If You Could .. What would you buy??

[jrisles]

HI Guys

With all the research i have been doing lately into my impending purchase of my new steel frame bicycle (make & model yet be to decided). I was wondering - If i was able to purchase several bicycles where each bicycle i purchased could only be made of one material what bikes would i purchase??

For instance if you had the chance of purchasing ANY steel frame bike (all steel only) what would it be. And if you could purchase ANY Carbon ONLY bike from all that is available what would it be??

So what bicycle (make & model) would you purchase for the following materials;

1. Steel Only
2. Carbon Only
3. Aluminium Only
4. Titanium Only
5. Mixed Materials

No reasons needed .. but if you feel so inclined you could give a reason for your decisions. Please list your bicycles of choice if money was no object. And i suspect that there are probably a few of you who are fortunate to be in this position.

All the best
Jeff
Brisbane, Australia

[jdesalvo]

For all steel, all titanium and mixed materials, I'd go with Serotta all the way. Yes by being on this site I am obviously partial to them, but I have been riding seriously for over 20 years and I just got my Ottrott ST a month ago and simply put it is the best bike I have EVER owned by far. My friend rides the Legend Ti and it is significantly better than my Merlin Extra Light. By better I mean that it is more responsive, handles better and in general feels more substantial all around. And, since steel is where Serotta got its start I'd have to bet they could take this category too!

Jason

[dnovo]

The Legend Ti is nigh on perfect. Don't mess with success. Dave N.

[soulspinner]

1 Vanilla
2 Parlee
3 Pegoretti
4 Spectrum
5 Serotta

[e-RICHIE]

nagasawa

e-RICHIE

ps

:p :D :eek:
:( ;) :confused:
:rolleyes: :o :mad:

[Too Tall]

1. Steel Only - Serotta CSI
2. Carbon Only - Calfee
3. Aluminium Only - no thanks
4. Titanium Only - Derr...(cough) I mean Serotta
5. Mixed Materials - no thanks
6. Bamboo - Bendyhana

[weisan]

Legend Ti - Versatile, rust-proof, lightweight, steel-like, good balance between stiffness and compliance, can go anywhere, do anything well...perfect!

PS. My experience with different bikes is pretty limited. It's hard to imagine finding another bike better than my Legend but I am sure there are a whole bunch out there. It just molds into part of my body, I don't feel a thing underneath me while riding.

[djg]

Many things look darn good, and not having spent a month riding most of the alternatives there's a fair bit of guessing going on in my rankings.

1. Steel Only

I already have a Serotta CSi, which is very nice. Others? Maybe I'd start with Sachs; Very tempting? Buddy has a Pegoretti Marcelo which looks very nice (did a few miles on its now deceased predecessor--liked it a lot); Spectrum; Della Santa; Moon (purty); Vanilla (seen just one--look pretty sweet, but also right); Kirk. If we're including TIG frames like the Peg, I might include IF, Steelman, Serotta again, Strong. Nothing wrong with a Nag MXL off the rack, btw.

2. Carbon Only

Colnago C50

3. Aluminium Only

Pegoretti Fina Estampa?

4. Titanium Only

Spectrum, maybe a Legend.

5. Mixed Materials

I like my Colnago CT1.

[Jeff N.]

Steel: Seven Axiom
Carbon: Parlee
Aluminum: 'Dale, I guess. CAAD-4.
Ti: Serotta Legend Ti.
Mix: Titus ExoGrid road.

[MarinRider]

Steel: E-Richie or BLE
Carbon: VSXR or C50
Aluminum: Fina
Ti: Ibis Road Ti
Mix: Ottrott ST

[Sandy]

Steel- Serotta CSi, Dave Kirk, Pegoretti, Richard Sachs
Carbon- Calfee, Colnago C50?, Parlee?
Aluminum- Klein
Titanium- Serotta Legend Ti, Spectrum
Mix- Serotta Ottrott ST


Sandy

[SPOKE]

one choice i would surely make is choosing a custom builder. my personal experiences are with Serotta and Spectrum (Tom Kellogg). but the next addition to the collection is a Richard Sachs. i won't say one of these builders offer a product that is "better" than the other but i can tell you that their quality is first class all the way. with Serotta you get to work with a trained fit specialist in your local LBS which is good. now with the Spectrum and Richard Sachs bikes you work directly with them so there is not a "middle man" involved that must explain your desires. this same approach is done by many other custom buliders so you might have just as good an outcome but i can't comment on the others since i haven't dealt with them.
other builders i plan on using in the near future are:
Vanilla
Peter Weigle
parlee
Columbine
Pegoretti
David Kirk

[Elefantino]

Cuz you asked...

Steel: CSi. It's what I have now, along with the De Bernardi. Two sweet rides.
Carbon: I used to have a Trek 5200. Great bike, but just too stiff for me now.
Aluminum: Specialized S-Works. I had the M4, which was an absolute sprint rocket. Ditto on the stiffness, though.
Ti: A Legend, when I hit the lotto.
Mixed: Ottrott, ditto.

Oh, who am I kidding. I've got two great bikes and don't want any others. (Don't tell the wife.) :no:

Mike

[jrisles]

Sandy you said;

Steel- Serotta CSi, Dave Kirk, Pegoretti, Richard Sachs
Carbon- Calfee, Colnago C50?, Parlee?

Sandy you give more than one choice for your Steel and Carbon bikes. If you HAD to narrow it down to only ONE Steel choice and ONE Carbon choice out of all these bikes you mentiioned which ONE would it be?? :)

Jeff

[froze]

I hate questions like this! So here goes nothing.

Steel: Sach for racing, price no object; Colnago MXL for racing, if price is a consideration. Rivendell for touring, price no object; Atlantis if price is a problem. (sorry too many steel bicycles I like)
Carbon: Look KG 486 for it's wild looks and non-Trek look.
Aluminum: forget it!
Titanium: Serotta Legend

[David Kirk]

The one, the only Alex Moulton folding, full suspension, space frame, 17" wheeled road bike. I NEED one of these. Anyone have one they want to let go?

Dave

[vaxn8r]

1. Serotta, but there are so many good choices: Davidson, Vanilla, Steelman, Della Santa, Co-Motion ( I know, all west coast guys)

2. Easy! Calfee

3. Ditto! Cannondale C7

4. Toughy. Probably Serotta over the Spectrum. Holland's are sweet.

5. Lemond. Just kiddin. I'm not big on mixed framesets, even if just the SS's. I do think Lemond's choice of which tubes to carbon makes more sense than some.

[RDP]

Great question....

as of today...
1. Steel: dbrk's Bridgestone RB-2 (in my size of course)
2. Carbon: a Crumpton (coolest bleeding edge carbon bike at a great price)
3. Aluminium: Something in Scandium....
4. Titanium: Moots Vamoots SL w/ custom decals and/or in cherry red
5. Mixed Materials: theprep's compact Strong (lean and mean)

-R

[davids]

Great question! Here's my (equivocal) answers:

1. Steel Only
Easy - a Richard Sachs, please. Hold the wait...
2. Carbon Only
This one's hard. I just haven't been that interested in carbon fiber bikes. Calfees have always looked a little strange to me, with those webbed lugs. I've never ridden one, and they may be sublime... I have to admit that the Parlee looks beautiful and sounds great. So I'll get one of those - A Parlee Z1, please.
3. Aluminium Only
Another easy choice. A Pegoretti Fina Estampa. The only aluminum road bike that makes sense to me.
4. Titanium Only
I have to cop out here and pick two finalists, the Serotta Legend and the Seven Axiom. It would take some serious thought to choose the better bike. And then there's the Spectrum. Can I trade my Carbon choice for another Ti bike?
5. Mixed Materials
Again, I could easily go in two different directions here, either for a Seven Elium or a Serotta Ottrot. My bias is towards the Elium, which seems like it would be the smoother of the two bikes. If I go for the Seven here, I'll pick the Legend for my pure Ti ride, OK?
Now, who's paying? :D

[Climb01742]

steel: the sachs i'm growing old waiting for, and since i have a custom steel by dario, i'd love a custom steel by eddy, maybe a corsa 0.1. (and see custom kelly beford special below...)

carbon: maybe parlee, but honestly i could easily pass on all carbon.

alu: got it...a fina.

mix: intrigued by c'dale 6-13. but my experience with mixes is, well, mixed. just gave ben back my ottrott for a super neat kelly beford special...a fillet brazed compact sorta CIII/CSi mutant in pearl white with only two decals.

ti: got 'em...hors...and soon to be built up IF CJ.

i'm clearly missing the gene that restrains impulse purchases.

[quattro]

Climb, I was recently at Belmont WW getting my IF CJ TI set up readjusted and your name came up. I was working with Tom N. and asked if your frame had come in, he was not sure. If you have received it, how do you like the workmanship and paint, Pearl Orange if I recall from reading various of your posts. Did the paint meet your expectations? Mine is Sapphire Blue Pearl,a wonderful job with white panals just like the one pictured in the 2003 catalog. When do you expect to have it on the road?

[Climb01742]

paint is superb. you can run your fingers over where the decals are and not a bump. glass smooth. yep, pearl orange. much louder than my usual tastes, but wanted something different. they gave the carbon seatstays and fork a really neat orange tint. i'm not as expert as some here, but the welds look sweet and smooth. i'm running an FSA compact on it, with DA 10, and new DA wheels. so if it isn't fast, its the engine's fault. hope to have it road-ready by the weekend.

[Dr. Doofus]

Steel -- Della Santa. He made Greg's bikes...since the Doc and I did his first race in '81, and we loved Greg, that by itself makes me drool....

Titanium -- sucks. I and He buy another steel frame, this time a cheap funky Mercian. Like owning a Morgan, great workmanship combined by with questionable design decisions. Like having a good original Danelectro...irresistable to the budget-conscious Doc...and since he'd have three great steel bikes (CSi, Corsa 0.1, Della Santa), he could have one quirky one.

Carbon -- sucks. We get a Sachs.

Aluminum -- sucks. We get a Mariposa.

Chorus 10 on all of 'em for us and me.

[Climb01742]

doc...gotta disagree on ti sucking. of course its highly personal, and depends on the frame in question, and how you ride, and what qualities you're looking for in a frame, but for me...steel is sublime...but ti is magical.