Breadwinner

[merckx]

I am thinking about getting a B-Road. Anyone here have a Breadwinner? How was the product and purchase experience.

[merckx]

I just saw the thread by sjbraun. I should have used the search. Any additional thoughts by others?

[herb5998]

Picked up crankles B Road for my wife last year (57cm). She really likes it, will use it for commuting as well once she’s back in office. It’s not the lightest bike, but it’s well built, great components, and the geometry works well for her, she’s super comfortable on it


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[Morgul Bismark]

Originally Posted by merckx

I am thinking about getting a B-Road. Anyone here have a Breadwinner? How was the product and purchase experience.

As a B-Road owner, here's my take:

• Back in 2019 when I got mine, the B-Road was post mount only. Mine was Di2, so I am using Ultegra R8070 Di2 Shifters with RS-785 Calipers. I'm not sure at this point if Breadwinner has moved forward to flat mount, but that would be a good point to clarify.
• Breadwinner basically built to the fit coordinates I gave them from my current bike.
• I paid extra for custom paint. The end result was close, but not an exact match. If you're fanatical about color matching, just be warned it may be ever so slightly off. I'm sure no one else notices, but I notice.
• If you're used to David Kirk levels of communication (i.e. lots of unsolicited updates and photos), then Breadwinner left a bit to be desired in terms of communication. They would be responsive if asked, but otherwise I felt like I was always pulling updates out of them after time had passed rather than feeling like they kept me up to date on how things were going on their own.

My experience. Two years old. Your mileage may vary.

[merckx]

Originally Posted by Morgul Bismark

As a B-Road owner, here's my take:

• Back in 2019 when I got mine, the B-Road was post mount only. Mine was Di2, so I am using Ultegra R8070 Di2 Shifters with RS-785 Calipers. I'm not sure at this point if Breadwinner has moved forward to flat mount, but that would be a good point to clarify.
• Breadwinner basically built to the fit coordinates I gave them from my current bike.
• I paid extra for custom paint. The end result was close, but not an exact match. If you're fanatical about color matching, just be warned it may be ever so slightly off. I'm sure no one else notices, but I notice.
• If you're used to David Kirk levels of communication (i.e. lots of unsolicited updates and photos), then Breadwinner left a bit to be desired in terms of communication. They would be responsive if asked, but otherwise I felt like I was always pulling updates out of them after time had passed rather than feeling like they kept me up to date on how things were going on their own.

My experience. Two years old. Your mileage may vary.

Your B-Road looks fabulous. Are those Barlow Pass mounted in the last picture with the silver bits?

[weisan]

Message sparky33 pal

[sparky33]

Originally Posted by Morgul Bismark

[*]I paid extra for custom paint. The end result was close, but not an exact match. If you're fanatical about color matching, just be warned it may be ever so slightly off. I'm sure no one else notices, but I notice. [*]If you're used to David Kirk levels of communication (i.e. lots of unsolicited updates and photos), then Breadwinner left a bit to be desired in terms of communication. They would be responsive if asked, but otherwise I felt like I was always pulling updates out of them after time had passed rather than feeling like they kept me up to date on how things were going on their own.[/LIST]My experience. Two years old. Your mileage may vary.

Breadwinner makes wonderful bikes. They have thoughtful tested designs that are then made to measure for you. Quality tubes too. My G Road rides super nice and the details make sense.

The stock paint job on mine is great. Nice colors, tasteful detailing, durable.

BW is a production shop and so their communication is not on par with a custom shop. They are polite and friendly. They keep good notes on your order. Though don’t expect them to have an extended email discussion with you. You’ll hear from them when something is about to happen. Your email may go unanswered until then. Actual time to receiving the goods was about 2x the estimate, not terrible, not stellar.

BW is a fair deal for what you get and what you pay.

[charliedid]

I don't have one but I'd buy one.

[Morgul Bismark]

Originally Posted by merckx

Your B-Road looks fabulous. Are those Barlow Pass mounted in the last picture with the silver bits?

Thank you! I enjoy the bike a lot.

The tires are Barlow Pass

Originally Posted by sparky33

Breadwinner makes wonderful bikes. They have thoughtful tested designs that are then made to measure for you. Quality tubes too.

Agreed. Pricing was reasonable for what you get.

[sjbraun]

I've had my Breadwinner B-Road for about a month now, so my experience is a more current reflection of working with Breadwinner than some of the others who have posted here.

I paid a deposit on the frame in late May and picked up the fully built bike in late October. I had several early email conversations with both Tony and Ira related to my thoughts on geometry and parts wishes. Their answers were always prompt, detailed and thorough.

I wanted a frame that mimicked the handling of a Specialized Diverge, a bike I had owned previously and that I felt handled especially well. While all Breadwinners offer custom geometry, they have a basic template for each model. Ira worked with me to incorporate my thoughts into their design model for the B-Road. When I first received the Bike CAD drawing, I had a few concerns. Ira provided me with assurances that the bike would meet my needs and he also sent a new Bike CAD drawing that provided additional data (stack and reach figures,) that showed me how the design would work.

Once those things were sorted out, my communication was solely with Alex, whose role is akin to a sales manager. Alex kept me appraised of where my frame sat in the queue and helped me make paint and parts decisions. Breadwinner suffers from the same supply chain issues that are impacting parts availability everywhere. I wanted to fit the frame with a GRX 800 series 2x mechanical groupset. Based on what Breadwinner had been told by their suppliers, rear derailleurs wouldn't be available until November and cranks wouldn't arrive until sometime in 2022. I was able to find 90 of the groupset from private sellers scattered around the country. Alex was totally cool about me getting parts in my own and was very helpful as we identified the parts he could supply and those I should search for.

I had one last concern about the bike. I was sending the summer in Oregon and really wanted to avoid the expense of shipping the bike to AZ, (and then incurring AZ sales tax.) The frame was finished in September, but then headed to Eugene for paint. I'm not sure where my bike sat in the painter's queue, but its my sense that Alex made sure it moved through that process so that I could get the bike before I returned to Tucson. Once they received it back from paint, it went to the front the build queue. As promised, the bike was built and ready for me just a few days before we left OR.

In retrospect, I'm quite happy with the process of getting a frame from Breadwinner. Its true, they are a production shop, currently 12 frames per week, so I didn't get the progress reports that some custom builders provide (ie here's a picture of your tubeset, now its in the jig, see the pretty welds, etc.) But I did receive the communication I needed to stay informed. And importantly, they worked to insure the frame was completed and the bike built within the time frame I required.

Let me know if you have other questions about my process with Breadwinner or the bike itself. I think anyone who gets a Breadwinner will be quite satisfied. I certainly am.

-Steve