** Hate on my bike, hate on me, but PLEASE.. don't hate on each other. Thank You!

I learned of the Breezer Venturi through reading this forum. The first thing that caught my attention was the color. Blue. I LOVE blue. Then I started reading about the frame design and its ride characteristics. What I read described exactly what I want in a bike. Articulate handling, stiffness for power transfer, and a compliant ride. For the price offered by Bikewagon.com, it was a no brainer to me. I ordered the frame, and then proceeded to design a build based on it.

The Frame: The finish is stunning. This frame has as good of a paint job as I've ever seen, and it's better than most. The paint and graphic scheme belies the D-shaped tubing. The chainstays are asymmetrical. This frame was well thought out and well executed. It came with the long Breezer stem and the white steerer tube spacers. Seemingly as a bonus, the frame also included a complete Shimano bottom bracket bearing, already installed. There is tremendous value in purchasing this frame.

The Components: 105 complete groupset including pedals, BDop wheel kit, Zipp handlebars, Thompson Masterpiece seatpost, Selle Italia Nekkar saddle, Vittoria Pro Slick tires and Nashbar lighweight tubes.

The Build: The most challenging aspect of this build was the wheelset. I'd built wheels before and have regularly tuned and trued wheels. There was a degree of diffuculty with this kit. It came with no instructions! No worries. It was clear that the spoke pattern was to be radial in front and 2-cross in the rear. A picture would have been nice! Anyway, I referred to a wheel building book I have and also my shop manual. I completed the front wheel, had it trued and tensioned. It was straight and strong. However, the nipples were wrong. Oh, they worked just fine. But black nipples on unaccented black rims was too much black. I disassembled the wheel. See the pics for my solution to the aesthetic problem. Everything else went together like clockwork. It's so easy to work with quality components, especially when everything is new and clean.

The Fit: This frame, in the large size, fits me very well. I'm 5' 11" with a 34" inseam and 35" arms. It's a very comfortable fit for me. The position of the bars has me in a slightly more aggressive position than I'm used to, but it's a small price to pay for keeping my nose out of the wind.

The Ride: In a word, FUN! The frame feels stiff, and the bike just wants to go. It feels lighter than it actually is. Handling is precise, but relatively relaxed and predictable. It doesn't have the "twitchy" (still hate that word) feel that my CAAD 10 does. I do love my CAAD, but the Venturi gives me a more confident and secure feeling while cornering and descending. I'd read somewhere that this frame would not be stiff enough for racing. I can't agree with that at all. It may be the crank or the wheels, but the bike feels more stiff than my CAAD 10, and that is saying a lot. This frame is stiff to the point that I'd call the ride somewhat harsh. If that's the price to pay for extremely efficient power transfer, then I'll gladly take it.

So that's my review, my opinion of my Breezer build. Any quesitons, comments, or criticisms are welcome!