Opinions on Spectrum steel frame?

[scottcw]

How do they compare to, say, Sachs or Rivendell? build quality? ride? reputation?

[bostondrunk]

I doubt you'll notice ride differences unless the geometry is different. Man, go for the Spectrum. Getting fit by TK will make it worth it according to what others have said.

[keno]

I have a Serotta Concours and a Spectrum Steel. I love them both. The Spectrum just disappears under me and provides a fabulous ride. Tom is very knowledgeable and hit my fit perfectly.

keno

[chrisroph]

I've got one made for me in about 1988. Its a great bike every bit as good as any other steel bike available today. Its is beautifully built, smooth, springy, a great descender. Its the equal of my csi although they have slightly different qualities. The csi tracks better in a straight line and corners a bit slower than the spectrum. The spectrum is a little more nervous but is more of a slasher. The spectrum is a bit more vertically compliant.

[OldDog]

Tom will design and Jeff will build your Spectrum in any flavor you like, touring, crit, rr, track, fancy as you like in any color scheme you can dream up, in about 8 - 10 weeks, depending on season. Ritchie will adapt your body to his version of a road frame (you'll need to talk to him direct to see what options he is currently offering) and JB will paint to your desire, though a Sachs is usally had in red with cream panels. Expect a wait around 24 months as the demand for a Sachs is high.

All things equal, (tubing, gauges geo.), one is as great as the other. I envy your problem of having to choose. Visit both in person, stay an extra day as riding in both areas is great.

I opted for the Sachs in 2002, (as I already had a ti Spectrum 1995 std road)
It's a wonderful ride and design, clearences for wider tires. Richie's design makes for a great all day rider. I never had a bike that decended as well and it climbs every bit as good as the ti Spectrum, though these are two very different rides for sure.

I have lusted for a Rivindell, though I have no experience with them other than what I see on their website. Sweet lugwork in a touring/sport touring configuaration. Their price is up there on par with a Spectrum and Sachs. For the money I think I'd opt for the personal fitting of either Tom or Ritchie.

Good luck and have a blast visiting and researching.

[scottcw]

Thinking used. None would be custom fit. Just curious as to quality. I already know about Sachs and Rivendell.

[dbrk]

I think of Spectrum as truly in league with the most detail-minded and fastidious builders of lugged steel. A Spectrum is one of the last bikes I really lust. Because it has not been noted, you will notice that most steel Spectrum have that refined, thin edged lug work that reminds me of Kvale and others of this ilk. It is a certain taste and, in a way, quite different from the stand-up shorelines of a Sachs or Rivendell. One has to count Rivendell's Curt' Goodrich among the truly gifted builders. I don't think you would suffer a bit from having Grant Petersen do your fit by numbers but each of these is a bike with a certain personality befitting its designer. Sachs has a race heritage, Rivendell more of an all-day all-arounder, and Spectrum, to my mind, a bit more like Sachs than Rivendell (which is more like, say, Mariposa, Ebisu, Heron, et.al., in style).

You cannot fail with any of these. Spectrum and Eisentraut are very much on my list after I am done with the current set of priorities. Good luck! Beautiful bicycles like these are things you never tire of.

dbrk

[Johny]

Spectrum and Eisentraut are very much on my list after I am done with the current set of priorities. Good luck! Beautiful bicycles like these are things you never tire of.

dbrk



dbrk, Happy Birthday! What would be on the list after Spectrum and Eisentraut? Remember you may have the third wish. :D

[Gerard_CSI]

I've been lusting for a serotta, but spectrum is a close second on my list. I've only ever read superb reviews of spectrum bicycles and Tom K.
For now I'll have to be content with my trek.:(

[Climb01742]

lately i've been riding a fillet-brazed CSi that kelly recently built for me. if there is a finer steel bike made...well, it would have to be one damn fine bike. mr bedford doesn't get mentioned often here in the same sentence as many of the great framebuilders. based on my CSi, that is an oversight.

[Smiley]

Is a master Frame builder in his own league. I think he has penned more frames in Steel , Titanium and Carbon / Ti than any builder you can name . This does not even account for Kellys own work before he joined Serotta. I think in my over 10 year association with Kelly as a fitter he has managed to meet or exceed my clients standards for how they want their frames to ride. This takes nothing away from those builders mentioned but for my $$$ I'd stack Kelly Bedford up there with the best, Lets not also forget that Kelly has worked with Ben Serotta for a very long time. Just because Ben does not weild a torch on a daily basis does not mean the guy does not know how to tune a fine instrument. Thanks Climb for bringing to light what most of us take for granted as a knowledge base at a place called Serotta Bicycles :banana:

[timto]

Climb - any chance you can find time to post a pic? I love the look of fillet bikes ... maybe even more than nice lugged bikes (yikes!). I really appreciate a beautiful, perfectly radiused fillet - to me there is nothing nicer especially when some nice paint is on it.

Is fillet a premium over the lugged CSI?

Regards

Tim

[Climb01742]

tim, i believe there is a premium...i think...not sure...i do know it is time consuming. my CSi has pearl white paint and the fillets are, to my eye, perfect. kelly did the torch work himself. i will try to get my S.O. to work the camera...i'm a putz. the frame is compact and gorgeous. kelly created a jewel, IMHO.

[timto]

I'm looking forward to those pics then. The bike lust was under control ... until just now. It will go into super overdrive if when I get to see it .. sounds too cool in compact!

Cheers

[Johny]

tim, i believe there is a premium...i think...not sure...i do know it is time consuming. my CSi has pearl white paint and the fillets are, to my eye, perfect. kelly did the torch work himself. i will try to get my S.O. to work the camera...i'm a putz. the frame is compact and gorgeous. kelly created a jewel, IMHO.

Hey Climb,

How does it compare to your fillet Kirk?

[Climb01742]

kelly used some interesting shaped tubes on my CSi, so its ride is quite special. it is buttery smooth. and being the third serotta kelly designed for me, the flex/stiffness balance is absolutely sublime. so say that the CSi rides more to my liking is meant to take nothing away from david's work, but to say that the third time was the charm for kelly.

both fillet brazings are superb. as much as i like the celedon green of my kirk, i'm a sucker for pearl paints. again, we're talking great...and simply a tad bit greater. but i think even david would say, kelly is a master.

[Johny]

kelly used some interesting shaped tubes on my CSi, so its ride is quite special. it is buttery smooth. and being the third serotta kelly designed for me, the flex/stiffness balance is absolutely sublime. so say that the CSi rides more to my liking is meant to take nothing away from david's work, but to say that the third time was the charm for kelly.

both fillet brazings are superb. as much as i like the celedon green of my kirk, i'm a sucker for pearl paints. again, we're talking great...and simply a tad bit greater. but i think even david would say, kelly is a master.

Climb, Thanks.

P.S. think lugs are better looking than fillets... But if one wants a compact steel, fillets are better looking than TIGs...

[dbrk]

This is in reply to palJohny about filets and TIGs.

If you look at Hampsten, these bikes are actually TIG'd then a compound is used to cover them before paint so that they look filet brazed: smooth, one piece like, etc. This method has all the benefits of filet brazing but far lower costs. My point is that there is a sort of in-between filet brazing and TIG welding now as far as aesthetics go.

I entirely agree, btw, this is just adding to the pie.

Climb, do you have pictures of the said filet brazed CSi?
Most curious.

dbrk

[SPOKE]

Tom Kellogg and Jeff build a wonderful riding steel bike. compared to the Serotta CSi you will most likely find the the Spectrum is a little quicker handling but that can be adjusted to your preference. you won't get a better built and finished frame set than a Spectrum. there are some equals regarding build quality and finish from the likes of Richard Sachs, Peter Weigle, and a few others. each of these masters have their own ideas regarding the proper fit and how to achieve the ride qualities you seek. i've been very fortunate enuf to be fit by Ben Serotta, Tom Kellogg, and Richard Sachs. all know their craft very well. you can't go wrong with any of these three. in the case of Tom and Richard it's a very personal experience simply because they do most all the work. with a Spectrum you get Tom's fit, performance, and paint experience and Jeff is just a wonderful craftsman. with a Sachs built frame set Richard does it all except the finish which is handled by Joe Bell. unfortunately, the Serotta experience isn't quite so personal, (there are rare exceptions such as my fit session with Ben a few years ago), but the end result still gets you a frame set that wil surpass your expectations. i do think Serotta has a slight advantage with their custom drawn tube sets used in the CSi that allows them to create a frame that exibits good stiffness qualities while keeping overall comfort and balance in the "sweet spot". the other guys have to rely on their knowledge of the numerous tubing choices in order to get certain ride qualities needed to match the customer's requirements.

[amg]

I've had my Spectrum steel for two years now and I'm still amazed every time I ride it how well it fits me, how well it handles (climbing, descending, dropping my riding buddies :) ) and how beautiful the lug work and paint are. Excellent bicycle through and through. Tom and Jeff are amazing! I love my Spectrum!

Next on my list: Sachs and Pegoretti! :banana:

Antonio

[coylifut]

I have a Spectrum. Clearly the best bike I've ever owned. If you have a line on a used one, I'd jump all over it. I don't see them offered very often.

[bags27]

I drove over 5 hours (each direction) to have Tom Kellogg spend an entire morning planning my bike: first interviewing me about my current bike(s), riding habits, and riding aspirations; then fitting me and fitting me some more; and finally sketching out the main lines of my intended bike, explaining how every measurement related to what I had said and what he had observed. It's a Ti bike, very much precisely what I wanted, and 3 months and 2000 miles later, I continue to be amazed. And--a nicer, more knowledgeable, more customer-devoted guy it would be impossible to find.