road bikes- "cell" brand

Aussie Steve

Has anybody seen this brand? apparently they are based in Arncliffe in Sydney but may have sent some to shops around the country.
You riders in Sydney would have seen one or two around.
Pls give some feedback on ride quality, value for money, etc...
My workmate here in Perth wants to buy one off their website, which seems good value...the seatstays look weird, i.e. they are very short and attach to the seat tube well below the top tube junction.
My mate is heavy and always breaks spokes (Mavic CXP22) and he recently cracked his chainstay (aluminium frame) and won't trust a repair, so now wants a new bike.
Will this frame design be sturdy, is that funny geometry for quicker handling e.g. vicious turns in crits, etc...

__________________
I have never had a problem with Premature Ejac... it's my partners that had the problem

sogood

Their showroom is actually in Stanmore, on Parramatta Rd.

There's a review by one of the journals on their CF frame model recently and it's not too positive. Yet again, it's a cheap frame out of Asia, you get what you pay.

Bottomline. They work on bargain components and pass on the saving. If that's what you are comfortable with, then by all means take it.

__________________
Morphed Bianchi Camaleonte IV 2006, Ridley Damocles 2006, Garmin, Mac

Aussie Steve

Cell has a bike on special (the one with the weird geometry on the rear triangle), it's called "Team"...that's the one my wingman is interested in at the moment.
$1099 with 10 sp 105, and some decent components, so your comments about bargain basement would ring true. They must be saving money on frame construction, which would make anyone nervous. "You get what you pay for"

__________________
I have never had a problem with Premature Ejac... it's my partners that had the problem

sogood

Ask 11ring on the forum. He knows.

For those unnamed parts that come out of Taiwan or China, some of them are probably alright from a safety point of view, but just don't expect fantastic ride or handling property from them. Or Trek, Cannondale, Colnago would all go out of business.

Again, your buddy would be buying on price. That's value isn't it?

__________________
Morphed Bianchi Camaleonte IV 2006, Ridley Damocles 2006, Garmin, Mac

DamianM

They import the frames directly and build the bikes up. So, they are taking a layer or two out of the buying process which reduces the cost.
That said, the team bike does look odd to me too, but I haven't ridden one so I can't comment with anything other than pull-it-out-of-my-ass speculation (and enough of that goes on here as it is )

11ring

Correct Damien.

Actually we don't cut corners on parts, the TEAM bike has a full 105 groupset, no generic taiwan brakes or cheaper cranksets (like FSA or Truvativ) as seen on other cheaper bikes. The lower prices are due to less people touching the bike.

As regards the frame on this bike, the shorter seat stays have nothing to do with geometry. The chainstays are a quite normal length.

It is a side effect of using a aero profile seat tube. As it is a deeper section it can take transverse loads, so the stays can attach to the seat tube not the seat/top tube junction. This makes the seat stay shorter, lighter and stiffer.

The rear and on this bike is very very stiff.

The geometry is pretty standard. And you get a 15 year warranty on this frame.

A similar rear end can be found on the Cervelo P2 series.

Also, we were pretty happy with the review on the Victor. I wouldn't characterise it as negative at all, although they were cleary wary of internet selling.

Aussie Steve

thanks for all the info Mr 11ring...I will show your post to my buddy here in Perth as he is a family man and to keep wifey happy, needs to mind the pennies...
he is a big boy, about 95kgs.... 15 year warranty should make him sleep easier....and good components is icing on the cake...

__________________
I have never had a problem with Premature Ejac... it's my partners that had the problem

DamianM

That was a good review. The Victor looks like a nice bike.

11ring

It is a nice bike, but unfortunately we have been out of the smaller sizes for too long.

The out of stock sizes 50cm and 54cm will be back in in 2-3 weeks.

Alex3se

I am also looking at the Cell Team with full 105 groupset and WH 500 shimano wheelsets. Those are respected components no matter how cynical you can get. Makes me wonder how much we are really paying for in name brands? I mean if Cell can sell this for 1099 or less,...then the components must have been bought dirt cheap by bike companies!

matagi

Of course the bike companies get this stuff dirt cheap. How do you think Probikekit can offer such bargains on their Shimano components?

sogood

We are paying a lot for name brands as well as to the distributors. At the same time, it's well known that Shimano gives out major discounts to bike manufacturers for their components, but charge a major premium when you buy them as individual components.

__________________
Morphed Bianchi Camaleonte IV 2006, Ridley Damocles 2006, Garmin, Mac

11ring

Yes, and even as groupsets.

A bike company gets their OEM parts for app 55-65% of what a bike store does.

Alex3se

Off topic, anyone knows how good (or bad) BH bikes are? I am new to raodbiking and I saw a BH R1 Racer for 1699.00,....havent relly heard of BH that much...any good?