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#31
10-30-2005, 07:05 AM
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Slightly contrarian view
I"m no Clydesdale.
In fact at 5'6 and 142 pounds I'm not even an Arabian. More like a miniature. I have a Legend Ti, 54 cm, non-sloper. It is the single greatest material object I have ever purchased. The ride is flawless. The finish is pure artistry. I'm also a little pessimistic, and even occasionally crabby by nature. If there were flaws they would stick out like a sore thumb in my eyes. What else can I tell you? 
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#32
10-31-2005, 01:27 AM
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Fairfax Titanium
I mention Fairfax, because that's very close to where all the WTB guys: Steve Potts, Cunningham and Gary Fisher, Otis Guy et. al. live and ride. Other than Ritchey this is the who's who of mtn biking. Gary is a great guy by the way. My buddy Doug is best friends with Otis whom I have never met. Amazing that 14 guys who liked to ride down Mt. Tam started a multi-billion dollar industry and so many of them started there own companies.
I've seen Cunningham's first Al road bike which has lasted 25 years which has the worst welds of any bike on the planet. Cunninghams welds improved with practice. Pott's Ti bikes are rare. His road bikes are more rare. If you live in Marin it would be very cool to have a Potts Ti road bike. I doubt that Potts has made more than a 100 Ti bikes or more than 200 road bikes in his life and I would factor that into the equation as well. It would be a good question to ask. If you live anywhere else I'd probably get a Serotta or a Moots. Fundamentally, Serotta does more things right than any other bike maker at the custom level, including this web site. I'd love to have Kelly design a bike for me. Great to have all these choices, Cheers, Kane
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#33
03-01-2024, 10:12 AM
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reaching way back for this thread...
Are there any Potts owners here still? I admire Steve Potts work, and his recent Instagram teasing of a titanium gravel fork to go with his custom frames is enticing. Though I seldom hear anyone talk about a Potts bike....How are they? How is the Potts custom process?
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#34
03-01-2024, 10:17 AM
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Quote:
My good buddy had a Potts Ti gravel bike before it got stolen. I met Steve a few times during the building process. Is there a nicer guy in the business? I’d be hard pressed to think of one.
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#35
03-01-2024, 10:26 AM
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I personally haven't loved the look of the Potts frames I've seen, which were all 2000s-era 29ers.
However, I've always wanted an excuse to build a bike around a Potts steel fork. Something about the Type II makes me happy. There are even main-in-Taiwan versions for about $500 now, but ideally it would be made by the man himself.
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#36
03-01-2024, 12:05 PM
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Hilarious zombie thread - this must have been one of the first posts I made here? Anyways, I would still love a Potts and never got one. In 2013, I did a coin flip between Desalvo and Potts and the Desalvo won, so no Potts.
O cool local shop had one in their basement when I visited last month. It was extremely cool. Totally OG and had all the cool bells and whistles, but is so understated at the same time. I have to assume these are amazing bikes to ride! A local vintage MTB guy I know has a WTB Phoenix in his collection, but that is from another era.
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#38
03-01-2024, 12:52 PM
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I have a Potts mtb, picked up here on the forum. Super fun and built to last. When i reached out to Steve to discuss a dirt road bike build, he was super responsive until I mentioned wanting to put an ekar group on it. This was back when it first came out. Not sure why he hates italian.
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#39
03-01-2024, 02:26 PM
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Quote:
This is my first and only custom and Steve Potts was a delight to work with. I am fairly knowledgeable about geometry and what I like and dont like in a bike so that was a good place to start. Steve is a fantastic communicator. The time between deposit and me being next up in the build queue there was not much communication and sometimes it would take him a couple weeks to get back to me. I was ok with that because, well frankly its not my turn to have his attention. Steve sent me the geo for the frame and when I saw it I thought there was something wrong because I normally ride a 54-55 top tube and he had me at a 58. I brought this up with Steve and we went back and forth and I decided to stop by his shop in Etna while I was on the way to Idaho. Steve measured me and told me he thought his geo would work but didnt force it on me. In the end, hes the pro and I'm not so I trusted him and I'm glad he did because it fits like a glove. There are things like flat mount brake mounts that Steve didnt want to do and he told me WHY which really helped me understand his design process. Build quality- I think this goes without saying but the bike is flawless. Immaculate welds, well thought out, and ready to go out the box. Much of Steve's magic comes from the R&D he does when he designs his jigs and components to consistently make a great product. Wait time was a little longer than he originally said but delivery was in July 2020 so I think we can all understand why it mightve been a little late. Would I buy another Potts? Yes. Although I'm not sure I need one because the frame he built me is so good that I dont see a reason to move on from it yet. Hes not cheap, but hes also a legend. Not to mention he makes all of his own fixtures and there so much R&D that goes into his frames that you dont think about. Steve talked about the amount of time he spent designing the IS mount for the disc caliper and it made me realize how much he cares about the quality of the product, this seemingly insignificant part of the frame had so much time and attention and thought put into it, it was kind of mind blowing. Heres a pic. Im actually in the process of removing the chorus med cage and putting a deore xt RD with a jtek so I can keep the campagnolo. Feel free to ask any other questions about the experience. If youre thinking of a Potts I would highly recommend it. I dont think hes going to be building for much longer, maybe a decade max?  Quote:
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#40
03-01-2024, 08:46 PM
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#41
03-01-2024, 09:21 PM
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Quote:
The process was easy and the bike performed as desired for a very wet 1200k and since. I think you can search on my posts and find a few threads. I also have a more recent 29er he built for sooshi. Feel free to reach out with any questions.
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#42
03-01-2024, 09:30 PM
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^that fixed gear rules
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#43
03-01-2024, 11:18 PM
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Quote:
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#44
03-02-2024, 12:08 AM
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I visited Steve Potts' shop around 5-7 years ago. Really cool. He was in Petaluma I think, might still be. He does everything right there. So his style is a longer seat tube (like the WTB Phoenix, if you look at those you will the wildly long seatposts) and a sloping top tube.
Then he is known for his "Type 2" fork which is really sweet. You want to put on there most likely. Price is probably in the neighborhood of $5K. His older filet brazed steel bikes are gorgeous, collectible. He likely still does the WTB Phoenix (released during early 90's) but in a modern 29er. Legendary guy, an unforgettable experience if you meet him and see his shop. So now I see he moved to Etna (probably a really nice place!).
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#45
03-02-2024, 12:31 PM
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I looked at Steve's bikes at the NHBS when it was in Sacramento and those welds are the best I've ever seen. I have heard that his lead times are long these days but that's hearsay, so talk to him directly. I own a Seven and it's a fine bike. But nowadays I would seriously consider going with a Bingham, or a Bingham designed by Steve Hampsten, particularly in you are in the Pacific Northwest.
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