Cyfac Cadence...any information: good, bad, ugly?

[Bodid]

Anyone have any experience/info on Cyfac, specifically the Cadence model? Info on Cyfac in general is sparse but talk to anyone who has one and they won't shut up!

Thanks,

Jeff

[SpeedyChix]

Concur. Anyone riding 'em loves them. Having listened to a friend gush on about his for a couple of years (road and TT) I'm thinking about a Nerv DS. I may be able to post up my impressions soon.

Also know a couple other riders on them, one a stock bike, the other on an alu/carbon custom. Could probably put you in touch with the rider on the custom if you'd like.

[Waldo]

I loved my Panthere on flats and climbs. Wasn't crazy about its descending. Felt the same about my Time VXR. Not sure if these characteristics are particular to French bikes. (I figure going uphill is about the rider, downhill is about the bike.) So, those bikes didn't feel quite right for ME. Your experience may vary.

[jbl]

I believe these were made specifically for the Cadence bicycle shop. I don't know anything other than that.

[SpeedyChix]

http://www.veloeuropa.com/cyfac/cyfac/cyfac-standard/page35/lacadence.html

100% handmade in France, stock geo only.

Cyfac was at NAHBS in Indy this year, their frames looked very nice.

[giordana93]

cyfac counts as one of those "most famous brands you've never heard of." they have been around a while and built many bikes for the pros that were painted as other brands for sponsorship reasons. while the cadence is a "stock sizing only" (and thus cheaper), their bread and butter was custom fitting and sizing and they have a whole fit philosophy and computer-generated print outs, blah, blah. the frames are gorgeous, expensive, and definitely high quality, both in the engineering and in the execution-and you won't see one on every corner, if you know what I mean. if the cadence geometry works for you, they are worth checking out. and there's always custom, and they are certainly not a new-comer to this game, fwiw

the veloeuropa site has a good amount of info on them

http://www.veloeuropa.com/cyfac/cyfac.html

post edit: and the frames are all 100% made in France, unlike almost every other brand that outsources to Asia (except Serotta, most Time, and still Trek, another reason these brands cost a pretty penny, but you get that peace of mind, if it means sth. to you)

[wasfast]

I have a Cyfac Tigre for my dry bike. Mine has around 9K miles on it. I like the bike very much. Eric at Veloeuropa is a great guy and will be very happy to answer any questions,etc.

Cyfac is indeed not well known in the US. The dealer network is very small. Cadence is one of, if not the, largest US dealer.

There was a Cyfac Absolu for sale recently here:

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=58600&highlight=absolu

[Cantdog]

Landry's in Boston used to carry Cyfac and a lot of the employees rode them(and on the velo europa team). Give Mark a call at the Boston store- 617 232 0446, he's a straight shooter and could give you the run down on em.

[sspielman]

I had a Cyfac until this winter when run-in with a deer ended the relationship.....Anyway, it was a great bike...got in 2000....custom made...Starship tubing. It was crazy light, great geometry....was everything anybody could ask for. At that time, Cyfac had a big business building custom frames for teams and re-labelling them MBK, Peugeot or whatever. The owner, Francis Quillon, oversaw everything. He has since sold the company, so that part of the heritage is gone. I really don't know if it has affected the product.

[Charles M]

Go buy one.


Good company, good distributor, very nice bikes.

[old fat man]

the folks i know who have owned them give mixed ride reviews. two really liked them and one thought it was so-so, no better than less expensive bikes he'd owned.

just don't damage it! the three people i know that own them have all damaged them and it is cost prohibitive to send them back for repair. one person did send it back since it was cyfac's error (he had to pay shipping though) and instead of replacing the bb shell as they claimed they were going to do, they just re-threaded it and now his bb is super loose. he's not happy about, nor was he happy about waiting 5 months for the whole process to be completed.