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The Pake Track Frame is a no frills steel frame meant for people building up a bike on a budget, or at least not looking to break the bank while still looking for “true” track geometry. At $260 for the full 4130 frame and another $100 for the 1″ unicrown fork, the Pake frame is one of the least expensive 4130 track frames out there. I bought my Pake well over three years ago, and in that time have put tons of miles on it in all sorts of situations as it has more or less been my go-to bike for the entire time I’ve owned it. Street track bike, singlespeed, with a basket, with panniers on a couple of overnight camping trips, as a polo bike for two seasons and as it stands now as pictured with a flatbed rack and upright bars — the Pake track frame has served me well in a number of iterations it was meant for and a few it wasn’t.
The frame is steep and tight, with my 59cm frame having parallel 75deg head and seattube angles, a short 988mm wheelbase and a track legal bottom bracket height with only 58mm of bb drop. It is kept clean with a rear brake mount but no cable guides, with the only braze-ons being the single bottle cage mount. 
There is ample clearance for big, comfortable and ride anywhere 28c tires, and I’ve crammed 32c cross tires in there for riding through the snow. The headtube is 1″, with a matching unicrown fork (with proper 38mm of offset) that is drilled for a front brake and does the fork-ing job just fine if not being the prettiest date to the prom. I find the fork downright ugly even, and I’ve consistently found the headtube size problematic, especially with the threadless Pake fork steerer. 
The choices of better quality 1″ headsets and stems can be extremely limited, and I’ve found that shims to fit 1 1/8″ stems can be touchy to setup without slipping. Cutting threads is questionable at best, and finding a threaded fork with the proper axle to crown and offset is neither easy nor cheap. You can use any number of good quality 80′s and 90′s threaded road forks on this frame with a slight expense in handling as the longer offset will make the steering a bit faster but certainly not unrideable. For the 2010 model year however the fork has been changed to a nicer looking straight blade model and the headtube upsized to the much more readily available 1 1/8″ size. Welcome changes, but unfortunately they seem to have come at the expense of the water bottle mount and those of us that get thirsty when the rides start stretching out. I have two other track bikes without bottle mounts and I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve wished they had one like my lowly Pake.
When it comes to the actual ride of the bike I have zero complaints, the steep geometry is the main selling point of the bike and is where you come to love or hate the frame. I love it, I just find steep and tight geometry so much fun to ride I’ve been hooked since I first gave it a go. While some will find it tiresome on long road rides or even overly twitchy overall, if it’s what you’re looking for the Pake has it. The 4130 tubes ride surprisingly nice, and the frame has proven durable in my experience with nary a dent or serious ding and tons of spills and lock-ups. I’ve managed to knock the fork out of alignment, and bend it back, but otherwise the bike is going strong and still functioning as my daily go getter. Not bad for a $360 retail frame well over three years later. See more about the 2010 Pake’s at their blog, and look for the web relaunch coming in a few weeks time.
Lots of miles on my pake frame as well, and I still use it as my primary bike for all occasions.
WAIT! i can cram 32′s on my pake!?? i don’t know why i always believe the specs, and don’t just try it.
I’ve got two seasons of polo on my Pake and it is still an awesome ride. I thought it was going to be cheap and probably break, but I have thrashed it and crashed it and it is still going…
This frameset is what caused me to have interest in the Pake C’mute. The welded gas pipe tubing (Seamed Tange 4130), and classic touring fork are okay, but you sure as hell won’t see me shoulder it up a hill, even with Hutchinson Bulldogs on the wheels.
is the Pake Track Frame also Tange Seamed 4130? If so, I think that would be a dealbreaker.
The Pake track is not “gas pipe” tubing, that stuff is left for unlabeled department store bikes. 4130 is not gas pipe. 4130 is aircraft grade stuff, seamed or not, which I’m honestly not sure of. I can’t say I care given the frame price and the fun I’ve had over the past few years on it.
I rode this bike today and it was awesome. I expect to ride it tomorrow and feel much the same about it. And the day after that… I truly love how this bike handles. By virtue of Urban Velo I have access to a lot of bikes and this one remains in my stable as an everyday workhorse.
I have owned a lot of bikes, but frankly this Pake is probably my favorite. Some things are just right, perhaps by design or chance.
The angles on the Pake are a perfect combination of responsive and easy-going.
The Tange 4130 is fine, they bike feels lively. Mine is now going into its third summer, and I might buy another for my GF.
Can’t wait to get my velocity deep v’s for my brand new pake and then it will be ready to go. havn’t ridden it yet but from all accounts, it should be a great bike.
hey brad how tall are you? having some thoughts about weather i should get the 61 or 59?
What size bb is it and what type?
I love this bike. Plain and simple. I went to it after being on an aluminum track frame for two years. It’s sturdy, nimble, comfortable, but you can still mash as hard as you want to. Definitely worth the money. If you’re in debate about getting one.. don’t.. just do it.
Hey brad I didn’t see rack mounts on the fork, how did you get that rack mounted and what rack is it, looks really good. Wouldn’t mind picking up one for myself
The front rack in the first and third pictures is a 5-rail Cetma rack. http://cetmacargo.com/
also I’d like to add, regarding tire clearance, that on the 2010 model’s 1 1/8″ straight blade fork, I couldn’t fit a ‘cross tire that was labeled 30c it was probably actually around 32 or 33 wide. Right now i’m running michelin tires, labeled 28c but actually more like 30cm wide.
Has anyone ever ordered one of those nifty cetmacargo racks? They look pretty sweet but the site looks a little sketch. Any reviews?
I’m Lane from CETMA Cargo. My site looks a little sketch?? How so? You mean as in clunky design, or shady operation? I’m not mad or offended, just sincerely curious. I don’t want my site to look sketch in any way. How would you modify it if you could?