OneTinSloth

there's always thylacine cycles out of australia. and the owner is on here...

*points at Thylacine*

Bryan T

Sorry you had to rule out the IF.
I'm 6'8" and commute on a '00 62cm Club Racer - outstanding ride.

My .02

stork

Well just started building this today and what a beauty CHeck out www.gvhbikes.com didnt order this thru them but a sure will my next one.

Dannihilator

I will have to say an IF.

brunning

many good options on this thread. as a serotta owner, i would recommend them highly. my csi is one of the most comfortable, nimble and all-around excellent bikes i've ever ridden, let alone owned.

IF makes some nice looking frames and i've seen a couple of IF fixies around nyc that make me foam at the mouth, but their road frames have really wonky stock geometry with long top tubes and very short head tubes that look like they would lead to a weird ride. less so on the compact geometry models. they'll supposedly build you a bike to whatever specs you want, so if you know your desired numbers, IF would be a nice builder.

for what it's worth... i do recall a story (posted on the serotta forum, i believe) of someone who had real trouble with IF. he ordered a bike and the chainstays were made out of a steel different from what was spec'd on their site and different from what he wanted and they refused to take the frame back. i don't know what the outcome was, but it seemed like one of those epic tales.

sevens are sweet bikes, no doubt. ben serotta told me once that they were the competition he was most worried about (which means something, coming from him) - kind of the younger, hipper custom ti builder that serotta wished they were. i see way more sevens on the road than serottas, so i'd say seven won that one. i've ridden two or three sevens, all ti, all lovely. i don't know anything about their steel offerings.

i will say that serotta knows steel like no one else.

waterford, vanilla, sachs, spectrum, land shark, dave kirk (whos non-serotta work i've never seen in person, but his incredibly insightful and level-headed internet posts on the serotta forum lead me to believe he's got his stuff together) and lots of others all do great work. it's really hard to go wrong with any of these builders.

take a look at chris zanotti cycles - a newcomer who does absolutely top notch work and works with the latest and greatest steels and other materials.

Thylacine

Personally, the only way I see Seven as being 'hipper' than Serotta is in economic terms, in terms of the way they have streamlined the whole production process of building and ordering a custom bike. There's nothing hip about Seven in my eyes - they're just another lauded little-big custom manufacturer - very corporate and bland in my eyes. IF isn't much better. Sure, they have 'funky' graphics with that psuedo high-roller prankster look going on, but how have they progressed over and above what Fat City was doing?

I know I'm biased considering I run the worlds smallest bike company, but really, there's so many great builders out there that are amazing and either aren't good at promoting themselves or chose not to because of modesty or whatever ( unlike me *laugh* ). Sacha White of Vanilla does great work. Brian Caulfield at Kavik bikes does the best Aluminium and Scandium you'll ever see, and Don Ferris of Anvil bikes is a true adventurer in steel. Forget the big names - they're boring and don't need your cash.

Yay for the little guys!

LowCel 

I believe it is safe to say that in the end he was very happy with *both* of his IF's.Here is a link to the bikes.

redfox

I vote for the waterford or the IF.Both beutiful and well built bikes

lotek 

Ritalin,

As a Serotta owner, I too am very biased. One thing that has continuously impressed
me is Serotta's customer service. Ben and Co. are very concerned that you be
100% happy with your ride.
In your price range stock prices are for a CIII (no lugs) $1495 without fork.
Fierte (stock sizes only) $1120 with Kestrel fork (no other fork options available).
CSI (the biggie of the group) is $2195 without fork (but fully lugged).
CXII (Tri bike?) is $1395 without fork

I'm very impressed with Dave Kirk's work, he is totally custom. He was one of the
chief R&D guys at Serotta, designed the H'ors Catagorie, and the ST seat stays.
Check his work out at:
https://www.kirkframeworks.com/

IF is also very nice as is Seven.
Vanilla, Moon, and Anvil are really nice. If I were going to buy new frame from
small builder it would be either Kirk or Ferris (anvil).

Just my .02 worth

Marty

don d.

Just to stir the pot , if I were going to buy a new steel frame, and coincidentally I just did, I would buy one from one of the good British companies like Bob Jackson or Mercian. IMHO, many American builders are way overpriced, by maybe 50-100%. And you will only have to experience the quality of service you get from the British companies once to keep you coming back for more. I paid $600.00 delivered for a new, 631 steel frame from Bob Jackson. Admittedly this tubing is not the high zoot, ultra light, super duper GET that is trying to compete with the latest Zirconium enhanced aluminum tubing used by the lightest of the moment frame, but it will be a strong, servicable frame with a solid ride suited to the purpose I hope to use it for.

Website photo of my new frame. Mine will be in Light Royal Blue enamel with white decals and no pinstriping.

Markedoc

I love the Anvils and the Sachs ... incidentally, the wait for a Sachs is now about 30 months ...

Ritalin

I talked to Dave Kirk and decided he's a cool guy, nice looking bikes... good price and quick turn around. I think he's the man that's going to build my bike.

Thanks for the help guys!

brunning

excellent choice. you won't be disappointed, i'm sure.

NealH

I agree - Dave Kirk is an excellent choice. His workmanship is beyond reproach.

VinMan

Love my custom Serotta - Colorado III built to fit my hand amputation and has an awesome Garnet-fade-to-Gold paint scheme to match my FSU school colors. Picture the school/ team of your choice on your bike - OOOHH BABY!!!

Blastinbob

Yes, a most excellent choice. Dave is a super nice guy and very easy to work with . The hardest part is making paint choices , the skies the limit .

My Kirk should be here in the next few days , I'll post a pic when it arrives .

Blastinbob

.


Here's my new Kirk

brunning

lovely... it's nice to see classic craftmanship and meticulous detail (man.. that BB!) applied to a a rather contemporary looking frame (filet brazing, sloping TT and such).

what's the JB decal on the chainstay about?

Blastinbob

what's the JB decal on the chainstay about?[/QUOTE]


JB, aka Joe Bell, is the painter that Dave Kirk uses . He's top notch . Here is a link to Joe Bell


Bob