groskilly said:Thinking about another bike and a number of my cycling friends swear by their custom made frames.
groskilly said:Thinking about another bike and a number of my cycling friends swear by their custom made frames. Clearly it is not absolutely necessary as the vast majority of riders are perfectly happy with their boxed bikes. Any thoughts on this from the forum ?
dhk2 said:Agree with the OBC; there's no magic inherent in a custom frame. I ride a frame built locally by a custom builder to "standard" dimensions. I knew I wanted a 58cm frame with TT of 57-58 cm, and that exactly matched what he offered as a "stock size" (lower cost than a custom-dimension order). It's a well-built frame, with strong Columbus Zonal megatubes for the TT and DT, CF rear, but not really "better" than offerings from the major brands in late 2003.
Only real advantage is that I got to specify the paint scheme and was able to spec exactly what I wanted in the build kit.
With the flood of high-quality, low-cost CF frames now coming out of Taiwan and China, believe it's harder than ever to rationally justify spending more for an aluminum, steel or ti custom frame. But that's only a problem if you feel you need to justify your bike choices
Hey, you're in good company, dhk2. That's Eddy's size, too (give or take a couple millimeters).dhk2 said:Oooh man, that's what I get for putting my frame size out there.
dhk2 said:Oooh man, that's what I get for putting my frame size out there. Don't really need another bike, (have the old Gran Sport and Fuji Track steels which I don't ride much now). But a Merckx...I'll be looking up pictures online next. BTW, used or new, and what color is it?
Waterford has a small following here too with the veteran guys who like big miles and weeklong tours. Latest one I saw had a deep maroon metalflake paint with very nice chrome lugs and the steel fork too. Very classy alternative to the major brands for someone who doesn't mind paying a bit more. Seems it takes a couple of decades of riding to appreciate the finer points of a beautiful classic steel frame, and forget about that extra pound or two.
framedoc said:I have been manufacturing custom frames in Australia for 28 years and currently have a full custom carbon tube to tube overlaid joint frame in testing getting great praise.
groskilly said:Thinking about another bike and a number of my cycling friends swear by their custom made frames. Clearly it is not absolutely necessary as the vast majority of riders are perfectly happy with their boxed bikes. Any thoughts on this from the forum ?
Peter, how different was the geometry you spec'd for the Waterford than the geometry of the Merckx frame ... and, how would you say the ride on your Waterford compares with the Merckx's ride?Peter@vecchios said:Grey, chrome fork. I'll try to attach a picture. Email if you are really interested.
[email protected]
Frame and fork only, not the VW either.
alfeng said:Peter, how different was the geometry you spec'd for the Waterford than the geometry of the Merckx frame ... and, how would you say the ride on your Waterford compares with the Merckx's ride?
I presume you moved the Ti seatpost to the Waterford, too ...
Other than the lower weight & obvious improvement in the aesthetics of the Ti seatpost, why did you abandon the C-Record post? I only ask because the Ti seatpost isn't consistent with the other components.
Thanks.Peter@vecchios said:Geometry in terms of seat and headtube angles, fork rake, top tube length, same for each. Waterford's chainstays about 1cm longer is all and the headtube 1cm longer. Aluminum seatpost on the Waterford.
I had the seatpost, didn't have a aero C-Record one. I actually prefer the round post, easier to into a work stand and be secure.
The ride of the Merckx is stiffer than the Waterford, no doubt about it.
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