Would you go for a custom
- Thread starter yenrod
- Start date
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Go to a frame builder. Take your shorts and your shoes with you.
Be prepared to sit on a funny looking contraption and have you limbs moved around by the framebuilder.
www.framebuilding.com/custom_uk_bicycle_framebuilders.htm
Be prepared to sit on a funny looking contraption and have you limbs moved around by the framebuilder.
www.framebuilding.com/custom_uk_bicycle_framebuilders.htm
A GOOD frame builder will measure you up.
If you're like me, Mr Average, he SHOULD tell you an 'off the peg' frame will be a good fit.
He is losing money on the day, but when you find out he has charged you £300 over, you will tell everyone you know and he will lose his cred'.
Venom, who don't exist any more told me I was wasting my money buying a custom.
So did Lee Cooper, so did Sabre.
I suppose I am lucky being Mr Average, because I have a 54cm 'off the peg' SWorks that fits me 'Perfick'.
My Pug from the seventies is 4cm taller, but it rides well. I did the 1998 TdF Wicklow route on it without problems.
If your dimensions are peculiar, a custom might be a benefit.
If you're like me, Mr Average, he SHOULD tell you an 'off the peg' frame will be a good fit.
He is losing money on the day, but when you find out he has charged you £300 over, you will tell everyone you know and he will lose his cred'.
Venom, who don't exist any more told me I was wasting my money buying a custom.
So did Lee Cooper, so did Sabre.
I suppose I am lucky being Mr Average, because I have a 54cm 'off the peg' SWorks that fits me 'Perfick'.
My Pug from the seventies is 4cm taller, but it rides well. I did the 1998 TdF Wicklow route on it without problems.
If your dimensions are peculiar, a custom might be a benefit.
I did too.
I have short legs, long torso and the arms of an orangutan
. A custom frame enabled me to fit perfectly on my bike when 'adapting' a standard frame (stem lengths, saddle position etc.) would not have resulted in as good a fit.
Other than getting a good fit, it's also a pleasure to be able to select all the components yourself, frame colours, saddles, wheels...
On the other hand it can be expensive but often because of the build process in my second point which gets very tempting to constantly upgrade!
Best advice is go to a very good bike shop and take their advice. Sit on the jig like jimboalee says and be honest to them about what you're going to use your new bike for.
I went to Condor in London and it was only £100 more for a customer frame than an off-the-shelf frame. Money very well spent in my case.
I have short legs, long torso and the arms of an orangutan
. A custom frame enabled me to fit perfectly on my bike when 'adapting' a standard frame (stem lengths, saddle position etc.) would not have resulted in as good a fit. Other than getting a good fit, it's also a pleasure to be able to select all the components yourself, frame colours, saddles, wheels...
On the other hand it can be expensive but often because of the build process in my second point which gets very tempting to constantly upgrade!
Best advice is go to a very good bike shop and take their advice. Sit on the jig like jimboalee says and be honest to them about what you're going to use your new bike for.
I went to Condor in London and it was only £100 more for a customer frame than an off-the-shelf frame. Money very well spent in my case.
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
I have - my Herety, and I'm likely to get one built next time I get a road bike. As for costing more, well yes they do, but a top end custom 953 is cheaper than many 'good' carbon frames, and just as good. You could also get Ti custom, but they are very expensive.
It's the Uniqueness that I like and you know you won't see one exactly the same.... and it's a good conversation subject....
It's the Uniqueness that I like and you know you won't see one exactly the same.... and it's a good conversation subject....
mickle
innit
- Location
- 53.933606, -1.076131
A standard, off the shelf 'square' 58 fits me perfectly but doesn't stop me wanting a custom Mercian or Rivendel or or etc.
yenrod said:..Frame
Advised..
Advice for things to say to the builder..designs and the likes - angles etc..!
I'd agree with the sentiments above that it's only worthwhile if you have trouble getting 'off the peg' frames to fit, but also there are some people who are very picky about the features they want in a frame and therefore are fully justified going custom to get what they want (looks at the range of bikes Robin Mather has done for examples of this!).
My reasoning was that I have longer legs (noticeable in the thigh apparently), shorter torso and then short arms to exacerbate the situation - I really struggled with off the peg frames and also didn't really understand the important factors in achieving a good fit. I went to Paul Hewitt for a fitting and ordered a custom frame that fits like a glove and meets all of my requirements for materials, braze-ons, colour scheme, components etc. etc.
The bank balance was a fair bit lighter as a result, but I intend to use this bike for many years to come. I think the total cost for a custom Columbus life steel frame + carbon fork, Chris King headset, Open pro on Ultegra wheels, Chorus shifters/crankset, 105 cassette/rear mech, ultegra brakes, basic FSA 'finishing' kit, came to around £1500 - probably would have been more but I transferred saddle/seatpost/pedals from its predecessor.
A far as what to say to the builder - just tell him what kind of use it's going to get and your experiences of past bikes. It's his job to advise on the rest!
mr Mag00
rising member
- Location
- Deepest Dorset
^ hmmm blocked web address
That's odd, Mr Mag00.
When I posted my reply on Tuesday I checked the xacd.com.cn site first and Google detected no problem (nor did it over the last couple of years that I have been ordering from them). There's definitely a warning there today, so I've edited the link in my post.
I'll email xacd and tell them about it.
When I posted my reply on Tuesday I checked the xacd.com.cn site first and Google detected no problem (nor did it over the last couple of years that I have been ordering from them). There's definitely a warning there today, so I've edited the link in my post.
I'll email xacd and tell them about it.
ASC1951 said:
This is what i got:
Searched/Googled:
XACD
Then got@
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=XACD+&meta=
..which displayed... >
Warning - visiting this web site may harm your computer!
Suggestions:
Return to the previous page and pick another result.
Try another search to find what you're looking for.
Or you can continue to http://www.xacd.com.cn/ at your own risk. For detailed information about the problems we found, visit Google's Safe Browsing diagnostic page for this site.
For more information about how to protect yourself from harmful software online, you can visit StopBadware.org.
If you are the owner of this web site, you can request a review of your site using Google's Webmaster Tools. More information about the review process is available in Google's Webmaster Help Center.
Advisory provided by
cisamcgu
Legendary Member
- Location
- Merseyside-ish
Safe Browsing
Diagnostic page for www.xacd.com.cn
What is the current listing status for www.xacd.com.cn?
Site is listed as suspicious - visiting this web site may harm your computer.
Part of this site was listed for suspicious activity 1 time(s) over the past 90 days.
What happened when Google visited this site?
Of the 23 pages we tested on the site over the past 90 days, 17 page(s) resulted in malicious software being downloaded and installed without user consent. The last time Google visited this site was on 2008-11-06, and the last time suspicious content was found on this site was on 2008-11-06.
Malicious software includes 15 exploit(s), 3 scripting exploit(s). Successful infection resulted in an average of 4 new processes on the target machine.
Malicious software is hosted on 5 domain(s), including d425.cn, rthfgh.cn, serde2.cn.
Has this site acted as an intermediary resulting in further distribution of malware?
Over the past 90 days, www.xacd.com.cn did not appear to function as an intermediary for the infection of any sites.
Has this site hosted malware?
No, this site has not hosted malicious software over the past 90 days.
How did this happen?
In some cases, third parties can add malicious code to legitimate sites, which would cause us to show the warning message.
Diagnostic page for www.xacd.com.cn
What is the current listing status for www.xacd.com.cn?
Site is listed as suspicious - visiting this web site may harm your computer.
Part of this site was listed for suspicious activity 1 time(s) over the past 90 days.
What happened when Google visited this site?
Of the 23 pages we tested on the site over the past 90 days, 17 page(s) resulted in malicious software being downloaded and installed without user consent. The last time Google visited this site was on 2008-11-06, and the last time suspicious content was found on this site was on 2008-11-06.
Malicious software includes 15 exploit(s), 3 scripting exploit(s). Successful infection resulted in an average of 4 new processes on the target machine.
Malicious software is hosted on 5 domain(s), including d425.cn, rthfgh.cn, serde2.cn.
Has this site acted as an intermediary resulting in further distribution of malware?
Over the past 90 days, www.xacd.com.cn did not appear to function as an intermediary for the infection of any sites.
Has this site hosted malware?
No, this site has not hosted malicious software over the past 90 days.
How did this happen?
In some cases, third parties can add malicious code to legitimate sites, which would cause us to show the warning message.
