First Custom Bike - built for me

[pdonk]

As per the Portland thread, I am getting ready to go to Portland for a fitting for a new custom bike - a speedvagen.

While I have two mountain bikes that were "made to order" with minor custom features and a custom moots, built for someone else, I have never been professionally fitted or had a custom bike built for me.

Any suggestions of what to do or ask for when having a fitting would be appreciated.

Based on riding the moots for the past 6 years, I know I want a bike that has a slightly longer front centre to reduce toe over lap. a bit more reach (longer top tube) and a bit less stack (shorter headtube). I assume that I these are not crazy asks. Any other suggestions for things to ask and/or look out for are greatly appreciated. I am going in with an open mind, but high expectations. This bike will cost more than my first house (seriously).

The hardest part for me now is the paint - there are a few colour schemes that speak to me, plus the potential thrill of surprise me.

if this works better in the fitting forum please move.

[MattTuck]

Only comment I have is try to get in a ride before the fitting. Almost anyone can look good fresh when they're on a trainer. If you have a little bit of fatigue (not 4 hours worth, but maybe 60-90 minutes), it may elucidate some things for the fitter.

Good luck. Fun times!

[joosttx]

I have two friends that went through the speedvagen fitting process. Rest assure Sasha ans the crew will take care of you and detail the fit for you.

[FlashUNC]

I hate to get all Philadelphia 76ers here, but Trust the Process.

If Sacha and team are like any of the frames I've ordered, you'll spend a fair bit of time talking about the issues you mentioned -- maybe not in such technical terms -- but the "What do you want out of this bike?" "What do you like about your current frame? What do you dislike about it?" questions. And that's alongside all the other bits, getting the numbers done up and whatnot. As long as you've spent some time thinking about what you want out of it, then you're Golden Pony Boy.

And totally go Surprise Me.

[charliedid]

I agree with the above.

You are in fine hands.

Worry not.

[bob heinatz]

Let Sacha do his thing. That is why you are buying a Speedvagen!

[pdonk]

I know I'm in good hands just seeking info from others with way more experience.

The choice to get a speedvagen has been a fun and long one.

[Bob Ross]

Any suggestions of what to do or ask for when having a fitting would be appreciated.

Ask for a towel; you'll probably work up a sweat.

[radsmd]

You need to attend the Speedvagen fitting program in Girona Spain.

https://theservicecoursegirona.com/tours/speedvagen-tour-girona

[pdonk]

Almost went to girona. Travel with a toddler with multiple transfers ruled it out. I've known Christian for years and would have been fun.

Towel and a sweat band will be packed.

[d_douglas]

I have a speedvagen and worked with Sacha only via email and phone. It all worked out and I love the bike years later, but I can only imagine it’d be better with a pro fit.

My only ‘fitting’ experience was a stationary trainer session on my Vagen when planning my Desalvo cyclocross. A great local shop watched me pedal for 10min (disconcerting to be watched like that!) and they a) confirmed the Vagen was a good road fit then b) advised changes in contact points knowing the differences between road and CX frames (longer CS, less drop, etc)

Personally, I think the Vagen fitting would be fun, but isn’t the point that most of his bikes are stock sizes? What percentage are actually custom geometry? If they’re mostly stock, isn’t he just advising on contact points?

[Clean39T]

I know I'm in good hands just seeking info from others with way more experience.

The choice to get a speedvagen has been a fun and long one.I'll have a stock geo 62 built by the time you get to town...so if we put a ride in with you on that before the fitting, that may give you some ideas to discuss...

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[buddybikes]

Only thought, knowing nothing about you... Are you buying this for long haul? If yes, think what body may need 5-10 years from now. Wish I had asked for bit more stack height on my FF due to my back deciding to give out on me.

Of course, if a youngster, tell me to suck an egg as you will remain fit

[KarlC]

I'll have a stock geo 62 built by the time you get to town...so if we put a ride in with you on that before the fitting, that may give you some ideas to discuss...

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

YES do it

:banana:
.

[vqdriver]

my big takeaway from these fittings is to have an idea of what you want the bike to do, not what the bike will be. let the builder translate that into numbers.

[pdonk]

Appreciating everyone's input.

Yes, the bike is a long haul bike, definitely want to be able to age into it (I'm 47). My moots has a relatively short top tube and long head tube, so it can always be the retirement bike.

i am going to place my trust in the speedvagen folks, if i didn't, i wouldn't be dropping this much coin on a bike.

Hopefully Clean39 and I can meet up for a ride or at least ice cream. As this is a family vacation, not sure what my wife would think of me cutting out for a 2-3 hour ride.

[David Tollefson]

my big takeaway from these fittings is to have an idea of what you want the bike to do, not what the bike will be. let the builder translate that into numbers.

This ^^ 100%.

[Peter P.]

Only thought, knowing nothing about you...

I agree with everything steveandbarb1 said.

Also, bring the Moots with you if you can. Let the Speedvagen staff measure the dimensions, unless you have the spec sheet from the original owner.

And you better post photos when you get it!

[Fishbike]

Yeah yeah yeah on the fitting. What paint scheme is at the top of the list?

[Hellgate]

I've had four custom bikes over the years. Buy the extras you want now, don't cheap out as you'll second guess yourself.

I've done two in person fits, two over the phone or email. All have been wonderful!

1) Ian Laing - Should have kept
2) Davidson - Kept
3) Guru - Kept
4) 333fab - Have

Have fun and chat your builder up! You're paying for it after all. [emoji16]

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5010 using Tapatalk

[uber]

I have had other custom fittings and custom bikes. The fit process by Sacha is very complete and he takes his time for sure. As of recently, 70% of his bikes involve this process. I agree to ask him how you want the bike to ride and allow him to figure out the geometry. Obviously, bring shorts, shoes the saddle you plan to use and possibly pedals. Enjoy the process, it is a real luxury. The bike came out great.

[verbs4us]

One consideration is if you have any unusual biomechanics. I have a whacked hip and feel most comfortable on a bike with a low Q. A consequence of that is that my heel sometimes strikes the drive side chainstay if the stays are widely flared and the tubes are fat. It was a consideration on a Firefly I had made a while ago, and Kevin dialed it in perfectly. And yes--bring your shorts, socks, and shoes and a towel. Also, your favorite saddle on the seatpost, if you have one. Or ask Sasha what he recommends you bring.

[soulspinner]

Great advice above.Just go with an open mind and if you cant bring the Moots bring the build sheet. Congrads to you.

[martl]

As an engineer, agnostic, sceptic and all-round a**hole, i highly doubt the difference between a custom-made bike and a fitting off-the-shelf bike is recognizeable, and i also believe that for 99.9% of the human beings out there, some manufacturer has just what they need in stock.

That having said, i do ride a custom-made bike and boy do i love it :) It is a special thing to own, and to ride. Have fun with yours!

[pdonk]

I know I don't need a bike as nice as the speedvagen or even my moots, but I want it and am in a place in life that I can afford to do it.

I am going to totally trust the process and what they suggest.

As for the important things - colour, still trying to decide.

Order of preference is suprise me, horizon, team, ghost.

In looking at the surprise me paint, of the 11 or 12 I can find on line there is:
1 I truly disliked - stars and stripes,
1 I don't like - ichico, but appreciate,
1 I would have been disappointed with - the klein one
most of the others, including the past 4 years would have really liked to get.

In all of the research the past 3 years I have done, i have only heard of one truly horrible experience with them.

And seriously, my first house cost less than this bike will cost, our dollar is taking a kicking right now.

[booglebug]

I know I don't need a bike as nice as the speedvagen or even my moots, but I want it and am in a place in life that I can afford to do it.

I am going to totally trust the process and what they suggest.

As for the important things - colour, still trying to decide.

Order of preference is suprise me, horizon, team, ghost.

In looking at the surprise me paint, of the 11 or 12 I can find on line there is:
1 I truly disliked - stars and stripes,
1 I don't like - ichico, but appreciate,
1 I would have been disappointed with - the klein one
most of the others, including the past 4 years would have really liked to get.

In all of the research the past 3 years I have done, i have only heard of one truly horrible experience with them.

And seriously, my first house cost less than this bike will cost, our dollar is taking a kicking right now.

I'm going to put the miles in on the nicest thing I can afford with no regrets regardless of what others might think. Heck most on a Huffy are faster then me.

[TurboTom]

In my experience, each builder goes through a different fitting process with customers. I am lucky in that I have fairly balanced body measurements. A 56 cm even with a level TT works fine for me. I currently have 6 road bikes with 4 being "custom" (an Ericksen Ti, Oasis, Paul Taylor fixed and one I built for myself). I have perfected my riding position over many years (I'll be 64 this year) and all of my contact points are within millimeters on all of them. It has been a process of lots of miles, component swaps and many, many small adjustments. On any one of them I'm comfortable on long rides and in any position and often ride for hours in the drops.

That said, they all ride differently. 3 are all steel, one Ti with carbon fork, one all carbon and one steel with carbon fork; tire sizes range from 22-28 mm. The weights range from a little over 14 lbs. to just over 19 lbs. All have slightly different "ride quality, feel and personality" that are noticeable to me but often hard to put into words. I average 7K miles per year. I love them all. However, I do have a favorite.

Why am I rambling on this thread? Drum roll please...

Because my favorite is my Speedvagen Road. It has stock 56 geometry. From SV: Di2 routing, carbon seat tube, Enve mast top, 110 mm Pro stem and special order gloss black paint with ghost graphics, pump peg on HT, black CK headset. They cut the steerer tube and provided 17 mm of stem spacers to position me at my desired drop and shipped it. I added DA 9050 Di2, Fabric ALM saddle, Ritchey Carbon Streem bars, EE brakes with Power Cordz cables, Easton SL wheelset with 28 mm S-Works tubeless tires and Ritchey carbon bottle cages. It weighs less than 16 lbs.

In my case, the only thing I might have done differently would be to increase HT length to eliminate the spacers (only aesthetics). Otherwise, it's just so sweet. It rides differently from the others in a way that makes me smile and wonder why.

There may just be magic in some bikes. I hope you are as happy with your experience/purchase as I am.

[vqdriver]

1 I don't like - ichico, but appreciate,
1 I would have been disappointed with - the klein one
.

i'm with you on the klein paint.
got a link to that ichico paint? now i'm curious

[pdonk]

i'm with you on the klein paint.
got a link to that ichico paint? now i'm curious

Here is a link - http://theradavist.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Jaybes-Speedvagen-Surprise-Me-Road-with-Campagnolo-Record-11-20-1200x800.jpg

It came in a few colours, lavender, grey and green.

i appreciate the work that went into it, but would not really want it.

I think my favourites are in order the horizon with hand sanding, the 2016 dots and blocked colours, last years dots and teh original horizon.

[classtimesailer]

Get a frame pump painted to match.

[cmg]

so do you know the reach and stack height your targeting for ?

[pdonk]

so do you know the reach and stack height your targeting for ?

No, just know a bit longer and a bit lower. I'll leave it to Sacha and crew to decide.

[pdonk]

Had my fitting yesterday. Was interesting in a good way.

Only very minor changes to my position. Gained a bit of handlebar drop. Seat lowered a bit. Nothing shocking.

As for paint. Expect to see a surprise me in the fall posted.

Best thing was my wife seeing all the details and paint in person. She understands better why I wanted a custom bike.

Finally wait until you see pics from the concept show they are doing Friday. Really cool bikes and paint.

[weisan]

Congrats donk pal.

I went back and read your first post again.

I went through one custom built process.

I left nothing to chance or accident but expressed explicitly to my builder what I want and what I like, what I intend to do with the bike, everything except telling him how to build. The end result turned out to be what I want.

Here's the thing I would emphasize when it comes to custom.

It's great to borrow from other people 's experience....but we are not YOU. This is YOUR bike. You have to live with it after it's done so it's your call and your decision.

For example, I know some folks have said how much they like their "surprise me" paint. When it comes to the look and appearance of a bike is very...VERY personal and subjective. Make sure that's what you want...to leave that to your builder. For me, I saw the paint that I like, I point to it and ask my builder to copy it and it came out just what I wanted. No surprises.


http://www.cxmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/img_21001.jpg

My custom.

http://alicehui.com/pics/nc/img/2.jpg

[pdonk]

Weisan. Understand the control aspect but I wouldn't have gone for what I have without a high degree of trust in the outcome.

[vqdriver]

:banana:


Had my fitting yesterday. Was interesting in a good way.

Only very minor changes to my position. Gained a bit of handlebar drop. Seat lowered a bit. Nothing shocking.

As for paint. Expect to see a surprise me in the fall posted.

Best thing was my wife seeing all the details and paint in person. She understands better why I wanted a custom bike.

Finally wait until you see pics from the concept show they are doing Friday. Really cool bikes and paint.

[weisan]

Weisan. Understand the control aspect but I wouldn't have gone for what I have without a high degree of trust in the outcome.

Communicate clearly what you want is not an indication of lack of trust. A good builder will not take that the wrong way. Anyhoo, sounded like you got it figured out, good luck and hope that everything turns out exactly the way you wanted.

[Climb01742]

Had my fitting yesterday. Was interesting in a good way.

Only very minor changes to my position. Gained a bit of handlebar drop. Seat lowered a bit. Nothing shocking.

As for paint. Expect to see a surprise me in the fall posted.

Best thing was my wife seeing all the details and paint in person. She understands better why I wanted a custom bike.

Finally wait until you see pics from the concept show they are doing Friday. Really cool bikes and paint.

During the fit, did you learn anything about your body or pedaling that surprised you? The fits I’ve had were always learning experiences. Hope the result exceeds your wishes. Given who’s involved, I’m sure it will.;)

[pdonk]

Communicate clearly what you want is not an indication of lack of trust. A good builder will not take that the wrong way. Anyhoo, sounded like you got it figured out, good luck and hope that everything turns out exactly the way you wanted.

Understood. I did explain what I hoped for and how I plan on using bike. I'll leave it up to them to figure out how their version matches my description.

[pdonk]

During the fit, did you learn anything about your body or pedaling that surprised you? The fits I’ve had were always learning experiences. Hope the result exceeds your wishes. Given who’s involved, I’m sure it will.;)

Learned my position was pretty good and that I've probably always ridden bikes at least a size too big and ride with my saddle a bit high.

Waiting for design and numbers so I can fully compare to my current setup.

[kurto]

Learned my position was pretty good and that I've probably always ridden bikes at least a size too big and ride with my saddle a bit high.

Waiting for design and numbers so I can fully compare to my current setup.

This is really enlightening (this individual point and the thread as a whole). I think most of us believe we know our bodies and fits and bikes and styles and and...we probably don’t. Having a professional with an objective and detached perspective give feedback and advice is invaluable. Please, if you don’t mind, post your comparisons. I know it was just a fit session, but how’d it feel? Was it weird to be in the position Sacha wants you in, or was it like something just clicked? I had a pro fit like a decade ago and have slowly deviated, mm by mm, and I’m curious where someone would put me now.

[pdonk]

We started generally in the range of my current bike. I explained what I liked and didn't like and hoped for.

Within 45 seconds of me on the bike he lowered my seat a bit then a bit again then a few minor tweaks as we went on.

His focus on muscle engagement and use was similar to how a buddy generally set me up. Sacha said one goal was to engage my glutes more and minimize hip lock.

In terms of listening to me. I think he did. My bike will be set up with more drop than I have now with an option to increase it.

In the end the position felt vaguely familiar but different. Once I get the design sheet I'll be interested in seeing how it compares. One thing I wonder is how it would have gone if I went in with no numbers for home to start from.

I'll report back in October when I get the bike.

[sfghbiker]

I have wondered about bringing a bike vs not when doing a fitting. I've brought bikes both when I got my rock lobster cross and Paul measured me and then watched me ride the bike I brought down. then brought that Lobster to a fitting on my new road frame. Each time a fair bit of focus on measuring existing bike/setup on that bike. I wonder if this is a disadvantage? seems like perhaps starting with an "unbiased" position would be beneficial. that being said both of my new bikes (cross and road) fit really really well so maybe not.

[pdonk]

And panoramic of the of the fitting room.

[bob heinatz]

I bet this will be your favorite bike.

[rallizes]

Do you have a photo of the bike you brought to the fitting?

[pdonk]

Do you have a photo of the bike you brought to the fitting?

Didn't take a bike to the fitting, sent them measurements before hand. They have a sheet that asks for about 15 measurements/angles from existing bike.

Here is a pic of my current bike

https://forums.thepaceline.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=1697957760&stc=1&d=1522522441

Expecting head tube to be shorter for more handlebar drop. Also expect the ISP to be relatively long above the top tube.

Can't remember other numbers from the quick look I had at bikecad while I was there.

[rallizes]

Didn't take a bike to the fitting, sent them measurements before hand. They have a sheet that asks for about 15 measurements/angles from existing bike.

Here is a pic of my current bike

https://forums.thepaceline.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=1697957760&stc=1&d=1522522441

Expecting head tube to be shorter for more handlebar drop. Also expect the ISP to be relatively long above the top tube.

Can't remember other numbers from the quick look I had at bikecad while I was there.


that's a nice looking bike

will look forward to seeing your custom!

[pdonk]

Instead of starting a new thread... an update

Just found out that the Surprise Me's will start rolling out this weekend and be shown at Grinduro.

Mine is scheduled for paint shortly and I hope to have the bike in November.

An update on fitting, I have played around with my bike as much as I can, trying to get the numbers in the range of my new bike.

My saddle is all the way forward now (vs all the way back) and a slightly lower stem and it has made a difference in handling. Unfortunately, I can't get the bars low enough without a custom stem, I'll wait and see before dropping coin on that.

[weisan]

If you need to go lower, check out carpediemracing
https://forums.thepaceline.net/showpost.php?p=1998067&postcount=46

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-A28N0KMGXng/U5XqZozWbJI/AAAAAAAAGoc/xcKUTilJtlg/s800/DSC_0657.JPG

[RC.]

I hate to get all Philadelphia 76ers here, but Trust the Process.


Solid reference.

[rmk]

And panoramic of the of the fitting room.

That picture made me smile, and think about how fun the whole custom bike thing can be. I have a stock SV, and my favorite thing about it is the way it fits.

Ryan--

[pdonk]

That picture made me smile, and think about how fun the whole custom bike thing can be. I have a stock SV, and my favorite thing about it is the way it fits.

Ryan--

Glad my joy and excitement can make someone else feel good and smile.

[cnighbor1]

Today what I see in getting a new custom built frame is where to go in terms of tire size and use of fenders Plus disc brakes
bigger tires to me means riding on gravel and rough single trail
so how all that translates into the design of a frame results into a lot of big decisions
enjoy the process