Decisions Decisions Decisions

[Baldmtn2]

I hate to be this guy but I need some Serotta help.

Quick - 36 y/o guy
Ain't going to race except a couple of road sign sprints on my local group ride
Want to ride distances over 100 miles a day for consecutive days
Narrowed the bicycle to two choices - (Both serotta of course)

Fierte IT ( so stock size but still from what i understand a pretty exacting fit process)
OR
Coeur d'Acier -

I see two big choices - Carbon/Ti vs Carbon/steel
Stock fit vs Custom fit

Really need to hear votes
1 - Fierte
2 Coeur d'Acier

Thanks for your help,

:crap:

[rnhood]

Easy decision; CDA (all steel) with rapid tour geometry.

[J.Greene]

If your the type of guy that will eventually upgrade go ahead and get the carbon ti bike. You won't be sorry.

JG

[Pete Serotta]

First some questions....

1- Do you know what dimensions you want/need. If so does the non custom meet them? If not than you must go custom.

2. You can not go wrong with either of the frames you mention - which do you like the looks over better.

From a personal view I love the ride of the CDA (standard geometry) Both my nephew and son in law have them...... It is more classic.

It really comes down to which one you keep on talking/thinking about. Let s know what you decide. or if you have questions please feel free to contact me at pmckeon@bellsouth.net

[Fixed]

get on that fits and then good wheels
cheers

[Ahneida Ride]

A fellow at my LBS owns a Ottrott, Legend and CDA.

When he wants to go out ... ride and just enjoy hinself, he takes the CDA.
It's his favorite ride. The Ottrott is for hammering and the Legend is the best
all around performer.

Do consider the Rapid Tour Geometry. My Legend is RT.

I wish I could be of more help. But I demo few bikes.

[fierte_poser]

If the Stock Serotta geometry fits you properly, then the Fierte IT is a great choice. If that is the case, the only benefits to going to a custom CDA from a stock Fierte IT will be small tweaks to the geometry and the tubeset specification to better match your weight, fitness, riding style, and intended use for the bike. The custom CDA will not fit you better if the Stock Serotta geometry already fits you, but it will be possible for Serotta to build you a bike that is better dialed in for its intended owner.

The other choice is Steel vs. Carbon/Ti in the main triangle. That will be purely personal although you can receive lots of input on that choice from people who have actual experience in the pros/cons of each. If I were going to do multiple hundred miles days in a row, I might lean toward the more muted ride of carbon/ti.

First things first, get a proper fit session done by a highly recommended fitter. Find out if you fit a Stock Serotta frameset.

[Peter P.]

First, you have to determine whether you can fit a stock model like the Fierte.

I'll draw an assumption from your post and say you probably don't have a lot of experience with cycling and what fits/what doesn't. If I'm right, then it'll be worth the cost to have not one, but TWO separate Serotta dealers run you through a fit session to see if 1-they agree and 2-whether you can fit a stock frame or not. Don't tell dealer A about dealer B and vice versa; just see where the numbers fall. It is the wisest investment you will make before purchasing a high dollar bike.

Or, instead of the two dealer fit sessions, set yourself up using some of the on-line or book information available out there and see how your numbers compare with those of your Serotta dealer's fit session. I suggest Andy Pruitt's book, Complete Medical Guide For Cyclists, which will help you determine a good position on any existing bike you have and give you an idea of where you might need to make changes in choosing a new bike; and Lennard Zinn's book, Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance, because it has a good section in the back on how to choose a frame size as well as how to measure yourself (with the help of a friend) for a proper fitting frame. Both are well respected experts in the cycling world.


I recommend the less expensive bike, if it fits only because I hate to see people spend big money on a bike and the love affair with cycling doesn't last. Serotta makes great bikes so you won't go wrong with either choice, and frame material choices are MUCH less important than a proper fit.

[dekindy]

Fred Matheny, a cycling rider and writer for decades and vice-president of Roadbikerider.com, chose a Waterford custom steel frame and fork for his cross-country ride. CDA would be the exact same thing.

Weight is the only disadvantage. Custom tubing will give you the perfect balance of performance and ride specified by you and custom dimensions like wider clearances for brakes, tires, etc, and options like eyelets for fenders and rack mounts can be specified if you want the option of loaded touring. A lot of cyclists put fenders on winter specific bikes so if you want to ride year round that option might allow you to use the bike year round.

Custom fitting helps the handling also and every little ache or pain is magnified on a long ride so custom can only help. If you are looking for a life long bike that nails the fit and handling, CDA is the way to go.

BTW - What kind of bike do you have now and what kind and how much riding are you doing? I am not sure why Peter P is concerned that your love affair with cycling may not last. Anyone aware of Serotta and custom options and considering 100 mile rides has the green light IMHO. Give us more details.

[KeithS]

I ride the Fierte IT and I love it, but then steel and CF is great too.

Others here have said far more eloquently than I could - fit first. I am truly blessed by having very experienced and skilled fit guidance at an LBS with folks who care. I couldn't be happier with my IT. As Ahneida said I don't test ride much, I feel I am so dialed in on my Fierte I don't know how I would ride another bike.

Fit, fit, fit. Get someone who knows what they're talking about and trust them. I think I know what I'm talking about, but when I come to this forum I find out the depth of my cycling ignorance. You came to the right place to ask the question, there are some really smart folks here and very seasoned riders. Any time I have asked for advice it has come back in spades. If I was paying for this consulting I couldn't afford it.

With my fitter I found out the hard way I don't know better. If the advise you trust says you will fit on the Fierte go for it, you're going to spend a bunch, by the way custom is not that much more.

My answer betrays my bias. The Fierte has made me a climbing machine. My club has triathlete's half my age (51) and I keep up with them on the flat and pass them on the hills. That's my version of road sign sprints.

Good luck. Let us know how this turns out.

[davids]

I've got a stock geo Nove from '05, and I think the Fierte IT is pretty close in terms of materials. Fierte geo is taller in front, I think...

Anyways, I love mine - a canny combo of materials and design. And I'm not a big fan of custom geo unless you're truly strangely shaped. Too many things can go wrong, and the stock geos are the products of lots of refinement.

Good luck!

[Ahneida Ride]

I ride the Fierte IT and I love it, but then steel and CF is great too.


Fit, fit, fit. Get someone who knows what they're talking about and trust them.



Amen. Fit is everything. You would be better off on a Huffy that fit then a Serotta that did not.

I strongy suspect that the Fierte IT rides a lot like the Ottrott. I had the
pleasure of demoing an Ottrott a while back and I must say it's an
interesting ride. Demuted, but fast and responsive.

I would love to demo a Fierte ... any version ....even more then a Meivici.
If a Firete IT rides anywhere near an Ottrott, Its quite a deal.

[shinomaster]

Get a race bike.

[Baldmtn2]

Thanks for all of the advice _ I guess I left a bit out -- I have been riding a long long time - I already own a race bike - Bianchi 928 SL, I own 4 bianchi's, and several bikes I piddle with. In all my wife/kids and my bikes currently totals 12. So I guess you can say I am a bit obsessed. In the process on restoring a copy of my first bike a Bianchi Veloce (all steel w/ carbon fork). Now looking for a bike to specifically do my favorite Charity century rides..... Livestrong, MS ride, etc.....

Thanks again for the insight, I have narrowed it down to a Colnago CLX, S-Works Robaiux and the Serotta Fierte IT.

Now it is crunch time - decisions, decisions, decisions ........

[pdxmech13]

the cda would be nice if you know what you are looking for in a bike.

[kgreene10]

One consideration that has not been addressed is the Fierte's "relaxed" geometry with a taller headtube and a longer chainstay. I have the Fierte IT and love it. It is an extremely comfortable and stable ride and although it has much of the stiffness you would find in a more race-oriented frame, the geometry doesn't particularly inspire speed. This may be just the thing for your 100 mile rides, especially since you have several bikes with more "forward" geometry.

I wasn't able to test ride the IT before buying it, but I found a number of shops with the Fierte Ti. It's a much, much cushier ride but it will at least give you the sense of the geometry.

Let us know what you decide.

[97CSI]

Easy decision; CDA (all steel) with rapid tour geometry.+1 - based on the OP, you definitely want RT geometry. Maybe even a few eyelets for fenders and panniers.