Spending Theory?

[7rider]

Hello all,

I am looking at buying a road bike in the spring... my DH is a "serious" cyclist and says the ideal thing is to have a Seven made up for me. The theory is that I could buy one bike that would last me for years, fit exceptionally well, etc. He has a Seven MTB, and his road is a Scott carbon-fiber.

I'm wondering if the same thinking applies to bikes as it does to saddles (horse, that is) - instead of buying a cheap or mid-range saddle, I bought a really good one; it has served me very well for ten years now.

-GASP- a Seven is expensive!!! What do you guys think? Is it better to spring for what you really want... and have it last you a long time... or is it better to go the mid-grade route (probably about $1600), knowing you may end up springing for it in the end?

Help me... PLEASE!!!

I have a Seven Axiom road bike (not custom, off the shelf) and I love it!!!!
It is the best ride...and even off the shelf, I love the fit. The frame is a '99 and I just rebuilt it in October '05. I plan to keep it around for many more years, and when it's time to replace it, I'm saving my pennies for another Seven.

My LBS is a Top-10 Seven dealer in the US. One of the managers also leads a spinning class at the gym next door. He got one of his students - who hasn't been on a bike in YEARS - to spring for a fully custom Seven ID8 (hate the name - like Idiot - but it's an awesome bike). What a salesman! But she loves it and she's been joining us on the weekly ride and doing great.

If you can afford it and you ride enough to justify it in your own mind, a custom ride like a Seven is a great way to go. You can't go wrong with it. It'll last you for years. My friend (who also happens to be the wife of the LBS owner) calls Sevens "heirloom" bikes - because you can hand it down to your kids. It'll be around for that long. And they will love it as much as you do.

Downside...some said - jokingly of course - that it's against the law to put any components lower than Ultegra level on a Seven! Since I really think the Shimano price/value break point is at the 105 level, yeah you end up with a premium bike. But boy! What a premium bike it is!!!

Did I say I love my Seven????

[Kathi]

Yes, yes, yes go with custom if you know what you want and can't get the fit on a stock frame.

I just got my custom Serotta Ottrott and am so happy with the fit of it. I'm not sure if I'm happier with the fit or the ride or both but it certainly is a wonderful bike!

Anyway, this is my 5th road bike, 4th in the last 10 years. My first bike was a Fuji Mixte Frame, which I had for a very long time. My partner decided I needed a new bike so I bought a Cannondale. It was too big and the next year I bought a Cannondale Compact, now called the Feminique, but then I decided that aluminum was too harsh of a ride and the Cannondale was too stiff for my size 105 lbs, so I bought a carbon fiber frame. I did ride the cf frame for 6 years and have 15,000 miles on it so I feel I got my money's worth. The CF frame had some fit issues so I gave up and went with custom.

Wow, what a difference this bike is of any bike I've ever had. I had it built for 650c wheels and Serotta did a wonderful job of designing it. It's a small bike but the frame and wheels are very proportional. It corners so beautifully, rides smoothly, handles well on downhills and my average speed has picked up 2-3 mph.

My LBS did a great job of doing the fitting, it's right on and I haven't found a thing I want to change.

Another advantage of custom is that you pick your components so you build it exactly the way you want it or with components that work for you and you chose the color so your bike won't look like every bike in the LBS.

I've had my bike for 5 weeks and have close to 1,000 miles on her.

The key to doing custom is to find a fitter or builder that you feel very comfortable with. Their expertise with fitting and your confidence in them is very important.

I spent a lot of money on my bike but no more wishing for a better fit or that my bike handled better.

You may have buyer's remorse at first but that goes away very quickly with the first stroke of the pedal.

Look at Serotta's website, everything they say their bikes are, they really are.