n+1 for a significant birthday: advice please!

[srw]

Rereading the thread, it turns out that this...

From what she has said I don't think rvw will have the same problems of fit compared to shorter riders like me and Wanda,

...wasn't right. Mrs W isn't tall, but has legs almost as long as mine - and I'm only a quarter-inch short of six foot. The Dolce is, if anything, a bit small for her leg length, but is far too long in the reach. Having an experienced bike fitter show us quite how many compromises we had to make to get it even vaguely comfortable was eye-opening, as was the 60mm shorter reach required. That's almost a hand-length.

Which either means that she's a freak or else that the mainstream bike manufacturers have got a very long way to go in their understanding of female anatomy, and might well be missing a very lucrative trick.

And it occurs to me that the Dolce might well be equipped with low-spec brakes.

As it turns out "low-spec" isn't half of it. Comparing the sponginess of the Dolce's (Sora) brakes to the crispness of a new Ultegra is like comparing soggy Mother's Pride to croissants fresh out of the oven. Add to that handlebars which are too far away, and rotated to the wrong angle to be just tolerable and it explains why the cross-levers are useful.

 

[StuAff]

Gerard Vroomen, co-founder of Cervelo, stated some years back that female-specific geometry was ''based on the theory that women have long legs and a short torso. The only problem with the theory is that it’s just not true". Oops. He might be right that this isn't a gender issue, but it is clearly a people issue, as some people clearly don't fit onto stock sized bikes (regardless of gender, geometry, etc), at least not without compromises like a great big stack of spacers, riser stems etc. @rvw is clearly one of them. The extra wedge for custom fit is well spent.

 

[ufkacbln]

In case it wasn't blatantly obvious, @srw took advantage of the computer having me still logged in. So yes, it's a custom Etape, and yet it is painted because I don't my bike to look the same as everyone else's. (I was tempted by the rainbow anodised logos but resisted). And it was Paul who suggested the Ultegra build, and I didn't need any persuading!

Old-fashioned - yes, definitely. Old fogey, even. Right in everything? That should have given the game away immediately!

OT

There was one bike shop had a sample of tubing that showed the options for paint jobs

One was Smarties

I have always wanted a bike with a Smarties paint job

 

[ianmac62]

A complete Smarties bike was on the Enigma stand at the 2015 London Bike Show.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Yes, calipers. My husband is very old-fashioned (and, may I say, always right in absolutely everything), as is Paul. So we discounted discs because decent calipers work just as well, and with decent wheels and no regular commuting stop-start the rim wear is relatively light. Yes, I know I'm completely and utterly wrong about the paint, but you know what, it's my decision.

@theclaud has pointed out that the Esprit frame is absolutely lovely, so I think @srw now deserves an Esprit with DI2 and a very very shiny mirror finish so that he can go faster than me again.

That looks like a nice bike coming your way.

I can't agree that decent calipers work as well as decent discs - they simply don't. Not in the dry and even more so not in the wet. Discs have already been trialled in the Pro' ranks and they'll be the norm very soon simply because they are so good. I know that roadie traditionalists will not agree but the same was true when MTB's were switching from canti's to discs years back.

Long term bike for you - maybe go and try something with hydraulic discs before you finally commit?

 

[rvw]

That looks like a nice bike coming your way.

I can't agree that decent calipers work as well as decent discs - they simply don't. Not in the dry and even more so not in the wet. Discs have already been trialled in the Pro' ranks and they'll be the norm very soon simply because they are so good. I know that roadie traditionalists will not agree but the same was true when MTB's were switching from canti's to discs years back.

Long term bike for you - maybe go and try something with hydraulic discs before you finally commit?

Too late - I have finally committed! And we are both well aware of how good discs can be (having them on the faster tandem) so the decision wasn't taken blind.

The final design is slightly tweaked to allow the top tube to be less sloped.

 

[ianmac62]

Hi @rvw - thanks for sharing your drawing!

 

[SteveF]

Too late - I have finally committed! And we are both well aware of how good discs can be (having them on the faster tandem) so the decision wasn't taken blind.

The final design is slightly tweaked to allow the top tube to be less sloped.

Nice...!!

Am getting fitted for one and going through a couple of options this Sat....

 

[fimm]

Rereading the thread, it turns out that this...

...wasn't right. Mrs W isn't tall, but has legs almost as long as mine - and I'm only a quarter-inch short of six foot. The Dolce is, if anything, a bit small for her leg length, but is far too long in the reach. Having an experienced bike fitter show us quite how many compromises we had to make to get it even vaguely comfortable was eye-opening, as was the 60mm shorter reach required. That's almost a hand-length.

Which either means that she's a freak or else that the mainstream bike manufacturers have got a very long way to go in their understanding of female anatomy, and might well be missing a very lucrative trick.

May I politely suggest that you are both freaks... or, to be more polite, both edge of the bell curve? What I mean is perhaps srw has short legs for his height, while rvw has long legs for hers? I say this because my O/H and I are pretty much the same dimensions (given the obvious gender differences) from the hip up, but my legs are 2 inches longer than his, so I'm 5'7" to his 5'5".

Oh and happy birthday and enjoy your new bike

 

[velovoice]

May I politely suggest that you are both freaks... or, to be more polite, both edge of the bell curve?

It's freaks like us that drive the custom-bike industry.

 

[srw]

May I politely suggest that you are both freaks... or, to be more polite, both edge of the bell curve? What I mean is perhaps srw has short legs for his height, while rvw has long legs for hers? I say this because my O/H and I are pretty much the same dimensions (given the obvious gender differences) from the hip up, but my legs are 2 inches longer than his, so I'm 5'7" to his 5'5".

Oh and happy birthday and enjoy your new bike

I had a go on the current bike at the weekend. It turns out that my legs are a bit longer - but only an inch or so. With a bit more seatpost showing I could quite happily ride it. It also turns out that the reason the brakes feel a bit rubbish are because they are, in fact, complete and utter rubbish. I'm so used to the responsiveness of the brakes on all my bikes and on the tandems that it was quite alarming to pull the levers and feel nothing happening. The cables could do with a grease, but that's not the main cause of the rubbishness.

 

[rvw]

Collection date now set for 16th July.

 

[rvw]

Ooh.

Etape 1

• rvw
• 17 Jul 2016

Looking lovely in the sun

Oooooh.

that paint job

• rvw
• 17 Jul 2016

dead subtle

Oooooooh!

Out on the road

• rvw
• 17 Jul 2016

...rides like a dream. So far...

 

[EltonFrog]

That's a classy looking bike.

 

[srw]

That's a classy looking bike.

And so it should be!

Titanium custom frame with custom paint-job (which will need careful photography to show off) using Aston Martin paint, ultegra groupset, Mavic Ksyrium elite wheels.