Lugs To Lightweights – Episode 1
Titanium. Carbon. Titanium and carbon. Steel. Boron. Ok, I’m joking with the last one – although not if we were to bring Reynolds RZR wheels into the equation…
I have a number of decisions to make with this dream bike build. The first two of those are which material I want to be riding, and which builder I want to build it. Builders like Independent Fabrications (IF), Serotta and Seven make my life a little easier by offering bikes made of Ti, carbon, Ti & carbon and – for Indy Fab at least – steel. But I also dream of owning a bike by the likes of Parlee (who only work with carbon) and Pegoretti (who only works with steel), and I simply cannot dismiss Moots or Baum (only Ti).
And for now that’s essentially my shortlist. IF, Parlee, Pegoretti, Moots and Baum. Yes, I know I mentioned Serotta and Seven, but there’s already too many of them in London (and more specifically too many just within London Dynamo) even if I were to make mine entirely my own. Besides which Serotta are just obscene prices, and I don’t really like the Seven website (I used to be a graphic designer – put me off with bad basic design and you’ve lost me right at the start).
Independent Fabrications have always been a favourite – the XS particularly. I was ready to go ahead with a fitting and place an order on one with Barry at Bespoke late last year. I probably wound Barry up no end with question after question, swiftly followed by having a panic and bailing on the whole thing. I’m yet to contact Barry just in case I do it again, but this time around I know much more about what works for me so if I do decide to go with IF I won’t cock him about. The XS is a combination of Ti and carbon and looks divine. Again though, to make it more my own if I went with the XS I’d want the carbon back end to be made in Ti. But then there’s also their SSR (953 steel) and Corvid (all carbon) frames to consider so they’re not making it easy for me.
The Parlee Z1 was the first bike that came to mind when I realised my dream build was a reality. They’re probably one of the most desirable bikes on the market at the moment, and the prices aren’t quite as obscene as the Serotta Meivici (although they’re not far off, that’s for sure). To make it a little more individual I’d probably choose to have an integrated seatpost (I know it has zero performance or weight benefit – it’s purely about ‘making it mine’). But do I really want a carbon bike? Is carbon really a long term dream machine? I’m beginning to doubt as much. Doubt is bad… But it is the one I keep coming back to.
To own a Pegoretti would be a dream, especially to get a custom before Dario Pegoretti hangs up his welding torch. I need to ‘gen up’ on Dario’s current situation with regard to the timescales for a custom frame, but I’ve got a feeling I’ll be too impatient to wait long enough – and that’s even if he is still accepting custom orders. The Responsorium would be the weapon of choice, made from Columbus XCr which is their equivalent of Reynolds’953 stainless steel. They don’t half paint them lairy though!
Moots are another perennial favourite carried over from my mountain biking days. This year they released their latest weapon, the RSL. Pics from trade shows displayed it with specific cable routing for Shimano Di2 which makes it an ideal proposition given that it’s my first choice groupset. The standard geometry probably wouldn’t work for me though so I’ll need to check out their custom options on this frame – if it’s a no-go then Moots are probably off the table as I’d be settling for one of their older models, which just doesn’t feel right for a dream machine.
And then there’s Baum – the outsider, the underdog, the new boy, especially in this company. But that’s part of the draw. That, and the fact that he happens to build some awesome looking bikes. On their top line Correto an integrated seatpost is an option for a bit of individuality, as is BB30 for a spot of ‘is it or is it not better’debate (and funky chainset choice). It might also blend in nicely as a part of my Christmas visit to Oz which could be neatly tied up with a trip to Steve Hogg for a final pre-order measure up. Sorry Wendy…!
But which material do I most want to ride? Perhaps that’s one for Episode 2…
