** 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!

C'mon... finish the job. White bars, white Hudz.

I hate you and your bike.

Ok, not really, but I was first and it was fun to say.

The seatpost is really nice.

Nope. I did think about it though. Where do you stop? White cable housings? White seatpost? Besides, the stem has black, begs for more black in that area

It looked like the point was to carry the white from the head tube all the way forward. It looked great, right up until I noticed there was still a bit of black at that end.

Nice build!

you lucked out and got the 2012 version that [MENTION=138487]chaadster[/MENTION] has with the nicer graphics. It's identical to the 2013 model I got but the 2012 decals are more retro.

interesting comment about stiffness and your CAAD.

Enjoy!

Yeah, getting the MY12 was fortunate, because the 35th anniversary paint scheme is unique and awesome!

I'm glad you find the bike stiff, too, as I do. I didn't understand the comment about it being not stiff enough for racing either, but figured it was a carbon fiber thing, which I have no experience with. I have crit raced mine as well, and never felt the bike left me wanting. And at 220lbs and pretty strong and aggressive, the feel of flex is not unfamiliar, it just doesn't seem to exist here.

Anyway, I could go on about how much I love the fit, feel, and handling of mine, but instead I'll just wish you many happy miles of riding aboard this unique bike from one of American cycling's greats!

Too small for you.
Stem is hideous.

Looks great. Silver seatpost with silver components match nicely. But holy cow, I have a 33 inch inseam and your saddle is a good 4-5 inches higher than mine. With your large frame that looks like a saddle height for someone 6'6"

BTW, exactly what size is the large? On Bikewagon's website they have a 60cm, L and an XL listed in stock. On Breezer's geometry chart the sizes are listed as S, S/M, M, M/L and L. There is no XL (or 60cm).

Breezer Bikes - Bike Archive | 2013 | Venturi

How much seat post is left in the seat tube forchristsakes?

And so long...

I am still trying to figure out "articulate handling". The two definitions that I am aware of are "spoken clearly" and "having joints".

I wouldn't have said anything, but since you invited haters, I figure the mildly confused could slip in as well.

Stiff yet compliant and precise yet relaxed.
A little something for everyone.
What's not to like hehe...

on first impression I had the same thought, but based on the measurement given if he went 1 size up the top tube might have been too long. But based on the stem length he might have been able to go 1 size up.


but that aside the matching stem really compliments the built, I think a white seat post would have been a better match.

With repect to OnThePath, their pics didn't really capture the depth and pop of the blue, and frankly, I don't seem to tire of looking at these bikes ( ), so I'm posting a pic of mine from awhile back which I think is as true to the blue as I've captured in pics:

Below is essentially the same chart you linked to, but it's a little easier to view for comparison of sizes.



In regards to the comments about the long seat post, consider the following: the stem that came with the frameset is part of the design. The seat post I've chosen is zero offset. The next size larger would have had me way too stretched out. I've got the stem flipped up and am using all of the spacers that came with the frame, and my riding position is still very low. This setup is very comfortable for me. It's not a typical design for a frame, but it's very effective.

Think about this.. the frame was designed by one of the original mountain bikers. A seat post as long as your arm on a mountain bike is nothing unusual. Also, this past Sunday I was on a training ride with the racing club. Guy riding next to me mentions something about the long seat post on my bike. I pointed at the bike in front of us, the one with the CF frame and the integrated aero seat post. That seat post was at least as long mine. Nobody seems to think there's anything wrong with that.

+1 - I like it!

My bike with white tape & black hoods:



This is marketing for this bike when new:

Try riding riding a touring bike in the middle of a pack of agressive riders. Does it make sense to you now?

Enough..

Before I ordered the seat post I dummied up the frame with a white and a black seat post. It was a no-brainer, silver was the right choice.

I waited for a few days for the right lighting and it never happened, so my pics are a representation of the bike, not necessarily great pics.

Your bike looks great! My first choice would have been a version of silver colored rims, such as yours, but I couldn't find wheels configured that way for a price I wanted to pay. I love the way your bike looks, though eying that saddle makes my butt hurt (yes, I owned one).

I still think it's an attractive bike even though I'll never be flexible enough to ride one. I'm probably one of the few that really likes that paint job.

So I guess we can assume you built up a Breezer because your other bikes handled like touring bikes?
But you also desribed the Breezer's handling as "relatively relaxed" in your OP.
So you want relaxed handling while in the middle of a pack of aggressive riders?
Interesting...

My first thought, too small. I don't know if it's the camera angle but those 105 shifters look enormous. The blue is really nice tho! Proper headbadge too.