Dear all, and I'm sorry I write in english because my deutsche is pretty bad....

I'm going to build my new travel bike by myself. I'm considering the intec M1 frame and the surly LHT frame. I like the intec frame, and it is cheaper than surly. My concern is if the intec works well with drop bars, because it seems a long frame, more suited to flat bars.
As I've seen some pictures of the intec m1 with drops here in the forum, I would like to ask your opinion about it. So...
Does it fit the intec m1 with the drops?
What things do I need to take into account (smaller frame then usual in order to get a short frame, just to buy a short stem, etc..)
How stable is the intec M1? (the rear part of the frame, hinterbaulange I think, is 2cm shorter than surly (430mm vs 450mm). Is this important?

Danke in advance,
Josep.

Hi Josep,
this is my M1:

58cm bottom bracket to top tube, 59cm top tube length. One 3cm spacer, 90mm stem with 0°. Usually I prefer a ~60cm frame with 57...58cm top tube.
Riding with luggage is ok, but only with rear bags a little bit nervous. Painting is not the best, so if you have someone who does a good painting job buy the frame unpainted.
regards,
Michael

Hello Michael and Josep,

is your Intec M1 powder-coated or either laquered, or why a you mentioning the bad quality?
Is there a price difference if you order an uncolored frame?

Regards, Jakob

Hi Michael, and thank you for you answer.
do you have more pictures of your M1 on any place on the net?
And how comfortable is your frame? how tall are you to choose the 55cm (i think) size?
Thanks again,
Josep

The normal color is white, many other colors are available for 35 €.

@ Josep: I have a 51cm-Frame, my size is about 1.77m, and it fits (but I don't have a drop bar). more pictures you can find at this Dealers Page .

Hi Josep,

this forum-thread might be of interest for you:
26"/Stahl/Rennlenker (Ausrüstung Reiserad)

Yoon (Simon) here says that the shown combination fits (even with the drop bars), because of his particular physical proportions (long torso). I own the M1 with a flat bar, and I can´t imagine how this could fit with drop bars (but everybody is different....)- although I generally prefer these kind of handlebars. I am not shure if it would be wise to take a smaller frame and/or a short stem, because this might affect the riding quality.

Simons main reservations (that is why he was looking for a new frame) was the poor coating and the horizontal drop outs which appeared to be inconvenient for him.

In my estimation the stability of the M1 is really good, but this certainly depends on the particular conditions (weight, road conditions etc.) you plan to use the bike.
I think there is no big difference in stability between the M1 and the Surly LHT (which I testet once). So my advice (from the distance) is to take the Surly frame into consideration, especially if your physical proportions are "normal" (perhaps the $ will drop further...)

Good luck
Christoph

No.
The Frame is a heavy piece of steel It is not very comfortable. The weigth is about 3 kilos for the frame and 1,2 kilos for the fork. That's pretty much.

1,86m.
regards,
Michael