Don't Underestimate the Fierte Ti!

[FierteTi52]

I own several Serottas. 1991 NHX, 2001 Hors, 2003 Fierte Ti, and a 2004 Ottrott ST. Yesterday I used my Fierte Ti for the American Diabetes Tour De Cure Chairity event. I'm not comfortable riding a bike as expensive as the Ottrott around a buch of inexperience riders, so the Fierte Ti was the day's choice.
After 65 miles I was reminded what a great bike it is. Serotta really dialed in this model's tube selection and geometry. Even though it is a production bike, I would bet the Fierte would do the job for the majority of riders out there. The sloping top tube design can accomadate most riders fit needs. It may not be the best choice for riders with really extreme body sizes, but for ther average rider, it would be a great bang for the buck.
This is one bike I will keep for a long time. I'm curious how the new Fierte's with the Carbon seat stays ride compared to the older non carbon stayed bikes like mine.
The bottom line is, The Fierte is a great value and potential buyers shouldn't feel the bike is lacking in any way. Highly reccomended!
Jeff

[Wayne77]

I agree. The Fierte is a great riding frame for the money. After several test rides I almost went with a Fierte instead of a Concours but I wanted a slightly shorter HT and a longer TT. I think the Fierte would be an ideal ti bike for many of those that have tons o' spacers and positive rise stems on their frames. Look at how many major manufacturers use that same type of geometry now (Specialized Roubaix, Trek Pilot, Giant OCR, etc etc) Clearly there is a market demand for higher end bikes with geometry that doesn't require 4 cm of spacers to get the bars where your average weekend warrior needs/wants them.

The new Fierte is brushed ti (instead of Matte) and looks very nice IMO.