Too many great builders - how do you pick?

[Roman]

I think that it is essential that the builder can make a bicycle frame that can "love me back".

oh, and the builder must be a leo, write excellent posts on internet forums, and be at least 5'1"
tall.

geeez.


http://sweetpeabicycles.com/

[dbohemian]

Hey Sam,

You missed Llewellyn (and Pegoretti...I'm not sure his wait list...Unless you were just sticking to those on your own continent?)

Llewellyn's wait is less than a year and the Aussie exchange rate is pretty dang good.

But then, I'm biased. :)

While that is a wonderful list of builders I would just say that there are many, many more who are deserved of consideration. A one year backlog or less seems a little arbitrary although I understand why someone would have that as a preference. All that says to me is that either the person does not have a large queue or builds quickly, neither of which actually speak to the quality of the product.

[GrantM]

While that is a wonderful list of builders I would just say that there are many, many more who are deserved of consideration. A one year backlog or less seems a little arbitrary although I understand why someone would have that as a preference. All that says to me is that either the person does not have a large queue or builds quickly, neither of which actually speak to the quality of the product.

I'm pretty sure the arbitrary 'year' was thrown in there because most potential customers
don't want to wait longer than next season, not to indicate any sort of quality standard
that comes with a long waiting list.

-g

[SamIAm]

I'm pretty sure the arbitrary 'year' was thrown in there because most potential customers
don't want to wait longer than next season, not to indicate any sort of quality standard
that comes with a long waiting list.

-g

When I decided to purchase my first custom, I did some research and pretty quickly identified Sachs as the guy based on reputation and experience, but when I was presented with the 3.5 year wait list (at that time), the search continued. That is just too high a barrier for that first time custom buyer, at least it was for me. I ended up going with David Kirk, whose wait list was 6 months at the time. I am not sure I could have easily stomached that had I not seen a 3.5 year number out there beforehand.

Well, when I got the Kirk, I got "it". I then happily signed up for the longer queues of Weigle, Mariposa, Sachs etc. I am glad I didn't have to wait 3.5 years to get "it".

I know I left many worthy builders off the list, but that was the point. Its hard to make an informed and timely decision if you have to do due diligence on so many.

[Too Tall]

I'll settle this right now. Once and for all. First time offer last time I'll offer.

Send me your deposit checks NOW with a lock of hair, one toe nail clipping and two small feather you found during a spirit walk. Tell me the name of your fav. star and wait for the results.

I promise on my honor as a citizen of the universe you will never see a penny of that money again and you will never EVER ask yourself "How do I decide which framebuilder to choose".

There it's done.

xxoo, TT.

[sloji]

"my 54cm (c-t) backup pit bicycle from 2008.
very good condition.
a few paint chips touched up.
force cranks and derailleurs.
rival levers on oval concepts 'bars/stem.
spare set of force lever included as well.
aspide RS saddle on oval concepts seat post.
includes new-never-used cane creek tubular volos wheels, new-never mounted challenge tubulars, a new-never- used sram red cassette, and a new pair of candy ti pedals.
i'll include all new cables, casings, chain, chainrings, and brake blocks.
i'll include $150 credit against any team kit purchases.

price is $4800 plus s+h"

it's called velocipedesalon classifieds ...

[Saab2000]

I chose my Salon builder based on the blog. Just sayin' builders.... Marketing is huge. Brand is huge. Very thorough websites that are not 5 years old.... Good pictures and lots of them.

My Zank was decided upon about 18 months ago or so while incredibly tired, sitting in a bar that had Wi-Fi, drinking some beers and downing a Reuben. (Grand Rapids Brewing Co. has the 2nd best Reuben sandwich on the planet BTW... First place goes to Prachna in St. Anthony in Minneapolis. I digress.) I spend a lot of spare down time looking at bikes and his blog with the cool pics jumped out at me.

I owned an Anvil based on opinions from a previous cycling forum and based on the fact that he advertised there, posted there and sponsored the forum. People putting back into the world of cycling speak to me and Anvil sponsored that forum.

Bought my old Strong based on recommendations of other builders. His own peers have the highest respect. So I bought one.

Bought my Serotta CIII based on the fact that I used to be a big participant at that forum and wanted to see what it was all about. It was possibly the best bike purchase I ever made because I paid so little for so much bike. They still 'Speak to me' and I could easily see owning another Serotta.

But the Zank is my current 'new' bike and I bought it based on the accolades of the other owners and the blog showing a bunch of Mikes builds. I liked the simple but elegant paint schemes with nicely matching colors. Seemed traditional without seeming stodgy and old fashioned.

I wanted a modern race bike in every sense, but with traditional aesthetics.

So to answer the OP, what are you looking for? There are so many builders here who do so many different things? Which stand out? Aesthetically? Functionally? What do you want your bike to do?

Ask yourself these question and see who does what. Not every builder does everything for everyone.

Make a list of what you want and for each point list a few builders who do those things. Then contact the builders and see who connects. I've learned things from each of my customs. Some good. Some not so good. But the journey is just as fun as the destination sometimes.

[hokoman]

Thanks to everyone who posted a responce to my "general" question. Just to do a quick intro, I'm not unfamiliar with custom builders but there seemed to be a huge increase of builders during the last couple of years and wanted to know how you chose your builder.

To answer some questions, i generally ride around silicon valley, and typically around 50 mile rides with a little climbing - raced in college but just a casual rider now that might hammer with some friends once in a while (we're slow). I am down to 16 bicycles in the garage (from 23 at the high a couple years ago) and i've owned a lot during that rotation. IF, merlin, steelman, de rosa, calfee, serotta, giant, trek, lemond, litespeed, klein etc. My main ride is my old trusty bontrager road lite (it should really be called road heavy, but i really don't care).

The bikes that speak to me? Pretty much all of them look incredible, but I am a sucker for all things modern. Sacha's bikes scream "don't you wish your bike was hot like me?" - sorry, a little pussycat doll flashback, but I do think his bikes catch my aesthetic sense. As for the riding, it's not something I can really test ride before I purchase, so looks need to come first. I'll continue to do as much research as possible and it looks like the new red kit and king wheels in my garage won't be going on anything soon.

[taz]

My main ride is my old trusty bontrager road lite (it should really be called road heavy, but i really don't care).

The bikes that speak to me? Pretty much all of them look incredible, but I am a sucker for all things modern. Sacha's bikes scream "don't you wish your bike was hot like me?" I do think his bikes catch my aesthetic sense.

I have a Road Lite also and even though I've got several other nice bikes (Pegoretti, Sachs), there are times when the Bontrager is just *right*.

Lots of good advice above. Based on your comments, I'd strongly consider Paul Sandoff/Rock Lobster. He knows Keith's bikes well and would probably nail what you're looking for. Being fairly local to you wouldn't hurt either.

I think a Columbus Spirit Roadlite with integrated seat mast and edge fork would kill.

- taz

[WadePatton]

Great list, but I notice Margo Conover of Luna Cycles is not on there. She has a great reputation amongst women cyclists I know. Am I missing something? I know she only works in steel, but same goes for some of the others on the list. I don't know her personally, but I admire her work and she makes excellent posts on a womens cycling forum I frequent.

margo is great. and that's why you'll not catch me offering a list. i may like different folks for different reasons. very easy to leave someone off and infer something from their non-inclusion.

margo used to frequent some of the places i hung out and i miss her articulate, well-reasoned, and sometimes different input to our discussions. got to meet her at portland nahbs. mof-a petite lady in my area was looking for a handbuilt and i sent her to margo. she might be on the list now.

you're not just buying a thingmo--it's a process. enjoy the process.

[OnTheEllipse]

interesting thread

just wanted to say (as a web designer), I think knocking someone for investing in their marketing and having a good/slick website isn't fair. I understand that wasn't the exact point being made, but questioning someone's abilities because they have a good website doesn't make any sense in 2009.

Anyone wanna trade a website for a frame? I'll make it look like a Geocities page circa 1999 for highest credibility. Throw in a stem and post and I'll throw in a MIDI track and maybe some animated falling snowflakes.

[Too Tall]

interesting thread

just wanted to say (as a web designer), I think knocking someone for investing in their marketing and having a good/slick website isn't fair. I understand that wasn't the exact point being made, but questioning someone's abilities because they have a good website doesn't make any sense in 2009.

Anyone wanna trade a website for a frame? I'll make it look like a Geocities page circa 1999 for highest credibility. Throw in a stem and post and I'll throw in a MIDI track and maybe some animated falling snowflakes.

Deal. I've got a POS Hetchins with wheels and a stem. Come on down I need web work. Seriously.

[WadePatton]

interesting thread
for a frame? I'll make it look like a Geocities page circa 1999 for highest credibility. Throw in a stem and post and I'll throw in a MIDI track and maybe some animated falling snowflakes.

oh my, those were the days! the dark ones. when i diss a website it's because it's overstuffed and unsimple. some designers think we're all t1 and constantly need to check our video capabilities.

geocities---cough hack, i gotta go spit.:frown:

[EricKeller]

Throw in a stem and post and I'll throw in a MIDI track and maybe some animated falling snowflakes.

If you can add one of those clock-shaped cursors that leaves numbers all over the screen as the user mouses around, it's a deal.

I've considered myself a framebuilder since the '70s. I've been on hiatus, but I'm getting back into it. There is always going to be someone willing to trust a new builder, I've seen this myself. There is even a name for the logical fallacy that leads to this behavior among consumers, slips my mind right now.

[OnTheEllipse]

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[hokoman]

I have a Road Lite also and even though I've got several other nice bikes (Pegoretti, Sachs), there are times when the Bontrager is just *right*.

- taz

Taz,
did you buy my roadlite from me years ago? I recognized the Lemond Blue paintjob in the mancave post!!!!!! I had 2 of them, and wanted to keep the original vegas gold color (it also happened to match my paris roubaix fork)!!!!!

Augi

[Horse Cycles]

thanks dudes! that was my first frame and fork. I also painted it myself instead of sending it out.

and sometimes when it is black and white,
it still comes out just wrong....

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-g