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Old 09-16-13, 10:08 AM
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NoTrail
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Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Santa Clara, CA
Posts: 249

Bikes: Specialized Roubaix, Specialized Epic, Niner RLT 9 Steel, Cannondale RT2 Tandem

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I saw one of these at the NAHBS in Indy a few years back. It was beautiful.



So I decided to contact him about building a non-tandem road bike for me. My brother had just gone through a similar process getting a custom Kish Fabrications bike, so I kinda knew what to expect.

What I didn't know is that he basically wanted me to tell him the exact geometry that I wanted. As an avid mountain biker, I didn't know much about road geometry. I provided him with all the details I had been given from getting a custom bike fit a month prior. He eventually asked me if there was a road bike that I liked the ride of so he could just copy that geometry. I found this odd and off-putting.

I guess what I expected for the price was to utilize some of his expertise to build a perfect bike for me based on MY geometry. Lots of people can weld together a nice frame from nice tubes, give it a pretty finish, and bolt on great parts. But I wanted someone to help me get the perfect ride/fit for me.

In the end, I decided against going custom and tested as many road bikes as I could. I finally ended up with the Roubaix and have been very happy with my decision.

I'm not saying that Kent Eriksen doesn't build an excellent bike, but from my experience I would have liked something more 'custom' for the money.
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