Who's bought a custom bike "long distance"?

[Triskeliongirl]

The only stock bikes I can be fit on are terrys and I absolutely love them. This year they are making Isis in steel in the waterford factory, it doesn't get much better than that. If I didn't already have one steel and one titanium isis, I would take a very serious look at them. They also now use two 650cc wheels on the 19" and larger models. For me what works about the terry geometry is not just the short top tube, but the slack seat tube, since I have a long femur. You can also order Isis configured with two very different kinds of gearing. Isis also accepts a rear rack and tires up to 28c, so its easy to configure for light touring or go fast riding depending on the tiress and gearing you choose. Also, they usually do a guarantee where they will ship to the bike shop of your choice, and you have 30 days to ride and return it if you aren't happy (or something like that, check for exact specs). I also found if you ring them up they are flexible about componenet substitutions within a range (i.e. it needs to be something they stock), like if you need a diff. size bar or stem than is spec'd they'll ship to your specs within the same component group.

[7rider]

You are an ideal candidate for a Seven, in my humble opinion.
You're well versed in bikes...you know what you've had, what you have, what worked, what didn't, and why. You know what you like about bikes, and what you don't like. You have a shape that would be well served with a custom bike. Lastly, you are committed enough to cycling to make such a purchase a worthwhile investment in yourself.
If you are set on steel - a custom Axiom (road) or Vacanza (touring) could be your ticket. But don't discount ti, especially in your area (that derned salt air). The ride is totally customizable and made to your desires.
The only FLA dealers, sadly, are in Largo and Palm Beach, and I don't believe any of those are near you. Check out their locator for a nearby dealer: http://www.sevencycles.com/Webdata/retailer_search.php
My $0.02

[roadie gal]

I had great luck with my Sampson. I thought I was going to have to go custom. I got on the phone and had about an hour conversation with Eric Sampson. He felt that a stock bike would fit me. He coached me through the measurements, asked what kind of riding I do, and on what kinds of roads. Then he put the bike together. When I got it out of the box I saw that he had upgraded the wheels and handlebar without charging me. The bike fit perfectly. A few years later I got my tri bike from his as well. I had to swap the stem and changed to a compact crankset. He didn't charge me for the swapout. His bikes run less than a lot of the others of the same quality. Check it out: www.sampsonsports.com

[Kathi]

I'm another custom bike owner and love my Serotta. The problem for me is not a short torso but short arms. In order to get my handlebars high enough I needed a longer headtube than normal on stock frames.

I worked with a Serotta dealer in Boulder, I was lucky, he trains Serotta fitters. The bike came out so perfect that we didn't make any changes.

One thing that helped us is I had my old bike refitted before I went custom and had ridden about 5,000 miles on it. I was able to tell exactly what was good and bad with my old bike. It wasn't fit or comfort, it was the way the bike handled.

You need to really trust the fitter. At the time I was recovering from acl surgery and I'm sure my position on the bike wasn't perfect but the fitter knew how to work around the limitations and bike turned out wonderful.

After struggling for years with stock frames I finally had a bike that fit and handled well.

One thing no one has mentioned is the wait time. Some of the top builders have a 1-2 year waiting list. Companies like Serotta and Seven are more like 4-6 mos.

[Kathi]

Serotta is well know for their steel frames. If you have a Serotta dealer in your area, try out a Fierte. They come in steel, ti and ti/carbon. They are really nice bikes and fit me. However, I chose to go custom and get the more expensive Ottrott.

[bikerz]

One thing no one has mentioned is the wait time. Some of the top builders have a 1-2 year waiting list. Companies like Serotta and Seven are more like 4-6 mos.

That's true, although it's also where a good fitter/dealer can make a difference - my Seven frame was at the LBS about 4 weeks after the order went in, and I was riding my bike weeks earlier than I expected.

Ace (who doesn't post much here these days) has a custom steel Serotta which is very light and quite beautiful - painted that Harlequin blue/purple/bronze color.

What a fun process, whatever you end up deciding!

[Bad JuJu]

Wheee--can you hear my head spinning?

Love those 7's, and I'm thinking about Serotta too, since there's a Serotta dealer/fitter about an hour or so drive from here, and I've heard lots of good things about them. I think that pricewise, if I wanted to go with the Serotta, I might as well go ahead and get custom rather than stock because the price difference is minimal. I also have to admit that I like the romance of the name "Coeur d'Acier"--"Heart of Steel." That's no reason to buy a bike but I love it. OTOH, I was happy with my old Terry from the day I got her--until the day Hurricane Ivan took her.

Better get started on that income tax return--it looks like I might be spending some serious $$.

[Kathi]

Here's my baby.

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showt...hlight=serotta

I think the order time depends on the time of year. I ordered mine in mid April and there was a carbon shortage that year. Serotta originally told me 6 weeks but it was more like 3 mos. I don't think that will happen with steel.

Because Serotta doesn't charge for custom I also went that route. Now that I have a bike that fits well I have no interest in any other bikes.