My new bike
 

Picked her up a couple weeks ago in Winthrop, Washington handmade by Doug Curtiss.

Frame - Custom Geometry True Temper S3 Steel
EC90 SL Carbon Road Fork
Components - Campy Centaur 10sp - Compact Double Crank and 13-29 Cassette
Wheelset - Reynolds Solitude
Tires - Michelin Pro3 Race
Ritchey Pro Logic II Road bar

Weighed in at 17.75lbs without pedals



http://i914.photobucket.com/albums/a...CurtloLeft.jpg

http://i914.photobucket.com/albums/a...urtloRight.jpg

http://i914.photobucket.com/albums/a...AngleRight.jpg

No one on BF believes you... there is no photo :)

Looks nice!
For me I would take of decals on the wheels though but that is just me.

That's a thing of beauty.

Very nice. :thumb:
What was the process like dealing with Curtlo?

Inexpensive I bet? :p

That's why they have both chocolate and vanilla. I usually hate stickers on rims but I think this bike would look too stark without them. I'm thinking the wheel stickers are what makes the bike.

Nice bike, it looks fast just sitting there. I'll bet at 22 mph the wheel stickers will look gray. Please allow me to be the first to say "flip the stem".:D

2nd BD's question about the process.
Did you go to Winthrop for a pre-build fitting?
I have heard nothing but good things about Doug's bikes, but a few comments about the prebuild communication.

Wow! Very nice. It does look fast>>>

Very nice looking ride. Hey, if you do take the decals off the wheels like KR32 suggested you'd have a great Ninja bike. ;)

I like the sticker that locates the presta valve. Sort of what you see on jet fighters.

Great build. It's nice to see a light-weight steel frame. I also like the Compact Double Crank and 13-29 gearing. And the gray & black combination is awesome.

Michael

My thoughts exactly - you don't need to give up on weight when you go steel.
Nice bike - looks like he did a real noce job on the finish. Did you have a frame saver rust protectorant applied?

Must be losing my "Grumpy" persona as I can't anything to fault the bike on. It looks fantastic and I even like the white bits on it(Must be slipping)

Glad to see you have left the steerer uncut as Bar height will be changing. With that stem you have plenty of options and I would suggest getting the bars lower- but that is up to you to find the right height.

My first road bike and I put the bars up to saddle height. It never felt really comfortable but that was down to too small a frame. Second bike and the shop put the bars 3" below the saddle. I had my doubts but they were right. Lowering the bars put the back into a long low stretched position and I only get back problems after 6 hours on the bike.

I know it may seem wrong- but try the bikes with the Stem flipped and raise it a bit with the spacers put below the stem. You may be as surprised as I was at how comfortable it can be.

Ride report required now so don't get it rusty.:eek::eek:

Heehee! FUNNY!

That's a loverly bike you have there, Stapfam. Good luck, be safe.

Great bike. I see Curtlo's on the street here in Seattle from time to time and the owners are always very happy with the bike and the process.

Is the flat black finish paint, or powder coat?

zoom zoom wow that's nice.

Going to try to answer all the questions in one fell swoop.

I started by asking 5 builders via email if they could build a steel bike at around 17-18lbs. I really wanted to use someone local (in the Northwest) and since I live in the Portland metro (Oregon) area that I had quite a few to choose from.

Doug impressed me the most and I liked the idea of going over the mountains to get my bike.

I didn't meet him prior to picking up the bike but he does have a pretty comprehensive form on his website that I filled out and sent to him to begin the process. We spoke on the phone about what kind of riding I do, bikes I have, what works what doesn't etc. I had photo's taken of myself on my ride at the time (now my rain bike) on a trainer. I had been fitted for this bike about 3 months after I bought it and had been riding it for a couple of years without pain or trouble. This was the template from which we started.

All the measurements taken were taken at three different times. These are the numbers that went on the form I sent to Doug.

I did some research online on Doug and everything I found about him said pretty much the same thing, great builder, great prices, well made bikes, doesn't communicate real well.

I was not in a hurry and am pretty laid back so I decided to place an order with him.

Doug builds around 100 bikes/frames a year. He lives where he does because he values time with his family and in the outdoors. When he is on the phone for a half an hour that is a half and hour that he is not making frames. Making frames is how he makes his living. He answers emails fairly promptly but his answers are generally short and to the point.

I got the drawing about 7 weeks after placing the order. It was mid October and I approved the drawing and told Doug to delay building it until the late spring of the next year as I didn't want to go over the mountains in the winter.

The other delay was my issue as I had designed the graphics and decided to have it painted in Portland. Doug sent me the frame and I took it to Class Act Powdercoat to have Leeanne and Del work their magic. The base coat is a matte black powdercoat. The graphics were painted using digital stencils and a final wet matte coat was applied after the graphics were dry. I have not applied a rust saver but will look into it.

I picked up the bike several weeks ago. I spent no more than and hour with Doug as the only adjustment he had to make was the seat height.

I found the whole experience to be a really good one. Doug is a low key affable guy who I enjoyed working with. My only critique would be that he could learn how to set up a "out of office" reply for his email.

Would I do it again? I WILL do it again no question.

Thanks for all the replies.

Ride Safe

I don't understand why anyone would want to live in the North Cascades.

http://i42.tinypic.com/2ile9a8.jpg

Why doesn't he move down to the city, pay Seattle real estate prices for his shop, and dodge cars on the road like the rest of us?

That is a great looking bike. The sweeping seat stays remind me of my Litespeed and the wee bit longer chainstays remind me of my Lemond. I'll bet it rides like a dream.

Looks very nice although as a re-entry OF, I still am not used to looking at these compact frames. Top tubes still need to be level to the ground to look "normal" to me.

great looking ride

That would be a terrible place to live :innocent: Nice looking bike.

Just under $3,000.