Originally Posted by
DaveSSS
I've owned older kg381 and kg461 frames and two 585 models. They are very well made. I tried buying the newer 785 Huez or 785 Huez RS, but couldn't get a deal that I was happy with. The 785 is only sold as a complete bike with shimano, so it's not cost effective to buy the bike, strip it and sell the parts. The RS is sold as a frame only and retails for around $4,000. I'm too old to need a frame priced that high, but 13-14 years ago, I did pay $3,000 for a special edition 585 frame.
My latest acquisition is a Cinelli superstar disc frame for just over $1000 from nashbar. It's got an excellent paint job and weighs about the same as a 585 or the standard 785. It will build up to be a well priced complete bike.
The only bare frame I would recommend over the Look is the Time. The construction technique they use includes the use of Kevlar making the tearing of carbon fiber virtually impossible. However, very often you have to use fatter than normal tires on the Time (28's) to soften the ride since the frames are so damn ridged. But with these tires the bike is nearly perfect. And you never have to worry about any carbon fiber failures.