First Custom Bike - built for me

[pdonk]

Appreciating everyone's input.

Yes, the bike is a long haul bike, definitely want to be able to age into it (I'm 47). My moots has a relatively short top tube and long head tube, so it can always be the retirement bike.

i am going to place my trust in the speedvagen folks, if i didn't, i wouldn't be dropping this much coin on a bike.

Hopefully Clean39 and I can meet up for a ride or at least ice cream. As this is a family vacation, not sure what my wife would think of me cutting out for a 2-3 hour ride.

[David Tollefson]

Originally Posted by vqdriver

my big takeaway from these fittings is to have an idea of what you want the bike to do, not what the bike will be. let the builder translate that into numbers.

This ^^ 100%.

[Peter P.]

Originally Posted by steveandbarb1

Only thought, knowing nothing about you...

I agree with everything steveandbarb1 said.

Also, bring the Moots with you if you can. Let the Speedvagen staff measure the dimensions, unless you have the spec sheet from the original owner.

And you better post photos when you get it!

[Fishbike]

Yeah yeah yeah on the fitting. What paint scheme is at the top of the list?

[Hellgate]

I've had four custom bikes over the years. Buy the extras you want now, don't cheap out as you'll second guess yourself.

I've done two in person fits, two over the phone or email. All have been wonderful!

1) Ian Laing - Should have kept
2) Davidson - Kept
3) Guru - Kept
4) 333fab - Have

Have fun and chat your builder up! You're paying for it after all.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5010 using Tapatalk

[uber]

I have had other custom fittings and custom bikes. The fit process by Sacha is very complete and he takes his time for sure. As of recently, 70% of his bikes involve this process. I agree to ask him how you want the bike to ride and allow him to figure out the geometry. Obviously, bring shorts, shoes the saddle you plan to use and possibly pedals. Enjoy the process, it is a real luxury. The bike came out great.

[verbs4us]

One consideration is if you have any unusual biomechanics. I have a whacked hip and feel most comfortable on a bike with a low Q. A consequence of that is that my heel sometimes strikes the drive side chainstay if the stays are widely flared and the tubes are fat. It was a consideration on a Firefly I had made a while ago, and Kevin dialed it in perfectly. And yes--bring your shorts, socks, and shoes and a towel. Also, your favorite saddle on the seatpost, if you have one. Or ask Sasha what he recommends you bring.

[soulspinner]

Great advice above.Just go with an open mind and if you cant bring the Moots bring the build sheet. Congrads to you.

[martl]

As an engineer, agnostic, sceptic and all-round a**hole, i highly doubt the difference between a custom-made bike and a fitting off-the-shelf bike is recognizeable, and i also believe that for 99.9% of the human beings out there, some manufacturer has just what they need in stock.

That having said, i do ride a custom-made bike and boy do i love it It is a special thing to own, and to ride. Have fun with yours!

[pdonk]

I know I don't need a bike as nice as the speedvagen or even my moots, but I want it and am in a place in life that I can afford to do it.

I am going to totally trust the process and what they suggest.

As for the important things - colour, still trying to decide.

Order of preference is suprise me, horizon, team, ghost.

In looking at the surprise me paint, of the 11 or 12 I can find on line there is:
1 I truly disliked - stars and stripes,
1 I don't like - ichico, but appreciate,
1 I would have been disappointed with - the klein one
most of the others, including the past 4 years would have really liked to get.

In all of the research the past 3 years I have done, i have only heard of one truly horrible experience with them.

And seriously, my first house cost less than this bike will cost, our dollar is taking a kicking right now.

[booglebug]

Originally Posted by pdonk

I know I don't need a bike as nice as the speedvagen or even my moots, but I want it and am in a place in life that I can afford to do it.

I am going to totally trust the process and what they suggest.

As for the important things - colour, still trying to decide.

Order of preference is suprise me, horizon, team, ghost.

In looking at the surprise me paint, of the 11 or 12 I can find on line there is:
1 I truly disliked - stars and stripes,
1 I don't like - ichico, but appreciate,
1 I would have been disappointed with - the klein one
most of the others, including the past 4 years would have really liked to get.

In all of the research the past 3 years I have done, i have only heard of one truly horrible experience with them.

And seriously, my first house cost less than this bike will cost, our dollar is taking a kicking right now.

I'm going to put the miles in on the nicest thing I can afford with no regrets regardless of what others might think. Heck most on a Huffy are faster then me.

[TurboTom]

In my experience, each builder goes through a different fitting process with customers. I am lucky in that I have fairly balanced body measurements. A 56 cm even with a level TT works fine for me. I currently have 6 road bikes with 4 being "custom" (an Ericksen Ti, Oasis, Paul Taylor fixed and one I built for myself). I have perfected my riding position over many years (I'll be 64 this year) and all of my contact points are within millimeters on all of them. It has been a process of lots of miles, component swaps and many, many small adjustments. On any one of them I'm comfortable on long rides and in any position and often ride for hours in the drops.

That said, they all ride differently. 3 are all steel, one Ti with carbon fork, one all carbon and one steel with carbon fork; tire sizes range from 22-28 mm. The weights range from a little over 14 lbs. to just over 19 lbs. All have slightly different "ride quality, feel and personality" that are noticeable to me but often hard to put into words. I average 7K miles per year. I love them all. However, I do have a favorite.

Why am I rambling on this thread? Drum roll please...

Because my favorite is my Speedvagen Road. It has stock 56 geometry. From SV: Di2 routing, carbon seat tube, Enve mast top, 110 mm Pro stem and special order gloss black paint with ghost graphics, pump peg on HT, black CK headset. They cut the steerer tube and provided 17 mm of stem spacers to position me at my desired drop and shipped it. I added DA 9050 Di2, Fabric ALM saddle, Ritchey Carbon Streem bars, EE brakes with Power Cordz cables, Easton SL wheelset with 28 mm S-Works tubeless tires and Ritchey carbon bottle cages. It weighs less than 16 lbs.

In my case, the only thing I might have done differently would be to increase HT length to eliminate the spacers (only aesthetics). Otherwise, it's just so sweet. It rides differently from the others in a way that makes me smile and wonder why.

There may just be magic in some bikes. I hope you are as happy with your experience/purchase as I am.

[vqdriver]

Originally Posted by pdonk

1 I don't like - ichico, but appreciate,
1 I would have been disappointed with - the klein one
.

i'm with you on the klein paint.
got a link to that ichico paint? now i'm curious

[pdonk]

Originally Posted by vqdriver

i'm with you on the klein paint.
got a link to that ichico paint? now i'm curious

Here is a link - http://theradavist.com/wp-content/up...0-1200x800.jpg

It came in a few colours, lavender, grey and green.

i appreciate the work that went into it, but would not really want it.

I think my favourites are in order the horizon with hand sanding, the 2016 dots and blocked colours, last years dots and teh original horizon.

[classtimesailer]

Get a frame pump painted to match.