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Custom?
Help! I've been on one too (or is that one two) many rides with jrowedc and his pretty pretty Kalavinka. It has me jonesing for a custom of my own pretty badly. Please, talk me down from the ledge. Tell me there's a perfectly fine off-the-peg offering for half the price.
What I want is a track-like frame. I haven't decided if I want true track angles or if I'd like to relax them a little. In theory, I'd prefer a slightly less upright geometry and maybe slightly longer chainstays for better climbing. In practice, my old Fuji has a pretty true track geometry (pretty much the same as the current Track Pro, in fact) and I'm quite happy with it. In any event, I want to keep a tall bottom bracket which many non-track frames don't have. I want a drilled fork though I'm thinking brakeless bridge out back. I want bottle mounts, clearance for fat tires and fenders if I want, eyelets and braze-ons for a rack should I so desire, as well. I would like to be able to turn this thing into a light tourer if the mood strikes me. I think good guy Mike Flanigan could hook me up for $1100 (I want a custom color, mang). Does such a beast exist retail? Am I really just wanting to buy a bike built for me and me alone? Save me, BikeForums! |
I feel your pain BT. Back when that Jonnycycles thread was up, I just about lost my mind and came super close to throwing down a deposit immediately. But somehow, I talked myself out of it and think, in the end, i'm better off for it.
I don't understand why you want all that "stuff" on a bike that's tracky... I'm just a simple man, but if I were you, I would build up a Surly Crosscheck (or something similar... there's the occasional SMOKING deals on Nashbar brand touring frame... there's a great thread about it by regularguy in the touring forum) and make it fixed. The only thing the crosscheck lacks for your needs is the high BB and track geo. Then, I would get a straight-up track as all hell custom track frame, smooth as a youngin's backside, sans holes. Like I said. I feel your pain. The custom-lust is a slippery slope. Mind ye well and be careful ;) |
Originally Posted by bostontrevor
What I want is a track-like frame. I haven't decided if I want true track angles or if I'd like to relax them a little. In theory, I'd prefer a slightly less upright geometry and maybe slightly longer chainstays for better climbing. In practice, my old Fuji has a pretty true track geometry (pretty much the same as the current Track Pro, in fact) and I'm quite happy with it. In any event, I want to keep a tall bottom bracket which many non-track frames don't have.
I think good guy Mike Flanigan could hook me up for $1100 (I want a custom color, mang). My recommedation is find a frame with 73/74 degree angles. ~41cm chainstay length. ~6.0cm BB drop. And a fork with a 40mm rake. Many custom builders will have semi-custom frames in various ready to go sizes, with an upcharge for true custom. DeSalvo : Columbus Zona for $975 Rich Adams : Deda Tres for $800 |
Longer chainstays prevent the front wheel from lifting on in-the-saddle climbs. They also give you a more stable ride at speed.
Those other bikes look nice, but those prices approach what I'd be looking at if I went with an ANT, so it doesn't really help me with my dilemma. Call me plain jane, but personally I like the look of a bike that's ready for heavy duty. Eyelets and brazeons don't make you go slower and don't make the bike handle differently, so why not have them except for silly aesthetic fetishism? |
Longer chainstays do not prevent front end wobble during climbs. Proper weight distribution keeps your front wheel glued to the ground. I personally have never encountered front end lift while climbing, regardless of steepness.
If you are a tall rider and use a setback seatpost with your weight on the back wheel and use a short stem (<120mm) and grip the tops of the bars, yes you will do wheelies going up a climb. Just fix your position on the bike. From Technical Q&A with Lennard Zinn from Inside Triathlon Big guys on bikes Dear Lennard, As the specialist in bicycles for tall people, I wonder if you have any thoughts about how to tame an unruly front end on a 64cm frame? I am 6 foot 4 and ride a Colnago Master Olympic with a straight steel fork, an ITM Goccia quill. The quill diameter is 22.2mm, length is 120mm with 76 deg rise. When climbing, I like to sit up and ride with my hands on the tops of the bars. When I do, the front end gets squirrelly, as if the bike wants to pull a wheelie. No problems when I am riding on the hooks or in the drops. I've tried riding with my hands spread wide apart, but the front end still feels "light." What can I do to address this problem? David Dear David, Tall bikes under tall riders have a tendency to feel light on the front end, especially if the top tube is too short. It is a weight distribution problem, and I can explain why it happens more to taller riders. In general, road frames from a given company tend to have the same chainstay length for all sizes of a given model. Furthermore, the seat tube on the bigger frames is not only longer, but it is usually also tilted back at a shallower angle. This means that your butt is higher and further back over the rear wheel, effectively placing your center of gravity further back relative to the wheels than a shorter rider. Combine this with insufficient reach to the bars for the taller rider relative to the shorter one, and you have a bike that will pull wheelies when you climb holding onto the bar tops. With this bike, I suggest deeply bending your elbows and lowering your chest when climbing to put more weight on the bars. It's not ideal to be forced to do this, but you actually will work your glutes more as a benefit. You might also try the free frame fit calculator on my Web site: www.zinncycles.com, to see if you have a relatively short top tube and stem, in which case you could increase your stem length and help it a bit. Lowering your stem will also help, but that may not be ideal, since tall riders on stock frames generally have relatively more drop to the bars from the saddle than shorter riders. Lennard You may encounter problems with stability, balance and COG if you use a frame with a high BB and then proceed to dump weight on it through racks and bags. Doesn't Rivendell have a write-up on this? So, what's wrong with the Kogswell Model G then? I assume the low BB and slack seat angle? |
I was about to suggest the Model G as well. Sounds about right - I suppose the low BB as Jose suggested?
I may also throw Bob Jackson out there as well. Their off the peg Vigorelly is about $650 shipped from the UK and the last time I talked to them about two months ago, the wait was about 10 weeks. Not bad and you get choice of paint color, lug pinstriping and decal. Also: "Fully cast bottom bracket shell, crown & dropouts, also comes with 1 set of bottle fittings, drilled for front brake & takes 19-28mm tyres. Available with mudguard fittings for winter use at no extra cost if required." http://www.bobjacksoncycles.co.uk/pr...roducts_id=307 |
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I say get a frame (non custom) and have it painted your custom color. You can even get decals saying "Custom Built for Trevor" and no one except for you and the painter will ever know. After a while you may even fool yourself.
Now if you were rich....Independent Fabrications is a sweet local company offering Titanium... |
I know this is off topic but what is the point of the curved chain stays on some of the bob jackson models ( http://www.bobjacksoncycles.co.uk/pr...products_id=95 ) ? I like them no matter what the purpose.
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Curved chain stays are old school stylin' from Hetchins.
See this discussion on the frame builders forum. Johnny Coast showed me one his showpiece frames in his studio which had those kind of curvy stays. It looked real pretty. But, from my understanding, they are flexy. Which is ok, if you understand what you are going after in frame design. But, not ok if you want a stiff track frame. Edit: Also, David Kirk does some nice work with curved seat stays: |
If you are drowning in a sea of bike lust, please allow me to hand you a 100lb anchor. :D Sorry.
The new Cycling Plus magazine has an article about three off the shelf fixed bikes sold in the UK. The new Fuji is one of them, an On One "IL pompino" and a Setavento custom Ti bike. Just thought you might like it. Some good information in it. Have you talked to Circle A? I think you can get what you want very reasonably, but I would invest in paint from another source. |
I'd forgotten about the Vigorelli. That should give me just about everthing I want for a not-too-bad price. Part of me is simply in love with the idea of a bike crafted just for me, it's pure luxury. A repaint won't give me that same feeling. I also like the idea that I can just roll down to Holliston one day and talk things over with the guy or swing by and pick it up myself. It's not entirely rational.
And frankly, I have no doubt that Mike can build as good a bike as anyone at IF. I mean he was their welder and painter back in the day. Ti? I guess it's probably nice, but I don't really yearn for it. Paint and a round of Frame Saver is all it needs. This would be a nice day ride, I'd keep the beater for crappy weather. I may have a life choice coming up in the next few days that will help inform this decision. |
You're right custom bikes are terrible.
I got Thylacine to build me a custom road bike and it pisses me off how amazing it is. I can't get over how comfortable it is and how I made no compromises. what pisses me off is that now I can't go back to stock and now I want a custom fix-gear too. "Custom bikes: so awesome you'll want to off yourself" jeff |
That cracks me up, but it's so true. My first custom bike has only convinced me that I need another custom bike, but it will be a road bike.
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dude got with a Indy Fabrie....sick bike!
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Jose, I was just going to post about kirk as well. If I ever get a custom, I'm getting one from him... Unbelievable.
http://www.kirkframeworks.com/Strong%20400.jpg http://www.kirkframeworks.com/Weaver%20400.jpg http://www.kirkframeworks.com/Williams%20400.jpg Sadly, it's probably like $2500, but man... SO hot. -s |
those curved chainstays are amazing. Those kirks are beautiful. I've always thought Vanillas were creame of the crop and still do, but since getting into fixed, I've been steering more towards somthing like jonnycycles or even a Mercian. I need a job that pays more...
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Idunno. I think the work that goes into that kind of ornate stuff is amazing. I think Hetchins are just astounding. I just don't think I want to ride something like that.
It's like living in a baroque villa, way too much going on. I'm a more subdued person. If I want flash, it's going to be accents, like a pearlescent paint job or nervex-style lugs. |
Wow, I just checked out the KIRK website, those are some beautiful bikes.
Does weight make a difference with seatstays like that? I don't weigh that much so would it affect me as much as someone that's 175? Or is it completely impractical for actually velo racing? |
Originally Posted by wangster
Wow, I just checked out the KIRK website, those are some beautiful bikes.
Does weight make a difference with seatstays like that? I don't weigh that much so would it affect me as much as someone that's 175? Or is it completely impractical for actually velo racing? Theres lots of other builders that make pretty, performance designed machines like http://rexcycles.com/ and http://www.rocklobstercycles.com/ and http://www.davidsonbicycles.com/html/home.shtml and what about http://donwalkercycles.com/ , theres plennty of builders who make supernice rigs. Walt |
Kirk does build fix -- the seat cluster below is from a fixed frame he built.
http://www.kirkframeworks.com/Strong%20400.jpg |
I love that image... Those lugs are the most beautiful I've seen, don't see those kind around. I'm loving this thread because I'm discovering builders I've never even heard of before, a great eye opener. Now I just need to sell a few organs to pay for a frame... kidney anyone?
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If you want to see nice lugs, try going here http://www.bikelugs.com/pacentigallery/index.html where there is a whole page setup of nothing but framebuilders and lugshots
Try going here http://vintagecyclestudios.com/ for some of the best lugs and paintjobs and go here http://www.cwo.com/~lunarlab/1800pic.htm and here http://www.cwo.com/~lunarlab/3200pic.htm for some kickbutt lugwrk. The carving is nice, but my fave is the simple, clean lines of this http://spectrum-cycles.com/53.htm |
You know, the relevancy of the term 'bike pr0n' doesn't really sink in until someone points to a site with 'nice lugs' and you proceed to spend thirty minutes at work wishing you had a bike with lugs that nice.
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New site.... Lugs and Jugs... or should it be the other way around. In the words of Homer... mmmmm, luuuuugs...
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Mmmm... I was so close to getting arrowpoint lugs on my custom Bob Jackson that's being built but at the last minute I opted for fillet brazing. I'd like to recommend Jackson as an option as well. Don't know how it works out for you in the US but they have been great to work with and accomodated everything I wanted for what is still a ridiculously reasonable price. Their off-the-peg frames are a great deal too and there are still possibilities for some light customisation.
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http://img392.imageshack.us/img392/9416/dscf12891zg.jpg
http://img392.imageshack.us/img392/773/dscf12860ou.jpg http://img392.imageshack.us/img392/5558/dscf12876jh.jpg http://img392.imageshack.us/img392/4002/dscf12889sm.jpg these pictures just came through tonight from japan - they're not great, but i'm certainly drooling, cos i think the frame will be a spectacular ride. can't get too much more custom than having your name engraved in the seat cluster! i peeped some images of ceya's RAP as well - he's got a gorgeous midnight blue / almost black paint job. looks spectacular. |
This is definitely a drool thread. Yeah, I have had a Kirk road frame, and it was absolutely gorgeous. While Sacha at Vanilla does all kinds of innovative stuff and has a really high bling factor, Dave Kirk just does fabulous classic frames -- think of Richard Sachs or any major frame of the 70's or 80's and you've got Dave Kirk, just he does them as well or better. Dave used to do the steel frame building for Serotta.
As for Spectrum, their classic look is fabulous and they have an attention to personal fitting and detail work on their steel frames in particular that's really amazing. If you want cable runs internal to your frame tubes, or custom rack mounts and racks, or extra mounts for lights or whatever, Spectrum is the place to go. Yet they also make probably the nicest pure track steel frames available -- they've done it for years and have it dialed in perfectly. Spectrum and Dave Kirk have two of the nicest frames on the market (you could add Richard Sachs, but that's a 3-year wait), but their styles are quite different. It's just a matter of taste. Can't recommend either one highly enough. And you'll learn more than you ever thought possible about what a frame is really about. |
Ok, I've entered Phase I negotiations (I believe Phase II involves convincing the wife that this is really a good idea).
After writing a very lengthy email explaining all what I want and how I plan to use it, Mike basically mailed me back and said, hey, good to hear from you, sounds like you want a Light Roadster. All well and good except it turns out that that damn Mike is the same size as yours truly. Not only that, but he's just today put his used LR up for sale. I'm not sure whether I should move forward with a brand new frame or buy his used complete. Here's the breakdown: Pros:
Cons:
So, what would you do in my place? |
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