Originally Posted by
sstorkel
Which is why you should buy a mass-produced bike from your LBS and then have it professionally fit. You['ll get exactly the same results and spend a lot less money than you would for a custom frame!
Having built my first custom frame last year, I'll let you in on a little secret: it's no better than an LBS bike fitted with the same components! And it cost 2-3X as much, because I was buying stuff in such small quantities. I custom built my frame because I knew how to TIG weld and thought it would be a fun project. If I wanted the best-fitting bike at the best price, I'd buy from my LBS and schedule a professional fit...
As someone who has back issues and can't bend over the bike like most people, I'm going to have to disagree with you.......at least in
my situation.
Because of my bulging disc, I cannot bend at the waist, I have to bend at the hips in order to ride a road bike. My back has to stay somewhat arched when I ride. I needed a geometry that sits me up higher. When I went to get fitted, they measured me completely, watched how I pedaled on the fit bike for half and hour (to see if I pedal symmetrically), spoke with me regarding my spine position and talked to me about how I would be using the bike. They took into consideration my weight, muscle mass and bone structure.
I ended up having the frame completely custom for my needs. I didn't want to spend so much (NOBODY wants to spend a whole lot on a bike) but compared to riding a Specialized Dolce Elite that was "customized" (I lasted 10 minutes on that bike before pain showed up) and compared to the Giant OCR C3 (15 minutes), the geometry I ended up with on this custom bike has not given me any pain whatsoever.
I can now actually ride a road bike!
