mporter410

How long did it take before you actually received the bike? I am ordering an El Diente fully equiped with Ultegra. I can't wait to get the bike so I was wondering what other peoples experiences with DEAN have been.

deeno48

Ordered the El Diente the first week of June 2004. I recieved it the last week of July 2004. I asked Dean if it would be possible to have it ready for a July 4th ride I wanted to do. They said they do their best to have it ready, never happened. Good Luck!

mporter410

Who did you deal with at DEAN? I am working with John who says he is the owner. I placed my order for two El Dientes this past Monday. I am hoping to have them by the last week in October. How do you like yours?

deeno48

I talked to John several times. The bike was worth the wait and I enjoy riding mine alot when I have time. My El Diente is the standard design and is custom built. Dean does not show the standard design on their web site for 2005, only the compact.
Since you ordered two and fall is around the corner, you might have them by the end of October. You won't regret buying them, they are very well built bikes.

mporter410

Thanks for the input. I hope you are right about the timing. The bikes are for my wife and I. We did go with the compact design as this is what we currently ride. John is very nice and seems confident on being able to deliver. However, in the end, I am more interested in getting a well built bike than I am in getting it by a certain date.

jpap

Hey guys,

I know this is an old post but my Dean El Diente is arriving in about a weeks time. From the time it was ordered to expected arrival will be 5-6 weeks. Not bad considering I live in Australia. Can't wait to build it up and start riding it. When I decided to go Titanium I looked at Moots, Serotta, Merlin, Dean and a local custom builder here in Melbourne. All were at least $1000 USD more expensive. Whilst all manufacturers had good reputations I just couldn't go past Dean for price alone. Having decided that Dean was the one I researched more not only here but on other forums and could not find one negative aspect about the El Diente frame. The only negative feedback was about Dean's delivery timeframe. That did not bother me as I was willing to wait longer for such a good saving. Having said that 6 weeks isn't bad considering the frame is being shipped halfway around the world. I will be dressing it with campy record 07 and neutrons. I will post some pics as soon as she's built up.

DrPete 

Not to knock your frame or anything, but I wouldn't use the shipping distance to cut them any slack. I just shipped a package to Australia from Maryland, USA that arrived 3 business days later. My guess is that they're just a small-volume shop that probably fabricates the frames as the orders come in, in which case 5-6 weeks isn't horrible.

Either way, good luck with the new bike!

jpap

I would say you are spot on there. Even though it's a standard frame my guess is they would fabricate it once they recieved the order. I had a custom Tommasini made up which took 8 weeks to arrive from the order being placed. At the end of the day 6 weeks is a drop in the ocean when I hope to enjoy this frame for many, many years.

Ramjm_2000

bingo...all custom

Jollydriver

Hi

I ordered a stock 58cm Dean Torreys from the specials page, and it arrived within a week. Granted, I only bought the frame, but I had a good experience (BTW, it was also a S&S coupled frame). I was on the verge of pulling the trigger on a DeSalvo frame, but I got the Dean for less than half of what a coupled DeSalvo would have cost me.

I then made the mistake of calling John at Dean, and asked them about the other 58cm Dean Torreys on their specials page; to which he replied 'You mean the one with the modular drop-outs?' No sooner than you can you say "Single speed cross bike with a fixed option on the flip-flop hub for perfecting my spin" and that frame was ordered as well. After all, I had been missing a fixed bike from my quiver for almost a year, and I happen to have the most tolerent better half in the world (remember, I had the green light for a DeSalvo frame...so for that price I got a S&S coupled Dean frame and a single speed Dean frame). That frame also arrived in about a week, and I am still in the process of collecting parts for the final build.

Regarding the frames...they are beautifully welded, and the coupled bike rides great. I expect the single speed to ride just as nice, since my bikes are basically twins.

I have nothing but positive comments about the guys at Dean, and John is great to talk to on the phone. Having stated that, I bought two stock geometry frames they were blowing out. If you are interested in a Dean, and find a bike geometry that fits you on the specials part of the website, then you can make out like a bandit.