Serotta Duetti Pro’s Closest

[d_douglas]

those are handsome looking bikes. Hilltopper, yours looks awesome!

I know that once I try eTap, I will be hooked, so I stick with mechanical shifting . Ha ha!

Actually, my heart is in using Campy and I think EPS is overbuilt and way behind the other two. That is the real reason I would still use cable shifting.

[Web1111a]

Originally Posted by Hilltopperny

I have never ridden a Love#3 or Gaulzetti, but have had a couple of Aluminum Zancs. The CX/Gravel bike was smooth riding while the other was a stiff riding road frame. The Serotta rides more like the CX/gravel Zanc.

Ben designed the bike with the highest end aluminum Giant produces and as stated here the seed was planted by FTW. The Serotta bikes I had rode with efficiency while retaining a very pleasant ride quality. They were great all around bikes for enthusiasts IMHO and these Duetti bikes have that ride quality.

The paint is nice as is the frame and fork. I think the idea was to get the name out again and show what can be done with aluminum these days. These were produced for a UK distributor who didn't fulfill their order. I had seen a couple out in the wild over the past couple years and folks always seemed very happy with them.

I can't think of a better quality frameset out there for two to three times as much as these are/were. It's not the fastest, lightest or best looking bike out there, but it is very much a high end finished frameset that has very good proportions to build up!

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Whom is FTW? Did I miss something earlier in the thread?

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by Web1111a

Whom is FTW? Did I miss something earlier in the thread?

Frank the Welder

https://www.frankthewelder.com/

[TrackSmart]

Originally Posted by Hilltopperny

I took mine out yesterday! This bike rides like a Serotta. It's smooth, comfortable and performs well. It was/is a steal if you can find one that fits and don't want/need internal cable routing. The PF30 with wheels manufacturing bb is silent. AXS wireless works well and prices have gotten pretty reasonable. It also has hidden fender mounts for all weather riding!

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Beautiful build! I definitely looked at your build posts before pulling the trigger on the frameset. Thanks for sharing those previous posts and these photos.
Plus, I appreciate your ride impressions.

[Blown Reek]

Originally Posted by Hilltopperny

Those hoses/cables are the longest I've ever seen.

[Hilltopperny]

Originally Posted by Blown Reek

Those hoses/cables are the longest I've ever seen.

I haven't trimmed them yet! They are going on an incoming frameset, so I left them as they came until the new one gets here.

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[Blown Reek]

Originally Posted by Hilltopperny

I haven't trimmed them yet! They are going on an incoming frameset, so I left them as they came until the new one gets here.

Explanation accepted. Carry on, then.

[cornelldewitt]

This bicycle is correct.

Originally Posted by Hilltopperny

I took mine out yesterday! This bike rides like a Serotta. It's smooth, comfortable and performs well. It was/is a steal if you can find one that fits and don't want/need internal cable routing. The PF30 with wheels manufacturing bb is silent. AXS wireless works well and prices have gotten pretty reasonable. It also has hidden fender mounts for all weather riding!

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[Hilltopperny]

I fit a labeled 30mm on a 21 I'd rim and it had decent clearance. They likely measured 32mm or very close to it. I am going to go throw some 32 labeled tires on some winter wheels and see if I am comfortable with the clearance.

I wonder if frame size will determine more or less clearance? I was told by the original owner who never built mine up that it was a MM/51 which is slightly small for me. It was only $375 shipped when they were twice that from Serotta at the time. When it arrived it my hand measurement of the head tube was larger than the MM, but slightly different from the ML.

I ended up ordering the last MM/51 when they dropped to $250, but I had to pay NYS and shipping, so it came out to like $325 when all said and done. This confirmed my built up Duetti is a 52 with a 54ish top tube which works well for me!



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[Clean39T]

Slowly pulling this one together but am quite happy with the accent color tie-ins.. will be finishing it off with Force AXS wide from here.

The 30mm tires seem to have a ton of room - 32mm should fit fine, if not slightly larger.

Minor niggle - the rear wheel is a little rough slotting in to the frame - like the channel on the drive-side is a little too tight for a standard axle.. I'll have to dremel the inside of the hanger a bit I think.


Kind of fun that I no longer have to cut steerer tubes

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[weisan]

Hey look at that!

Clean pal and I rode the same size bike.

He's 6'3" and I am 5'8".

Ben is a genius when it comes to designing a bike that can fit both ends of the spectrum.

[d_douglas]

I wish that I had nabbed a 58cm when these were dirt cheap. I thought they were a bit goofy looking, but in the end, Serotta makes great riding bikes. Its been a decade since I sold mine

[TrackSmart]

Originally Posted by d_douglas

I wish that I had nabbed a 58cm when these were dirt cheap. I thought they were a bit goofy looking, but in the end, Serotta makes great riding bikes. Its been a decade since I sold mine

Definitely a nice riding machine. I'm glad I jumped on the opportunity to buy one of the last ones in my size (gently used and for half of the already dramatically reduced price).

I'm curious which part you found goofy looking. Round tubes, minimalist branding, subtle paint job (aside for the small orange accents). They don't look like classic skinny-tubed Serottas of old with fully level top tubes, but they look more like "normal bicycles" than most modern aero carbon stuff (i.e., less goofy in my mind). But we all have our own aesthetic opinions on bikes.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[d_douglas]

The orange accents and weird non-serotta branding is what irks me. If its a Serotta, make it known - it doesnt have to look like the old logo (maybe it cannot?) but the wispy signature annoys me as a neophyte graphic designer

[TrackSmart]

Originally Posted by d_douglas

The orange accents and weird non-serotta branding is what irks me. If its a Serotta, make it known - it doesnt have to look like the old logo (maybe it cannot?) but the wispy signature annoys me as a neophyte graphic designer

Yeah, you are missing some of the story behind these bikes that explain the "weird non-serotta branding" you mention.

There are some posts in this thread that explain:
1) Why he couldn't put Serotta in big letters on these bikes when they were produced, and
2) Why he was able to add the big "Serotta" branding back to these frames later, but with decals (which I removed).

The story as I understand it: Ben left (was removed?) as an executive at the Serotta company. He only owned a portion of the company at this point, so it was not under his control. The brand did poorly without him and he was able to buy it back a few years later. These bikes were made in the interim. They represented his return to the bike industry under the "Serotta Design Studios" brand. I'm guessing that he was already pushing his luck with using his own name, even in a subtle fashion. There was no way he was going to be able to use the original and iconic SEROTTA lettering on the downtubes without attracting a lawsuit. So, instead of "Serotta" in big letters, the names of the bikes were used (Duetti and AmodoMio).

After he bought the Serotta brand (and owned it again), he still had a bunch of these frames in his inventory. He wanted them to be recognized as Serottas, so added decals after-the-fact. I thought the added downtube decals ("SEROTTA" in big letters) were okay. By contrast, the big orange "S" slapped over the headbadge was not a good look -- especially since you could see the "D" through the sticker.
- See here for an image of the frame with the added decals: https://forums.thepaceline.net/showp...&postcount=128
- This one has slightly different decals (silver/gold on the headtube): https://serotta.com/clearance-frames

Certainly, there is some history that goes with the traditional SEROTTA logo on the downtube, made in a font that would be easy to read as bikes zipped by at racer speeds. Did the after-the-fact decals mimic that look sufficiently well? I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on the decals - and if you would have kept them or not.