Parlee - great company visit

[indian-17]

I have ridden my Parlee Z5 SLi with Di2 for 2 years and love it. It's a much better bike than I am a rider, but so are most bikes. I visited with them last month and got a free tour from Derek and Ian. They spent quite a long time with me walking me through the entire company and showing me every aspect of their build and paint process. Spoke to Bob Parlee and his wife and met with their sales manager. Walked out with a free t-shirt and a renewed enthusiasm for the bike industry. Shawn :)

[tiretrax]

Nice. It's great to see a bike factory. I had a great tour from Kent Eriksen a few years ago when I was at the LBS next door. He spent a pretty good amount of time talking with me even though I wasn't a customer.

[Charles M]

BIG dif between Parlee and "the bike industry" in general terms, but yeah. That place and those people are top notch.

[oldpotatoe]

I have ridden my Parlee Z5 SLi with Di2 for 2 years and love it. It's a much better bike than I am a rider, but so are most bikes. I visited with them last month and got a free tour from Derek and Ian. They spent quite a long time with me walking me through the entire company and showing me every aspect of their build and paint process. Spoke to Bob Parlee and his wife and met with their sales manager. Walked out with a free t-shirt and a renewed enthusiasm for the bike industry. Shawn :)

Trundle on over to Taiwan and take a tour of Giant to contrast and compare. Oh, wait a minute.

These smaller, personalized operations are great fun to tour. Had a nice one from Richard Schwinn at Waterford. Very 'intimate' even tho they do over a thousand frames a year.

[EDS]

Trundle on over to Taiwan and take a tour of Giant to contrast and compare. Oh, wait a minute.

These smaller, personalized operations are great fun to tour. Had a nice one from Richard Schwinn at Waterford. Very 'intimate' even tho they do over a thousand frames a year.

In many respects, it was Schwinn that helped transform Giant into a global bike brand of its own.

I am in lust with the new Parlee Altum.

[Likes2ridefar]

In many respects, it was Schwinn that helped transform Giant into a global bike brand of its own.

I am in lust with the new Parlee Altum.

altum is niceee! my friend won mt washington on it right before they announced it.

I have the ESX which is somewhat similar although heavier and more aero and not as stiff.

my friend gets all his bikes for free over the years racing pro and says the Parlee is one of the very few he will not get rid of after the season because it's the best riding bike he's had the pleasure of riding.

here's his...sorry i forgot about the photo edit i did. i wasnt sure if they wanted the name released when i sent a few photos to some folk:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v83/Spookykinkajou/for%20sale/2014-08-19%2023.43.54_zpswz7ancgp.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Spookykinkajou/media/for%20sale/2014-08-19%2023.43.54_zpswz7ancgp.jpg.html)

and here's mine:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v83/Spookykinkajou/Litchfield%20Ride/20140913_120049_zpstqpdrhb7.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Spookykinkajou/media/Litchfield%20Ride/20140913_120049_zpstqpdrhb7.jpg.html)

[c-record]

Probably one of the best black/yellow bikes I've seen. Sweet.

[PaMtbRider]

I had a similar experience last week at Independent Fabrication. They gave us a nice, in depth tour of the shop. Everyone was very open with answering questions and explaining their build process. I would consider a Parlee or I.F. for a future bike.

[EDS]

altum is niceee! my friend won mt washington on it right before they announced it.

I have the ESX which is somewhat similar although heavier and more aero and not as stiff.

my friend gets all his bikes for free over the years racing pro and says the Parlee is one of the very few he will not get rid of after the season because it's the best riding bike he's had the pleasure of riding.

here's his...sorry i forgot about the photo edit i did. i wasnt sure if they wanted the name released when i sent a few photos to some folk:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v83/Spookykinkajou/for%20sale/2014-08-19%2023.43.54_zpswz7ancgp.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Spookykinkajou/media/for%20sale/2014-08-19%2023.43.54_zpswz7ancgp.jpg.html)

and here's mine:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v83/Spookykinkajou/Litchfield%20Ride/20140913_120049_zpstqpdrhb7.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Spookykinkajou/media/Litchfield%20Ride/20140913_120049_zpstqpdrhb7.jpg.html)

Those are both beautiful.

[veloduffer]

Those are nice. I'm a Parlee fan with a Z5sli and a building up a minty Z5 that I bought on eBay for a ridiculously low price of $700. I sold my Z4 to a friend who loves it; he was riding a Giant carbon before.

The visit sounds cool. The only builder that I've visited was Richard Sachs *factory* when it was in Chester. ☺️

[johnniecakes]

I picked up my Dean in Boulder and got a nice tour and visit with John and Rich. It is a small space but it was very cool none the less. Not as magical as I expected, just a quality industrial environment with all the necessary jigs fixtures and measuring equipment

[pdmtong]

Does Parlee still have the carbon fiber mailbox they had in Peabody?
I met Bob the year he came out for Sea Otter. We talked at length about boat/windsurf hydrodynamics. Next day I am riding in and he is in the car and calls out to me. ···? He remembered my name? And, over the years, Tom Rodi has always been more than candid and helpful. Like no reason to pay for Z3 Z0 unless you need custom. My older Z3c was a masterpiece and my benchmark fit. Only sold it because I wanted to try a Moots and eventually have a 14# carbon electric.

[Johnnyg]

Come on up to Newmarket NH and get a tour of Indy Fab. See there operation in a historic mill building on the Lamprey River. Have dinner and a home made ice cream in the same building. Great bikes and the people that make them are special.

[tbar23]

I toured their shop a month or so ago. Very, very cool!