are you a custom or production bike guy?

[fogrider]

I know there are guys here that are only into custom bike and some guys that think the big bike companies have the best and latest...which are you?

[Steve in SLO]

How do I answer this if I am a custom guy on a production budget?

[Dead Man]

How do I answer this if I only buy used/other ppls custom bikes?

[FlashUNC]

What if my answer is "I just like good bikes, how its made is less of a concern for me."

[thirdgenbird]

I know there are guys here that are only into custom bike and some guys that think the big bike companies have the best and latest...which are you?

I've never had a custom, but I also don't own big name bikes.

Current stable:
Tommasini
Yeti
Singular

I could be the only person in history that owns a singular and a yeti but doesn't own a mountain bike of any kind.

[jlwdm]

I need custom for fit - longer legs and shorter upper body.

I have three bikes - two customs made for me and one custom made for someone else that fits me.


Jeff

[Satellite]

How do I answer if I have a custom production bike?

My Colnago C50 is production C50 with a custom paint job to my design.

My travel VaMoots is stock geometry with custom Titanium etched decals and post S&S Couplers by Bilenky.

My VaMoots SL is just an amazing ride with its 6-4 Double Butted tubing that should be considered custom!

BTW: I voted production. Moots/Colnago (C50 traditional) makes so many stock sizes you really have to be a freak of nature to need custom from them.

[mhespenheide]

Production, but if I had the money to spare, I'd go custom. It's an interest, but it's not a high enough priority. For now I'll pore over geometry sheets and find something close enough in a production model.

[onsight512]

how do i answer this if i only buy used/other ppls custom bikes?

+1

[fogrider]

How do I answer this if I only buy used/other ppls custom bikes?

custom is custom. it's all about what you're interested in. new or used, what are you willing to put your had earned cash on?

[ofcounsel]

Production. I'm a pretty average guy height and length wise, and I'm no pro. So I have no need for anything custom. And far as steel bikes go, I prefer mine vintage.

But I do love to "customize" my production bikes. Custom, handbuilt wheels and what not.

[ldamelio]

Not mutually exclusive. For things that are central to my cycling and bikes I expect to keep permanently, I've gone custom (Spectrum Cx, RS road in the queue). For things I dabble in at a lower skill level (MTB), I'm OK with well-chosen off the shelf (Niner). For other things (road racing), off the shelf is good as the bike can be a) disposable in event of crash and b) have marginal gains technology that isn't necessarily fun for longer rides. If I could turn back my cycling clock, I'd start with all bespoke. However, an important consideration is that it takes a number of years of experience to know what you really like and need and to understand your fit. Easy to get a Frankenbike from a builder who doesn't hold the line and lets a misinformed client or crappy fitter dictate the build. And, as has already been said, 99% of us don't need custom for specific biomechanical needs. Mainstream manufacturers offer generally solid geometry (99% of the ProTour is on off-the shelf carbon geo these days.) The whole custom process (relationship with builder, perception of exclusivity, the anticipation inherent in the wait, etc.) is a large part of the value equation. Important to some, not so much to others.

[Bob Ross]

http://www.relatably.com/m/img/why-not-both-meme-gif/82733-why-not-both-meme-5LvD.jpeg

[fishbolish]

both ,guilty on bothcounts

[Hilltopperny]

I am guilty of both, but practically all my bikes were bought second hand :D

[chiasticon]

How do I answer this if I only buy used/other ppls custom bikes?same.

[OtayBW]

I know there are guys here that are only into custom bike and some guys that think the big bike companies have the best and latest...which are you?
Only? :help:

[AngryScientist]

i would say that the bulk majority of people on this forum dont fit into one of those boxes with no overlap. i've got a good mix of both production and custom bikes in rotation, and i like them all.

interestingly, i think production bikes are just getting better and better all the time. unless you've got some odd body geometry that really calls for custom sized frame, most people can find a suitable bike today off the peg, and be very happy with it. companies are realizing and capitalizing on the fact that many people dont want pure race bikes that run lots of bar drop and 23c tire max. almost every big company has a gravel bike or similar that is basically a road bike with more forgiving geometry and room for wider tires.

other bigger [small] companies are doing very well and offering great stuff. what do you consider seven or moots or waterford/gunnar - production or custom? the line is more blurred there, but woof are those guys turning out some great stuff!

i do personally stay away from the latest and greatest. for me and my riding, i have zero interest in disk brakes, electronic shifting, hydraulic braking or any bottom bracket standard but threaded; and yes - that philosophy does steer me away from the production side, which tends to favor the latest tech.

so yes, the answer for me is both, and a good time we live in right now to have as many choices as we do!

[MattTuck]

I own one of both... the only thing that I really have against larger manufacturers is their adoption and use of dubious bottom bracket standards. Also, their lust to sell an incremental unit through clever (maybe not the right word) marketing. As an example, 29er bikes were all the rage a few years ago, then 27.5 bikes came into vogue. I was in the bike shop the other day and now the standard du jour is 27.5 PLUS. I still have a 26 inch stump jumper and it is still fun to ride. I know this is shocking!

Reminds me of how stores and bars select beers to sell to customers. They generally try to have a product in each 'category', IPA, wheat beer, pilsner, etc.
What we have in the bike world, is a marketing driven effort to create a new category of bike every few years so that people feel the need to fill that spot in their stable. Gravel, disc road, adventure, aero, lightweight, etc.

All that being said, the big guys can still make good bikes.

[jr59]

i would say that the bulk majority of people on this forum dont fit into one of those boxes with no overlap. i've got a good mix of both production and custom bikes in rotation, and i like them all.

interestingly, i think production bikes are just getting better and better all the time. unless you've got some odd body geometry that really calls for custom sized frame, most people can find a suitable bike today off the peg, and be very happy with it. companies are realizing and capitalizing on the fact that many people dont want pure race bikes that run lots of bar drop and 23c tire max. almost every big company has a gravel bike or similar that is basically a road bike with more forgiving geometry and room for wider tires.

other bigger [small] companies are doing very well and offering great stuff. what do you consider seven or moots or waterford/gunnar - production or custom? the line is more blurred there, but woof are those guys turning out some great stuff!

i do personally stay away from the latest and greatest. for me and my riding, i have zero interest in disk brakes, electronic shifting, hydraulic braking or any bottom bracket standard but threaded; and yes - that philosophy does steer me away from the production side, which tends to favor the latest tech.

so yes, the answer for me is both, and a good time we live in right now to have as many choices as we do!


Agree with this. The lines on the edges are not really clear. A lot of good, fun stuff being built right now.

[carpediemracing]

I'm a custom fit person on a production (or below) budget. Short legs, long torso.

My two bikes are set up with (for example) the seat tube that is like the smallest bike and the top tube of the biggest bike of the whatever kickstarter built in GPS/etc company. 40 cm ST, 56.5 cm TT.

I was charged something like $650 and 750 for the frames alone, bought them a year apart. I paid more than that, I think $800 for the first, perhaps $850 for the second. I paid the shipping which was apparently $100 based on the stuff I found on the box, plus I think I added some, and I added some for the second. I bought at cost a fork for each bike (one through a bike shop contact, one through the builder who charged me his cost).

I'm considering going 1-2 cm longer in the top tube although that's a bit off in the future. Also trying to figure out how short of a head tube I can go (currently 9.5 cm with 2.1 cm tall external cups, 11.6 cm total, would like 8.6 cm total). I'd get the fork through the builder if I did this again.

If I can't get the shorter head tube set up then I'd need to buy another custom stem. I paid list from Steelman Bikes for an unpainted stem previously (I have just one). They cost about 1/3 as much as the whole frame and the ridiculous angle I need makes (-32, 14.5 cm) me prefer the shorter headtube solution (and then I can use a regular -17 stem, 12 cm).

[Lionel]

I definitely cannot answer this poll

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7631/27026258065_8e27331e36_h.jpg

[Ralph]

I build up all my bikes from parts I have, and new frames I have bought. But have no need for a custom frame design. I'm fairly normal in size, reach, leg length, etc. Just make sure you buy the correct frame design for it's intended use. IE....I wouldn't buy a CAAD 10 and complain how it isn't good for long distance touring, etc.

[guido]

I currently ride production but am learning to make my own...

[fuzzalow]

At this point in the way that I fit & position into a racing bike, it is custom only for me. Long 'n' low EuroPro very similar to the fit numbers run by Peter Sagan. There is almost no stock size available that'll work, with the only exception being the optional long'n'low stock sizing Gaulzetti offered a few years back.

I think the trending in stock sizes for how I require sizing has gotten worse: stock bikes have gradually lengthened headtubes to make it easier to get height in the bars for an aging demographic. However this is the wrong solution because raising the bars does nothing as riding a racebike is less dependent on flexibility as it is requiring of biomechanical alignments & balance fitting into the bike. But any average buyer of a top of the range stock bike won't know or accept this - so the path of least resistance is to give 'em the long headtube the buyer thinks he wants.

[Lionel]

Long 'n' low EuroPro very similar to the fit numbers run by Peter Sagan. There is almost no stock size available that'll work, with the only exception being the optional long'n'low stock sizing Gaulzetti offered a few years back.


That's hard to believe.

[fuzzalow]

That's hard to believe.

Interesting response. Why would this concern you?

[Lionel]

Interesting response. Why would this concern you?

it does not concern me a bit. But there are quite a few long and low production frames out there.

[purpurite]

I've never had a custom, but I also don't own big name bikes.

This.

Small companies, handmade, crafted... but not made specifically for me.

[fuzzalow]

it does not concern me a bit. But there are quite a few long and low production frames out there.

Concerns you not a bit but raises your ire and scepticism for what I posted. OK.

Long 'n' low production frames? Lotsa them? Well I don't know the market like you do then. Name one, preferable Italian. Or maybe our understanding of what makes for long 'n' low is different.

[Lionel]

Long 'n' low production frames? Lotsa them? Well I don't know the market like you do then. Name one, preferable Italian. Or maybe our understanding of what makes for long 'n' low is different.

De Rosa Protos, Cipollini RB1K for instance.

[eddief]

is the right ratio for me.

[sparky33]

It is getting harder to get inspired by production stuff, and that has little to do with the fit and function.

[fuzzalow]

De Rosa Protos, Cipollini RB1K for instance.

Lionel, I have no desire to get into a pissing match with you over what you think is long'n'low enough for me. I have a great affinity for DeRosa and if I could fit into one, I'd already own it.

The Protos is too short in the toptube for relative height in the headtube. If anything, I was considering the Pinanfarina because it is longer in the TT and just maybe I could get it to work. Sure, I could get a custom made -17 155mm stem made, but that would be pushing it and I'd rather not go there.

[Lionel]

Lionel, I have no desire to get into a pissing match with you over what you think is long'n'low enough for me. I have a great affinity for DeRosa and if I could fit into one, I'd already own it.

The Protos is too short in the toptube for relative height in the headtube. If anything, I was considering the Pinanfarina because it is longer in the TT and just maybe I could get it to work. Sure, I could get a custom made -17 155mm stem made, but that would be pushing it and I'd rather not go there.

Not sure what match you are talking about. I am just curious. Because in my size these two bikes are much lower than a Gaulzetti long and low. The Cipo has I think one of the shortest HT I have ever seen.

[mnoble485]

I definitely cannot answer this poll

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7631/27026258065_8e27331e36_h.jpg

Now your just showing off. But in a good way. The Crumpton is drool worthy.

Mike

[Lionel]

Now your just showing off. But in a good way. The Crumpton is drool worthy.

Mike

I just took them out to take some measurements but this was too good of a photo opportunity ;)

[ldamelio]

I just took them out to take some measurements but this was too good of a photo opportunity ;)

This picture is missing some ti. Too bad your Spectrum is 8000 miles away!

[Lionel]

This picture is missing some ti. Too bad your Spectrum is 8000 miles away!

I had that exact thought when taking the pic !

[fuzzalow]

Not sure what match you are talking about. I am just curious. Because in my size these two bikes are much lower than a Gaulzetti long and low. The Cipo has I think one of the shortest HT I have ever seen.

Very few, if any, stock bikes are long 'n' low, to my definition. So all we've done here is debate over a useless semantic of what is "long 'n' low" because you think you can get to that designation in a stock size for the size frame you ride. Great. Wonderful. Good for you for riding long 'n' low.

This is all the folderal I want about this one. See you at the next stop.

[Lionel]

Very few, if any, stock bikes are long 'n' low, to my definition. So all we've done here is debate over a useless semantic of what is "long 'n' low" because you think you can get to that designation in a stock size for the size frame you ride. Great. Wonderful. Good for you for riding long 'n' low.

This is all the folderal I want about this one. See you at the next stop.

You said your definition of long and low is the Gaulzetti long and low. In my size the Zetti is 60cm TT, 17cm HT (with a CK HS that adds to that). The Cipo (as an example) is 59cm TT with a 16cm HT and no HS (integrated). So it would be about 2.5cm lower than the Zetti. Just saying. But whatever.

[benb]

I've had mostly production bikes and so voted production, I've had one custom bike.

However I kind of feel like inevitably I need to buy another custom bike. Production bikes that work for me are few and far between. Most of my production bikes have not actually worked very well.

[alancw3]

although i am a strong believer that most people can be fitted into a standard size frame through the use of seat posts, stems and handlebars in my particular case, tall torso with fairy tall legs a custom absolutely works best. have i gotten by with a standard frame yes but just saying if i had my druthers i would go custom. like 62 squared.

[JAGI410]

I'm down to 3 Surly Bikes, currently, so I like production bikes I can get dirt cheap through employee discounts. Might consider adding a 4th bike, likely a Cannondale or Santa Cruz.

[adrien]

It is getting harder to get inspired by production stuff, and that has little to do with the fit and function.

Yup.

I can fit just fine on production bikes. I need a relatively "square" bike, typically 58-60 on ST and TT. I fit fine on a rental Madone last month. It was stiff, quick, and profoundly and utterly without personality. Really didn't talk to me. And it was expensive.

I don't ride custom because I have to. I ride because I choose to, and I don't want to drop a lot of money on a bike that very soon will be last year's model. I truly love the process, getting to know the builder, talking through options and truly collaborating on a bike's creation. No, I can't weld, or design geometry. But both bikes I've had made I was very involved, got to know the builders, rode with them, talked through finish etc. They bear the builder's names (Ira Ryan and Firefly), but they are also mine in a way a production bike never can be. I didn't just buy them, I was part of building them.

Stopped into an LBS with my buddies the other day. Shop had high-end trek and specialized. We walked in with a Firelfly, a Breadwinner and a Parlee. Talked to the manager about the expense of the bikes, and we realized that he had production bikes that cost more than ours did. The notion of a big price gap between handmade and production, once you get into the higher end (S works etc.) kinda falls apart.

[benb]

One of the things that goes without saying is production bikes work for a lot more people once you go outside of the aesthetic guidelines.

My Domane works quite well as a substitute to the Seven I was going to buy. But to get the same position on the Domane I have the 2cm headset top cap, 25mm of spacers, and a 100mm X +17 degree stem. I also have the 2cm setback seat mast cap and the saddle is still slid back a bit. It does bother me a bit but the bike rides & handles great so as soon as I get on it I forget about how it looks. The seven would not have had to have nearly as extreme adjustments. And the Domane is a bike that gets described as "ridiculously tall head tube" by the guy with average dimensions. All those spacers and the upturned stem gets me to 3.5cm of drop and about a 45 degree torso angle when on the bar tops with a nice bend in my arms.

I do feel like you long and low guys don't know how good you have it. It sure seems like even with the taller head tubes the last few years the production bikes are still WAY more geared towards folks with long torsos and shorter legs.

[gomango]

I've never had a custom, but I also don't own big name bikes.

Current stable:
Tommasini
Yeti
Singular

I could be the only person in history that owns a singular and a yeti but doesn't own a mountain bike of any kind.

Try my Yeti SB5 next time you are here.

That might fix that promptly.

Really can't imagine having much more fun than that.

As for the op's question, I'm a "some of each" guy.

Soon as I get the boys out of college, I'll be ready to place an order or two for customs. Probably change my mind n times before then though.

[thirdgenbird]

Grady, I'm getting the itch for a log lady. Something about a rigid 650b+ with a 1x11 slx drivetrain just sounds fun.

[Mark McM]

I too am unclear about exactly what a "custom" bike is. None of my bikes is "off the rack" in the sense that they weren't purchased as complete bikes, but instead were built from a selection of hand-picked parts. Although 4 were built with stock frames, one was built with a bespoke frame.

While almost nobody's physiology is completely average, I'm not exceptionally far from average. While not all the geometries of all production frames can work well for me, production frames are made with a variety of geometries, so some of them can work just fine.

I'm also a little confused by the sentiment, "I don't need a custom frame because I'm not a pro racer", when the vast majority of pro racers ride stock frames.

[makoti]

Two of my current road bikes are custom, the third is hand-built, but not for me. I've owned several production, and if I was getting a Mtn bike, it'd be production.

[velotel]

Got one Eriksen, made for me, a second Eriksen will be here soon, the mountain bikes that I no longer have were all custom, guess that rather clearly places me in the custom congo line

[gomango]

Grady, I'm getting the itch for a log lady. Something about a rigid 650b+ with a 1x11 slx drivetrain just sounds fun.

That might be the perfect rig for the river bottoms here.

I would think about one as well down the line.

[William]

Living at the far side of the bell curve...custom.

There might be a few production bikes I could ride with super long stems, and a flag pole's worth of seat post showing. Just because I could ride it, doesn't mean I should ride it. :beer:







William

[donevwil]

Yep, not a lot of (or any) 60st x 62tt stock frames out there, so it's custom for me out of necessity. I do have a stock 2014 BMC Monster'X that I can live with, but the standover is non-existent with large tires.

[rounder]

I went custom just to see what it would be like. It was great.

I had no special needs. The bike I was riding was already fine and I liked it.

I had been reading about NAHBS and seeing pictures of the bikes and reading about the builders. The bikes were beautiful and affordable (especially by today's standards),

So I went there (Richmond) and met pretty much all of the builders. Bought a bike (Thanks Kelly) and got it built up with every component I wanted. Cost a lot less than the dream bikes today.

The whole thing was a great experience. You do not get that from buying a bike off the shelf...and it really did not cost that much by today's standards. It was also a great learning experience.

[kitsnob]

How do I answer if I have a custom production bike?

My Colnago C50 is production C50 with a custom paint job to my design.

My travel VaMoots is stock geometry with custom Titanium etched decals and post S&S Couplers by Bilenky.

My VaMoots SL is just an amazing ride with its 6-4 Double Butted tubing that should be considered custom!

BTW: I voted production. Moots/Colnago (C50 traditional) makes so many stock sizes you really have to be a freak of nature to need custom from them.

Then consider me a freak of nature cause nuttin', and I mean nuttin' of production bikas will fit me... I've got T-Rex proportions:
My custom mimics a 57/58 seat & head tube with a top tube of a 52/53 = T-REX!
I tried a C-59 ... in a 48S geo but I needed a +17 stem and it just looked wrong!!
So I went the custom route
The only thing that woulda come close would have been a LOOK 695 but I figured for that coin why go production when I can go custom?

[Satellite]

Then consider me a freak of nature cause nuttin', and I mean nuttin' of production bikas will fit me... I've got T-Rex proportions:
My custom mimics a 57/58 seat & head tube with a top tube of a 52/53 = T-REX!
I tried a C-59 ... in a 48S geo but I needed a +17 stem and it just looked wrong!!
So I went the custom route
The only thing that woulda come close would have been a LOOK 695 but I figured for that coin why go production when I can go custom?

Yep some people are just freaks of nature and need custom. Said effectually!:hello:

Who did you use as your custom builder?

[bfd]

A friend just picked up a brand new Trek Domane with etap, WOW! So clean and the bike weighs like nothing. If I had the $$$$$ or a big discount like my friend, it would definitely be a consideration. However, my budget is much more modest, so that's out for me.

Instead, a custom steel with ultegra or maybe chorus is more my budget. Do I need custom? Probably not, but the frame price is reasonable, so why not!

Of course, YMMV! Good Luck!

[kitsnob]

Got an ALCHEMY Xanthus just about 2 years ago...
Steve @ Bike Effect in Santa Monica did my fit and I did a trip to Colorado to have Ryan @ Alchemy confirm my #'s and at the same time I made trip to see Don @ D2 shoe to place an order for my 3rd pair of D2's when he was still in Eagle Colorado (now, he's in my back yard in Tujunga, CA)

Could not be happier with the frame.

Hung Di2 Ultegra (DA crank & brake calipers tho) with a set of Enve 3/4's laced to a set of King R45 hubs (anodized color) and an Enve stem/handlebar. I got an ISP with the frame so it came with a Tune topper (anodized). It has an English King BB . The (anodized) and a tapered 44mm headtube with a King headset (anodized) to match.
Alchemy logos are painted (not stickers), the ISP topper, tune skewers and hubs (along with bar tape) are in a light pink (think Susan G Komen breast cancer awareness) color - not fluro, pastel pink

The ALCHEMY replaced at the time a 15 yo, Calfee Tetra Pro that was a semi -custom

[oldpotatoe]

Got one Eriksen, made for me, a second Eriksen will be here soon, the mountain bikes that I no longer have were all custom, guess that rather clearly places me in the custom congo line

Disc brake, 650b, thru axles, spam 1 by, tapered fork, carbon clinchers....right?

->:D

[bikesickness]

Although all my current bikes are production. Haven't felt the need for a custom....at least for fit reasons.

[Kirk007]

Both. I like the custom experience and supporting small builders with whom I feel a rapport and/or who I view as bringing added value to my purchase decisions, which can include for instance their sharing of wisdom here or otherwise. But production can work for me as well, although I trend towards smaller production shops - Pegoretti stock frame for instance. I wouldn't mind a Colnago C60, in part due to the place that Colnago holds in the industry and because the C60 is still hand constructed in Italy. I've no interest in a Trek or Specialized etc., at least not in road bikes and not so much in mountain bikes either (currently have a Cielo 29er and would probably get another Yeti if I wanted a longer travel bike). Not knocking the Trek/Specialized etc. performance, just no visceral appeal to those brands for me.

[DarkStar]

Have three custom bikes and three production bikes. No unusual body proportions that require custom builds, lusted after the Marinoni, Goodrich, and Serotta. The Litespeed, Lynskey and Yeti are production bikes.