Carbon offerings..

[orbea65]

Outside of Serotta, what are some of your favorite off the shelf carbon frames lately?
I'd like to buy a carbon frame in the fall to build for next season. So far, I'm considering:

C50
Look 595
Ridley Damocles
Ridley Noah

The only ones I've ruled out so far for various reasons are Trek, Lemond, Cervelo & BMC. And the Mevici is way too expensive, otherwise I'd be looking at it as well.
Thanks!

[Jason E]

Slightly more common of a brand, but often relegated or overlooked, Specialized has someVERY nice stuff coming out for 2007. I just saw the line last week, and am very impressed. The new Tarmac, available as a frameset, gets rid of everything that was silly about the old Tarmac and is a Really nice Carbon Frame. Given that it is this time of year, and you are on the fence, you should wait until Some '07 stuff comes out.

As for Trek, their new SSL 6.9 comes in a beautiful sorta Satin Platinum and the SSL 6.5 (same bike but without the Carbon Wheels) is in a really nice black with white accents... I thought they were very attactive.

[Dave]

The 585 is hard to beat, particularly if you can pick one up for $2200 from Bicycle John's on E-bay.

I'd steer clear of integrated seatposts (595) until they've been around longer. The big disadvantage I see is a lack of seat post choice. I would never buy a single-bolt seat post due to the poor angle adjustment. A 2-bolt model is far superior. The pictures of this frame always show the post with no spacers under it, for clean look, but in real life that would be tough to duplicate, unless you never need a saddle height adjustment.

[LegendRider]

Parlee, Crumpton and Calfee for American-made carbon. You can talk with them directly, tweak the geo, tune the ride, etc. Warranty and repair is much easier than with Euro frames (I had a Calfee that was repaired in a matter of weeks). I own a Parlee - the entire buying process was both easy and fun. I emailed them my proposed geometry - they agreed and sent me a CAD file with the design. 11 weeks later I was riding the best bike I've ever had.

[Bill Bove]

Time VRXS

Cervelo R2.5

BH Global Concept

But none of them will satisfy the itch for a Meivici, even if they are better, cheaper... :crap:

[SpaceOdyssey]

Bill;

You forgot Orbea Orca or Opal

B

[Bill Bove]

What I like, not what I sell or even what is good. I can't get excited about wierd shaped tubes. A bike has got to look like a bike.

[orbea65]

Slightly more common of a brand, but often relegated or overlooked, Specialized has someVERY nice stuff coming out for 2007. I just saw the line last week, and am very impressed. The new Tarmac, available as a frameset, gets rid of everything that was silly about the old Tarmac and is a Really nice Carbon Frame. Given that it is this time of year, and you are on the fence, you should wait until Some '07 stuff comes out.

As for Trek, their new SSL 6.9 comes in a beautiful sorta Satin Platinum and the SSL 6.5 (same bike but without the Carbon Wheels) is in a really nice black with white accents... I thought they were very attactive.

I find the treks are a little long in the top tube for the size head tube I want. That is why I rule them out for myself. I'll have a look at the specialized stuff.
thx!

[swoop]

the 2007 orbeas are much better looking than the current ones.

[LegendRider]

I find the treks are a little long in the top tube for the size head tube I want. That is why I rule them out for myself. I'll have a look at the specialized stuff.
thx!

Or, they have short head tubes. Ever notice that even a lot of the Disco guys have a bunch of spacers under their stems??? I have never understood why Trek does this.

[pdxmech13]

I was expecting Eki to be needing a heads up adapter on his rig towards the later of his carrer. :D :D

[zap]

The Look 595, Time VXRS, Parlee Z1 and Colnago C50 are carbon composite frames that currently intrigue me.

[alancw3]

you also might want to look at aegis. i had an aro svelte and thought it was a great bike for carbon fiber. they are made in maine and the company has a long history of cf technology and experience. their website is not the greatest but interesting nontheless.



http://www.aegisbicycles.com/

[theprep]

Is this what the Orca's are going to look like?

2 carbon frames that have peeked my interest: Cannondale System 6 and the Canyon F10.

[Keith A]

I find the treks are a little long in the top tube for the size head tube I want. That is why I rule them out for myself.Exactly...and I own one of them. It has been a great bike, but I would prefer a frame that requires less spacers than what I'm using on my Trek. When I buy another carbon frame, it won't be a Trek for this very reason. Although I do like the fact that their all carbon frames are still using a standard headset instead of an integrated one. Most of the other all carbon makers have gone to the integrated headset.

[Climb01742]

the new all carbon lemond looks interesting.

[swoop]

Is this what the Orca's are going to look like?

2 carbon frames that have peeked my interest: Cannondale System 6 and the Canyon F10.
yup.
scott is coming with an integrated seatmast too but it's a secret and no one knows so keep it here. system six should be in stores now.. call helens' in santa monica.. i think they might have some soon if not already.

[catulle]

Orbea bicycles have become very popular on my neck of the woods. I see them more and more often, usually with Dura-Ace. The most common is the top of the line with black and orange color scheme.

[tomwd3]

Well, if I found myself in a position where $ weren't really an issue, then
I'd biuld up a "Brunkified" Meivici!! So Sweet!!
In the world I currently inhabit, I find myself itching for a Look 585 (White).
I just wish it had a few less decal/logos.

[jasont]

Is this what the Orca's are going to look like?

2 carbon frames that have peeked my interest: Cannondale System 6 and the Canyon F10.

Wow, that's much better looking. I'm not a big fan of the looks of the current carbon Orbeas.

I'd consider that one.

Oh and, of all the current carbon bikes I'd be looking at the C50, Look 585, or a De Rosa King (whatever they're called).

[Frustration]

Not sure why "off the shelf" is a buying qualification. For what Crumpton charges, not sure that you're way ahead prise wise.

I would take the ook 585 or the new SL version 585 that will be around shortly over the 595. Why moving the seat colar weight up higher on a frame and adding hardware is and advantage, I can't figure out...

If I wanted to have a frame cut to size, I would have someone like Parlee Crumpton or Serotta do it to all the tubes instead of the one tube that could screw me if it's wrong, eliminate it's resle value and and make for a higher center of Gravity... :cool:

.

[kestrel]

CF, Off the shelf, relatively cheap, well constructed, been around a long time.....

K E S T R E L

Edit: I have no financial connections to the company either in the past or the present.

[orbea65]

Not sure why "off the shelf" is a buying qualification. For what Crumpton charges, not sure that you're way ahead prise wise.

I would take the ook 585 or the new SL version 585 that will be around shortly over the 595. Why moving the seat colar weight up higher on a frame and adding hardware is and advantage, I can't figure out...

If I wanted to have a frame cut to size, I would have someone like Parlee Crumpton or Serotta do it to all the tubes instead of the one tube that could screw me if it's wrong, eliminate it's resle value and and make for a higher center of Gravity... :cool:

.

Off the shelf because I'm not interested in a Crumpton, Calfee or Parlee. Just personal preference. Plus like most people, I tend to flip my bike every few years, so its resale value holds some importance to me as well, and we all know that Parlee, Calfee, Crumpton, etc., all suffer when it comes to resale.
And with regards to the seat mast thingys, I just like the way it looks. If I were concerned about performance and value, I'd buy Basso Gap steel frame.

[SpaceOdyssey]

Tonight is a Cannondale demo night at the LBS.

They are going to have a fleet of all the new stuff to play with.

If I bail on the club's TT tonight (Heat and I do not get along well), I will try to have some type of report to try and help this along.

B

[Climb01742]

Tonight is a Cannondale demo night at the LBS.

They are going to have a fleet of all the new stuff to play with.

If I bail on the club's TT tonight (Heat and I do not get along well), I will try to have some type of report to try and help this along.

B

bruce, if you can, please scope out the system 6. looks interesting. thanks.

[davids]

I saw a System 6 at Landry's in Boston. One of the early reviews referred to the "beer can" headtube, and they weren't kidding! The headtube is thick, as is the front of the top tube and downtube. I didn't get to ride it (I was dressed for work) but Grant-issimo says it's way stiff. Too stiff for him. He's got good taste, so I agree. ;)

As far as high-fiber bikes I have ridden - I thought the Trek Madone was soft and boring. I found the Orbea Orca to be a lot like Derek Smalls ("David and Nigel are like poets, you know, like Shelley or Byron, or people like that. The two totally distinct types of visionaries, it’s like fire and ice, and I feel my role in the band is to be kind of the middle of that, kind of like lukewarm water.") A really non-offensive, unexciting bike. I liked the Specialized Roubaix more - Responsive and stable, and competent. Even better was the Cannondale Synapse - Extra-smooth and quick.

But when it came time to buy, I went with a thoroughbred mongrel, and took home a Nove.

[Lanternrouge]

CF, Off the shelf, relatively cheap, well constructed, been around a long time.....

K E S T R E L

Edit: I have no financial connections to the company either in the past or the present.

Considering that the Evoke frameset retails for about $2250, I don't think I'd qualify it as cheap. I have one and am quite happy with it. It compares favorably to some higher end bikes I've owned and ridden and is definitely worth considering. Now that the rear dropout issue has been fixed, my only gripe would be that the fork is kind of heavy.

[Fausto]

Had a C-50 that I bought off a friend. Sweet paint job, but didn't ride as nice as my MXM Merckx. Although it is a little twitchier because it's a compact, it sure is stiffer and just has a better feel to it, imho than the C-50, which is now on e-bay.

[vaxn8r]

Off the shelf...I'd probably get Time VXRS above anything else right now. From what I "hear" Look 585 might have been a top choice last year. Trek, you know what you get and that is very good. Same for Cannondale. Of those two I might lean towards Cannondale but I'd ride either, and in fact have owned both and been happy with both. I'd have Colnago high up there due to their experience in CF.[QUOTE]

I don't think any bike holds value at all. Especially if you get "custom" anything because that means it was custom built for you only. But I seriously doubt you'll get better resale out of Orbea. You may lose less money only because the initial cost is less. But come on, used Cannondales go for about $350!

You are not going to get the same quality control with off the rack that you'll get from Parlee/Calfee/Crumpton/Serotta. Maybe that doesn't mean much because when you get a good Trek/Dale/Specialized/Orbea then you have a good one. What clinched Calfee for me was the decades of experience and head start they have when compared to just about everybody else in CF. That and when you contact Calfee, 9 times out of ten you speak with Craig or he e-mails you presonally. Don't forget about repairability, not all CF frames can be repaired.

[Fixed]

system 6 is out..I saw a doc. i know on one tuesday night . d.a.10 es ksy. wheels = $4500

[yeehawfactor]

yup.
scott is coming with an integrated seatmast too but it's a secret and no one knows so keep it here. system six should be in stores now.. call helens' in santa monica.. i think they might have some soon if not already.
only on high end bikes. didn't know this was classified data.

[justinf]

I would be all over that Parlee in the classifieds if I didn't already own one and it fit. The depreciation hit is already taken care of for you. . .

[Fat Robert]

fuji


(insert giggle here)

[kestrel]

Considering that the Evoke frameset retails for about $2250, I don't think I'd qualify it as cheap. I have one and am quite happy with it. It compares favorably to some higher end bikes I've owned and ridden and is definitely worth considering. Now that the rear dropout issue has been fixed, my only gripe would be that the fork is kind of heavy.

He said he was considering the C-50 ($4200), the Look 595 ($3400), ah...... I'd say $2200 being thousands (not hundreds) less would qualify as cheap considering the quality.

[SpaceOdyssey]

I just got back from riding a System 6 from C'dale with SRAM Force. About 1.2 hours and 20 miles.

A very nice, well behaved ride with lots of snap.

I'll still take my Ottrott, but for an out of the box high end bike, it was one of the nicest I've ridden.

The bike was comfortable over normal road bumps and holes. Climbing was smooth and the response was equal to, or well above most of the higher end bikes I've ridden.

It felt like you could ride a century on it and enjoy it.

The fit and finish was excellent and everything worked well.

B

[vaxn8r]

He said he was considering the C-50 ($4200), the Look 595 ($3400), ah...... I'd say $2200 being thousands (not hundreds) less would qualify as cheap considering the quality.
Agreed, a relative bargain...but then a Tetra Pro is $2400, stock size and a Luna Pro is hundreds less with arguably the same ride and minor weight penalty.

[swalburn]

My LBS has been telling me how they have been selling Fierte Ti and Fierte IT this year, and they both are selling well. How much do you want to bet that we see a Fierte carbon either this year but probably next. It is the next logical step. It is a carbon serotta for those who can't afford a Meivici. I have no proof to back this up, but I think we will see it in the future. I can see them pricing the frame at about 3 grand. Then you would have the fierte at 2 grand the IT at 2500 and the Fierte carbon at 3000. This would fit into their catalog perfect.

Just my 2 cents.

[obtuse]

Outside of Serotta, what are some of your favorite off the shelf carbon frames lately?
I'd like to buy a carbon frame in the fall to build for next season. So far, I'm considering:

C50
Look 595
Ridley Damocles
Ridley Noah

The only ones I've ruled out so far for various reasons are Trek, Lemond, Cervelo & BMC. And the Mevici is way too expensive, otherwise I'd be looking at it as well.
Thanks!


you can't go wrong with any of those bikes. try a pinarello paris carbon for good measure too.

obtuse

[fstrthnu]

a Calfee Tetra Pro. IMHO awesome bike.


Fstrthnu

[Smiley]

My LBS has been telling me how they have been selling Fierte Ti and Fierte IT this year, and they both are selling well. How much do you want to bet that we see a Fierte carbon either this year but probably next. It is the next logical step. It is a carbon serotta for those who can't afford a Meivici. I have no proof to back this up, but I think we will see it in the future. I can see them pricing the frame at about 3 grand. Then you would have the fierte at 2 grand the IT at 2500 and the Fierte carbon at 3000. This would fit into their catalog perfect.

Just my 2 cents.
its a logical step , they have already done this time and time again , CSI = C-III, Legend = Concourse , Ottrott=Nove , etc etc etc , yes you'll see a price point Carbone Serotta , Just not that soon yet . I think Serotta when they come up with this bike it will beat the pants out of anything out there at THAT PRICE POINT .

[obtuse]

a Calfee Tetra Pro. IMHO awesome bike.


Fstrthnu


and repairable with hose clamps and commerically availble plumbing supplies.

obtuse

[Lifelover]

you also might want to look at aegis. i had an aro svelte and thought it was a great bike for carbon fiber. they are made in maine and the company has a long history of cf technology and experience. their website is not the greatest but interesting nontheless.



http://www.aegisbicycles.com/


I will second Aegis as far as ride and quality go. I and a friend have older aro svelts and and two other friends have Victories. All have been great bikes.

However, they do not seem to hold their value very well. If you want to consider getting one used they are a great deal. The frames can be had for $400 - $700 used. A good friend bought one here for less than $500 and it included both the original and after market fork.

You are likely to be the only one in your area riding one if that matters to you.

Their website is useless if you have a Mac.

[fstrthnu]

and repairable with hose clamps and commerically availble plumbing supplies.

obtuse

MAD painful. That was one for the books.

Fstrthnu

[Miranda]

How about the Masi 3VC Volumetrica? Has anyone checked into this or ridden this?

[Climb01742]

a Calfee Tetra Pro. IMHO awesome bike.Fstrthnu

fst, what do you like so much about it? thx.