Road Cycling - Frame Bulders, a survey

I've been thinking about this a while.
Who is your favorite framebuilder,
and why, and subjectively who builds
the best frame?

FWIW I think Richard Sachs builds the
best custom frames. I appreciate his
dedication, attention to detail and
refusal to jump on every new fad that
comes down the road.
For Style Hetchins wins hands down
in my book.
For Innovation Ben Serotta (S bend chainstays).
For Pure heritage and class its a tossup
between Ernesto Colnago and Ugo De Rosa.
I think Mario Confente had he not
been killed would be right up there for
pure racing frames.

Gee, that was difficult, and I never got to
Eisentraut, Gordon etc. Glad I didn't limit this
to just one choice.
Marty

I would really love to have a RIVENDELL

Anyone familiar with Andy Gilmour?
From what I understand, he has an honest one-man operation out of Arizona.
A friend of mine bought one of his custom steel frames and has been very happy.

Giuseppe Marinoni. He's an Italian frame builder who makes Italian frames of Italian materials, with Italian attention to detail and Italian passione... in Canada. His bikes are works of art . If they were made in Padua or Cremona, he'd be able to charge Colnago-level prices. As it is, his bikes sell for less than similarly-specced Treks and Specialized, and they are oh-so-beautiful.

Marinoni is 66 and he still rides -- his own bikes, of course. In fact, he still races. He won his age group in the 2000 Mt. Washington Hill Climb.

This is a man who [i]lives bikes, and his work is a testament to that.

velocipedio, is this the guy? impressiveclicky wicky (http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/FBeauchemin/ABOUT_1.HTM)

Im always surprised at what good value small workshop frames are, esp compared to the latest plastic moulding from Trek.
In the UK a standard Ti Airbourne frame goes for £700. You can have someone build you a custom frame out of the best steel for this price.
I have a Bob Jackson; its a stock sized touring frame, but I had some extra braze-ons applied.

We have scores of great framebuilders in the UK.

That's the man, agent. The new site is here (http://www.marinoni.qc.ca/). He does make aluminum frames thse days -- beautiful ones, in fact -- but he's best known for his steel.

i'm going to have to go with my man Brent Steelman (that's his real name) and he makes sweet steel frames and forks. www.steelmancycles.com is his address.
He personally oversees every frame. and he answers his e-mail within 24-48 hours. his frames and service rock! it is such a lively real steel ride. his logo is cool too.

lotek, I agree with you
Ernesto Colnago and Ugo De Rosa .