comments on Curtlo?

[rsl]

I'm hoping to order my first custom road bike in the next few months and am leaning towards a Curtlo because it seems to be the only custom I can get in my price range ($2200 tops). I've never seen one in person and am a bit leery about ordering one sight unseen because I don't find a flood of praise that Strong, Steelman, IF, or Serotta seem to get. It's not that people don't speak well of Curtlo, just that there's not a lot of info circulating about them.

I'd love to hear any and all information about Curtlo from owners or even people who have seen Curtlos. I'd also love to see lots of pictures.

thanks!

[cdmc]

Do a search over at roadbikereview, there are probably pictures of a dozen different bikes.

[scrooge]

I got one this summer and am quite pleased. You deal directly with Doug, the builder, and he's a pretty laid back but helpful guy in my opinion (I really didn't know what I was doing). It took longer than I expected, but that wasn't his fault. I wasn't actually waiting for the frame, but for the cranks and fork (who were ordered from someone else, but he got me a deal on them). The main criticism I hear is the powder coat, but I was pleased with mine (and Doug says he has his painter "trained" better now). If you're worried about that, I think he's pretty open with you having someone else do it. Personally, I think people would rave about more him if he charged an additional $500, but as it is my personal bias is that people figure that a $700 frame can't be that good. Of course, what do I know, this is the most expensive bike I've ever owned.

The scary part for me was finding a fitter I trust, since I didn't really feel comfortable going off the measurements of the bike I was riding then (since it didn't fit at all and I've never had a bike that fits..until now).

I'm free to answering more questions, though you can also do a search here or on the mtbreview site--I think there are a lot of people there who are pretty big fans.

By the way, here's a picture of my bike, though I've dailed it in a bit better since this picture(Sure, it looks goofy, but what bike this size doesn't? And it looks better in real life!)

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=10381&highlight=curtlo

Here's another one:
http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=5669&highlight=Curtlo

And another:
http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=1685&highlight=Curtlo


So Yeah, I say that if you need costum and you're on a budget, this is the way to go (I'm planning on getting a 29er with him when I save up my pennies, if that says anything)

[yeehawfactor]

buddy i work for has two. welds look nice, rides well, finish is fine. graphics are a bit retro, but in a 70's/80's kind of way, not an IF kind of way. he's been happy with them.