Electronic-only frames

[joosttx]

Originally Posted by 54ny77

Ahh YOU were the one!

I was really trying to figure out how to fit that sweet frame. That geo looked sweet, nice & neutral.

It sure was a nice bike.

Again, I think one should buy a custom bike with the intent on riding it not selling it. I am not sure if I ever made a decision on a custom bike on its ability to sell it.

[FlashUNC]

As someone who's gotten 3 electronic-only custom frames, I'll say that resale is pretty distant when I'm thinking about what I want from the bike. And electronic shifting in one form or another has been out there for a decade now.

Of the one electronic-only frame I sold, it had plenty of interest from folks.

I did recently get a frame that has electronic but cable stops when/if I ever want to run mechanical. That's more because I want to keep the door open for that specific frame having mechanical bits at some point down the road that I'd ride.

If you're worried about resale, you shouldn't be commissioning custom frames, my two cents.

[robertbb]

Originally Posted by Dave

I'm sick of black bikes.

Not me. As a famous rapper said in the 90's:

"I like... black... bikes. And I cannot lie."

Baby got bike?

[sparky33]

Originally Posted by joosttx

Again, I think one should buy a custom bike with the intent on riding it not selling it. I am not sure if I ever made a decision on a custom bike on its ability to sell it.

There it is.

[jlwdm]

I have two custom bikes: 0ne Serotta 12 1/2 years old and one Spectrum Ti 10 years old and have never thought of selling either one.

My third bike was custom Serotta for someone else and it is great also. I think I have owned it for 10 1/2 years.

Nothing new in the last ten years.

Jeff

[Clean39T]

Originally Posted by robertbb

Not me. As a famous rapper said in the 90's:



"I like... black... bikes. And I cannot lie."



Baby got bike?

"I don't want none if it reflects the sun hun.."

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by tv_vt

Marc,

Don't be put off by the electronic-only issue. Just get the Di2 parts you need and go with the flow if it's a bike you'd truly enjoy. I bought a Di2 carbon Serotta HSG a few years ago and it's been great. Ultegra Di2 is fantastic and simple to operate. I think an MIT engineering grad might be able to figure it out. Maybe.

I think it should be mentioned that more than a few framesets are 'etap only'...and that 'could' make a difference in not only sell-ability and price(not higher, lower..as keen as etap 'is', some don't want it)...

Sales-guy-

I've built 7 FSA WE bikes in the last year. The kits been on the market for a over a year and it works wonderfully. I have a disc WE build in the works for a mag/website review right now. Might have it at NAHBS.

This is what happens when ya assume something from being around LBS'..never seen one, never heard of one, around the republic. Neither had Jim at Vecchio's. It 'might' be 'out there', but not really around Boulder, USA..

[sales guy]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

This is what happens when ya assume something from being around LBS'..never seen one, never heard of one, around the republic. Neither had Jim at Vecchio's. It 'might' be 'out there', but not really around Boulder, USA..

No worries Peter. I wasn't trying to slam you or anything.

[joosttx]

Originally Posted by tuscanyswe

Hmm not sure your price example makes much sense as to draw conclusions from.

Its easier to sell something used for "what you want" when you only want a 5th of retail .)

I see your point. But I priced it to move and it moved lighting quick. If I priced it higher then it would of take a longer to sell. I see speed of sale as a decision point in pricing. If I price something low and it does not move as quickly as expected I view it as a fail. This was not a fail even though the first buyer said he would buy it and didn’t . There was another buyer waiting to jump at the opportunity .

[colker]

Originally Posted by FlashUNC

If you're worried about resale, you shouldn't be commissioning custom frames, my two cents.

This makes a lot of sense.

[12snap]

Originally Posted by joosttx

I’ll be that guy that’s says, “You should think of resale when getting a custom frame”. My Built goes one step worse, it has now cable guides or ports. You can only use a wireless drivetrain. This makes the bike look as clean as possible. I was more concerned with that than resale. In fact, I love to say it looks and if it had cable guides I think it would driven me nuts.

Regarding to value of custom frames with electronic only drivetrains. I just sold a Seven frame in a matter of hours with an electronic only drivetrain for the price I wanted. I didn’t discount the bike frame because of that.

Brad could easily add guides for mechanical on your Built if you needed to go that direction or if a potential buyer requested it. I've had that conversation with him myself about a used electronic only frame I was considering.

[FriarQuade]

When a custom frame is ready for it's second owner, it's just another frame. And I'll echo the above, if you're worried about resell you shouldn't be buying custom.

[joosttx]

Originally Posted by 12snap

Brad could easily add guides for mechanical on your Built if you needed to go that direction or if a potential buyer requested it. I've had that conversation with him myself about a used electronic only frame I was considering.

Oh man it’s so clean without them.

[CAAD]

I think etap is perfect for a custom bike. On a steel frame I want the fewest holes possible. I personally don't think about resale, a custom frame is a keeper.

[happycampyer]

From my observation, the fact that a frame is designed for wired electronic shifting (and not mechanical) does not affect resale value. All three big manufacturers make electronic groups, and have been making them long enough that used parts are affordable. At this point, even a frame that is for wireless shifting only probably doesn’t sell at much of a discount, if at all, even though there’s currently only one wireless groupset manufacturer (which is a testament to how good eTap is, relative to SRAM wired shifting).

With only few exceptions, frames that take the biggest hit in the secondary market are those that were built for rim brakes and can’t take a tire bigger than 25mm (most of which were also built for mechanical shifting). Of course, frames that are on the fringes geometry-wise also take a hit. Ironically, road frames made for disc brakes other than flat mount also take a hit (the 26ers of the road-bike world). It seems to me that enough people want electronic shifting that a frame that is e-only will not sell at a discount beyond other factors that affect its resale.