6 degree's of Ben

[SoCalSteve]

Hi all,

After reading the Ben Serotta bike thread and looking over his new website, I got to wondering about how important it is to have a Serotta bike actually built by Ben Serotta.

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=201436

https://benserotta.com/mybikes/

Started thinking about all the current frame builders out there today who at one time or another worked for Ben, designed bikes for Ben and created new cycling innovations for Ben.

Dave Kirk...built hundreds, maybe thousands of bikes for Serotta and invented the DKS rear suspension system, which then became the ST rear end.

Kelly Bedford...who was the person I chatted with when I had my custom Ottrott built. Went over every part of it with Kelly. I can only imagine how many thousands of bikes with Serotta on the downtube were designed by Kelly.

Dave Wages...who in his own bio says that Dave Kirk and Kelly Bedford were instrumental in him learning his chops as a frame builder.

You cannot get much closer to a Serotta than a Bedford. I'm sure Dave Kirk comes a close second.

Please feel free to add other current frame builders who at one time worked at Serotta.

Anyway, just some random thoughts on Ben and his new venture. I wish him nothing but luck and success!

[William]

I had two Serottas built for me back in the day, one was built by DK and the other by KB. As I mentioned in the other thread, once the three amigos left the barn, and the rest of the custom industry blossomed I personally couldn't see the justification anymore in the climbing prices. I think what DK, KB, and DW were/are doing is more "Serotta" to me than where the company ended up going. That's all JMO of course. :)






William

[ltwtsculler91]

No22 bikes has Scott Hock and several of the old Serotta Ti crew. The work coming out of Johnstown, NY is definitely serotta grade on the Ti side.

[SoCalSteve]

No22 bikes has Scott Hock and several of the old Serotta Ti crew. The work coming out of Johnstown, NY is definitely serotta grade on the Ti side.

Awesome! Thank you for sharing this info....:beer:

[Hilltopperny]

No22 bikes has Scott Hock and several of the old Serotta Ti crew. The work coming out of Johnstown, NY is definitely serotta grade on the Ti side.

Yup I've been there a few times and am saving my pennies for one. The shop is 15 minutes fromy house. There framesets are all great and well priced!

[bluesea]

I would add B Mac Paintworks to the list.

[malcolm]

I had two Serottas built for me back in the day, one was built by DK and the other by KB. As I mentioned in the other thread, once the three amigos left the barn, and the rest of the custom industry blossomed I personally couldn't see the justification anymore in the climbing prices. I think what DK, KB, and DW were/are doing is more "Serotta" to me than where the company ended up going. That's all JMO of course. :)






William


I would tend to agree with the above and also add that for many of us serotta was an initial foray into the custom build world and an introduction to the boutique builder world. I lusted after the first serotta I saw I think back in the late '70s but couldn't afford it, fast forward to the '90s and then I could so I had one built and discovered the original serotta forum and learned about and was able to converse with various builders. From there as the company morphed into what it was later to become and I learned more about bikes and what I liked it just left me behind. I could not justify the cost of the handful of things they even made that I liked when I could get equal craftmanship from the smaller or even one man shops that had far greater appeal to me.

[Northmeadow]

Joe Williams was a builder who worked at Serotta at one time.

+1 for No. 22 Bicycles, it's a top shelf organization.

[Hilltopperny]

Glenn from elephant came out of Serotta as well as Robert Stowe in the early days.

[dgauthier]

I always thought Serotta was first and foremost about fitting.

You had the Serotta fit cycle -- which if I'm not mistaken was a Ben Serotta innovation -- and this network of trusted shops and Serotta-trained fitters that funneled specs to the factory for fabrication. Sure, the bikes were beautiful and well made, but you weren't buying the work of a single builder. You were buying the fit, and the whole infrastructure and philosophy behind it, built to very high standards by a factory team.

If a cyclist had an injury or unique physiognomy, the "fit first" mentality could result in some ungainly looking bikes (though they were probably godsends for the owners), many of which are in the gallery of this forum. It's interesting that Ben won't entertain that with these bikes, even though he is again relying on the input of a small network of custom shops and fitters.