Things to consider when going custom?
 

Ok, so I'm going forward with a custom full Ti bike. Going with Ultegra group, probably Bonty or Easton wheels, Deda Newton bars, R700 crank.

The builder is a really cool guy and has been very informative, but one big thing, he's in another state, so all measurements will be made by me.

For those of you who've gone through a custom process, what are some big things you were glad you mentioned to the builder and what are some things you thought afterwards, dang, I wish that I had said that before the bike was finished?

Since you'll be doing it yourself and accuracy is ultra critical, I would photograph the measurements as they relate to your body. It will help eliminate any misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the instructions.

55/Rad

wtex--the first thing to consider when going custom is whether you need to at all. The consensus seems to be that 90% of us can fit just fine on a stock frame, and the "custom" geometry that we'd end up with looks an awful lot like an off-the-shelf frame.

If you want to spend the $$$$, that's fine, but you might not need to. Just something to think about--try competitive cyclist's fit calculator, etc. and see where you end up. You might just be able to buy a stock Litespeed/Merlin/etc. and save a few bucks.

Dude, I would pay an expert to measure me on a fit-cycle or some such. Serotta and Seven dealers usually have one of these and people who know how to use them.

Also, watch out for little things - location of braze-on's, bosses, eyelets, if you want a pump peg, etc. A buddy of mine ordered a custom IF and he was bummed that they put a pump peg on...

Man, this is some good advice. I live in Lubbock so the fit cycles are not handy, I would if I could . . .

I'm going custom because it's only like $200 more. That and I have long arms/torso and need a longer TT/cockpit, relative to everything else.

Like 55/Rad stated...........include digital photos of how you took the measure so they can say if you did it right. Good luck and are you going naked Ti or painted?

Make sure you understand how to take proper measurements and then have someone you trust at your LBS check over it all before you send it in.

I'm guessing your going to pay $5,000+ for this steed? I think for that kind of money, I'd fly down to the builder and have him fit me.

Naked Ti, it's a DeSalvo, so I'm tempted to just copy the paint scheme Mike's got on his website (man, it is sweet), but besides being uncool of me to do that, if I had paint that looked that good, I'd go insane after the first scratch. Like, grind my teeth, I cannot believe I just scratched my beautiful bike insane. So naked Ti it is.

A good deal less, I'm going with Ultegra and mostly aluminum parts, no CF except for the fork. This is mainly because I think that with my inadequate wrenching skills, I'm less likely to crunch something Al than CF.

You'll be fine having a friend measure you. Pictures are a good idea. I agree with you on your choice of TI and carbon. My Moots is in the mail today should have it by Monday :) Not custom but thats ok for me.

Are you taking Monday off from work? I would and I'd immediately have the cycling garb on when I got out of bed. Heck, I think I'd go to sleep wearing my kit.

I am 'working from home' Monday since I have to sign for it fed ex :)

What are the options for having your measurements taken at the manufacturer's location? While I've heard great things about getting Serotta fittings done at the LBS, it just seems to make sense that with time (and distance) permitting, to go straight to the horse's mouth for a measurement.

For Serotta custom bikes, is it not possible to just have an appointment to show up at the manufacturer's base for measurements?

...

The IF order form includes:

"Do you want a pump peg? [Y] [N]"

I gotta tell ya....if you're going to go with an Ultegra group, you might want to give SRAM a hard look before buying anything. I hate to sound like a broken record from other threads, but you really can't beat the bang-for-the-buck factor. I got my groupset off of eBay for $589 shipped.

GT:
I've gone back and forth between Centaur and Ultegra, never really considered SRAM cause it seemed out of my range. I mainly settled on Ultegra because my 02 Klein is all Ultegra, which has been solid, and there would be some swappability between the Ult 9 on the Klein and the Ult 10 on the DeSalvo. The other big differentiator is I haven't had a chance to test the SRAM brifters, the Ultegras I have. So that put the Ultegra build over the top.

Man, now I just have to wait to get it, gonna be a long few months ; )

I would never let someone else fit me to a bike.

There are tons of different fits on a bike and if you spend enough time on one to know you want a custom Ti frame you should know how you want a bike to fit.

IE. I'm a little over 6' and im working on a custom track frame right now with a builder and I knew I wanted a race bike with a lot of saddle to bar drop so I went with a 54 st and a 55 TT.

IE if I should be put on a 58cm bike but I'm not a old man and i want a racier bike so I went with a 56.

I would send the builder specs from bikes you like and your riding now.

Rec:

You nailed it, Mike asks for current bike and favorite bike specs -- for me, that was 2 different bikes. I suspect that those specs, as well as pics of me on the current Klein, will allow Mike to get started, and he's going to be in touch, so the follow up should allow us to get it dialed in. It's been cool cause Mike seems to really, really like to make frames and build up bikes and he's steered me from some potential problem areas, i.e., there was a straight blade fork I'd been looking at and he noted they've been seeing a few of those fail. It's been fun doing this. I paid a bit more for the custom option, but have already learned quite a bit.

Whos building your bike Mike Desalvo?

Yeah im working with Joe from Promus Mootry right now because I couldnt afford desalvo. but im basically picking a choosing bits from bikes I like now, like angles from one bike, BB height and TT lengths from another bike. chainstay and HT lengths simply from what I think could be better from my other bikes.

Just saw your post above confirming desalvo. Mikes work is amazing the shop I work at is a desalvo dealer and ive had the chance to look at a few of his bikes up close and ride some of them. Including my employers cross bike.

http://www.blacksheepcycles.com/Phot...m/DSC00766.JPG

and this track bike currently weighing in at 9.5lbs with pedals.

http://www.blacksheepcycles.com/Phot...m/DSC00391.JPG

have you looked at his powder coat work its awesome and wont scratch very easily.

man, those are nice looking. I've hemmed and hawed over the powdercoat, but I'm really jonesing to get the bike, I know if I do scratch it, I'll go nuts, and it would put me over budget. Are that track bike's DeSalvo decals powdercoated? They look good.

yeah theyre powder coat, raw steel with powder coated decals, It's a really cool paint job.

Heres a better photo

http://www.blacksheepcycles.com/Phot...f_desalvo3.jpg

Well with Ti if you scratch it (which I doubt you will) you can just buff it out. Anyways im sure Mike will build you an awesome bike

I also had two bikes made by an out of state builder who didn't measure me. I had ridden my two previous bikes long enough to know exactly what I liked and hated about them. If you don't know what you want for a certain measurement TELL HIM, don't make up a number because you don't want to look bad. Let him tell you what he thinks.

In my case I have shorter legs and longer torso than most guys my height. My driving force behind a custom was longer top tube. If I were to specify a level top tube my measurements would be a 51cm ST (c-c) and 54.5cm TT, and that's with a 12cm stem.

I specified ST & TT length, ST & HT angles and left the rest up to him after telling him my height/weight and how the bike would be ridden - fast recreational and fun rides. He advised tubing, BB height, chainstay length, fork rake. He made a track bike for me also with stems for each.