's generally closer to the top tube of a 60cm but with the head tube from either a 56 or a 58. The only exceptions I could find were the likes of the Trek H1 geometry. If you were to look at grand fondo type frames, it's the head tube from a 54.


Ahhh.. OK. So its an aggressive 58/60. Nice. It looks really great for a frame that big and usually I don't think big frames look as attractive. This looks great though and I'm sure ti will ride even better. Would really love to grab one some day.

by Weenie


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campbellrae
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by campbellrae

Yep, pretty much. It's somewhere between the two sizes, the head tube is a little shorter than most 60's and the top tube a little longer than most 58's. With an off the shelf frame there would have been some compromises somewhere, whether it was in the stem length/angle or the choice of bars. And the price of the top of the range off the shelf frames is crazy now, so this wasn't much more and it eliminated any compromise!

xeladragon
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by xeladragon

Argonaut makes some good lookin' bikes. How does the ride compare to your Saffron?

campbellrae
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by campbellrae

It's quite hard to compare the two, as I asked for something slightly different each time. The Saffron is a little more comfortable and not as stiff because it's intended for longer rides. The handling is also a little slower(73 degree HA). Whereas the Argonaut is a bit stiffer, has a little more drop and faster handling(73.5 degree HA). Although I will say the Argonaut is a bit more comfortable than I was expecting, which was a nice surprise. The Saffron is also stiffer than I thought it would be. They both strike a really nice balance between speed and comfort, albeit slightly different ones!

At the end of the day, I find it really difficult to compare custom bikes as the builders will make you whatever you ask for! I'm sure if I'd asked for the Argonaut to be an audax mile muncher Ben would have built it that way, and the same goes for Matt at Saffron.

campbellrae
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by campbellrae

Well that all went to shit really quickly! Crashed on Saturday on a descent and snapped the frame behind the head tube :cry: Thankfully Ben thinks it's repairable and the frame is being shipped back to Argonaut tomorrow for repair, I should have her back in a month or so. First crash in years, and it had to be on the new bike :( I hope I have better luck once I get her back!

On the plus side, I got to strip her down and weight the frame. 1126g including the headset and bottom bracket, so between 850-875g for the frame in an effective 59cm size is really light!
Last edited by campbellrae on Tue Apr 26, 2016 11:52 am, edited 1 time in total.

burglarboycie
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by burglarboycie

I'm sorry to hear that!!! Are you ok? Not too damaged I hope?!
Fingers crossed the repair comes out ok.

campbellrae
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by campbellrae

I'm fine thanks, just a few cuts and bruises.

I'll know for sure once Ben has looked the frame over, but we're expecting it to be as good as new thankfully!

Broady
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by Broady

Nightmare!

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Calnago
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by Calnago

Ouch! So sorry to hear that. I would think it would take quite an impact to snap the frame behind the headtube. Got any pics before sending it back. Do you remember the details of the crash and/or what might have caused it to break where it did? Sounds like you came out of it relatively unscathed at least?... Whew.
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campbellrae
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by campbellrae

I can remember pretty much everything, I must have replayed the whole thing in my head 100 times by now!

I was exiting a right hander at just under 60kph onto a short straight, maybe 50m, into a tight left, the road was fairly steep downhill at around 14%. As I have started to straighten/sit the bike up onto the straight I have applied the brakes to slow slightly for the left, but I have locked the rear wheel as it's gone over a patch of oil/diesel on the road. By the time I've caught/corrected the slide it's been far too late to take the left hander as I haven't slowed at all on the straight so I decided the best bet was to haul the anchors on and go straight in the hope of having a soft landing rather than hitting the tarmac by turning in with way too much speed. I maybe slowed to 25-30kph before I went off the road and into the trees. I'm pretty sure the headtube failed when I hit some big potholes in the road just before I left the tarmac as I've been braking as hard as possible and most of my weight is on the front wheel. I have a really clear memory of the sound of carbon cracking, then hitting the trees. Where I went off the verge was grass where the front wheel hit, so I don't think it has gone there.

My take away has been that shit happens, if the oil patch hadn't have been there the crash wouldn't have happened. But that's life sometimes.

I've got a few pictures, will post them up when I get home, including one of the rather nice hole I have made in a trees branches :lol: . Can't access Imgur and the like in work!

Ben has been absolutely first class in helping me sort it out. The new headtube section is already getting built in anticipation of the frames arrival next week, so hopefully she'll be back on the road soon.

burglarboycie
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by burglarboycie

Sounds like you were quite fortunate really! It had potential to be a lot worse for both rider and bike!!

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jekyll man
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by jekyll man

wounder! :(
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campbellrae
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by campbellrae

I've attached a couple of pics of the damage below.

DS:

Image

NDS:

Image

I was (obviously) absolutely gutted at the time of the crash, and still am to be fair, but by the time I was heading to bed on Saturday I had calmed down a bit and realised I was pretty lucky to have no real injuries, just some superficial stuff that will be gone in a week or two. It would not have been pleasant if I had gone down where the back wheel went as there is a drop off the side of the road there that I'd have been sliding off. Stuff can be replaced after all, road rash and broken bones are a bit more painful!

AZR3
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by AZR3

Wow, that must have taken a pretty good hit. And you're right, I know I've been more upset about damaged bikes/parts after crashes but as long as you came out of it and can ride again thats all that matters.

by Weenie


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LionelB
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by LionelB

Ouch !! Happy to hear you are OK. The frame is just a frame.

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