Darren seems like a great guy and after talking to him rather extensively at the NAHBS, I got the impression that he loves to talk about bikes in general Anyways, hope that works out well for you.

But since this is WW, I should give you the heads up that the painted Cubano frame is no lightweight. It doesn't sound like you care too much, but we wouldn't want you to be disappointed with the weight after the fact

See this post for more details:

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=98191

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Right you are on the weight.

I'm not precious about it, I'd expect the full build to come in around 7.5kg I've got no problem with that weight. If it comes in above that theres plenty outside the frame I can tune to get the weight down.

...wow...<no words>

Darren is trully pasioned guy but also very humble but al that is all good, he's products are the works !!im savin my penny's for one of his mountainbikes

Talk to Darren, but if your going to use Red you might as well use PF30 for a nice weightsavings and apparently(from reports from others) on Ti bikes the added diameter of the BB really helps BB stiffness as it gives a lot more surface area to weld too.

It sounds like your a big guy so the added stiffness should be felt.

The thing that worries me about PF are twofold.

1) There are a million standards - sure BB30 for SRAM, but who's to say next year they don't stop producing cranks for BB30 and go BB86.

2) Red is an option based on weight, though Dura Ace is an option with the availability of 180mm cranks. So it really could go either way and obviously Shimano as yet haven't entered the pressfit market, when they do it'll no doubt some wonderful new proprietary standard.

Decisions, decisions.

For the record I'm big in terms of height (6'3") but race weight I'm only about 72kg so I'm not like some burly sprinter.

I would go with the good old 68mm English BB option. I have it on three of my bikes, and BB30 on another, and can't tell any difference to be honest. Also, the Shimano / SRAM threaded BBs have pretty much been fit and forget for me, but the BB30 creaks from time to time and requires more maintenance.

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Regarding choice of bike, I really like the Baum and Eriksen bikes.

But in my view there's a lot to be said for designing your own bike. If you say have a bike which works and you like, say a Colnago, then why not do some research on the right tube sizes for you and then get a chinese Ti manufacturer to build it for you? Then it really will be your bike.

I'm a bit sceptical that there's something 'magic' which goes on when a custom builder puts together a bike. If you get your position right via Steve Hogg say, and clarify what you want from the bike, talk to some builders, then choose the bits you like from designs which others are using for frames designed for that purpose and you will get a very nice bike. And the cost will be low enough that you will be able to experiment if you want faster steering or a stiffer ride...

Regarding the word local, I imagine that the dictionary defines local based on distance. So US cannot be local to Australia under any definition of the word. And if it is, then all of China needs to be included as well. But that's dumb. Common sense says local = within a short bike ride away. So Geloooong is only local if you live on the Williamstown side of Melbourne. Otherwise there's that big bridge to contend with. Local knowledge

the moots vamoots sl is far and away the best ti frame i've ever owned...i would say best period but now own a hand made landshark...

I received my eriksen to Perth after 8 weeks And had it now 6 months.

It is sublime to ride, the welding is perfection and it looks beautiful to boot.

I have 1 inch stays, 1.5 inch top tube and 1.75 inch down tube. With a 44mm headset. so it's a big tubed frame.

I'm 5'10 and weigh 85kgs. I find it stiff but not harsh.

Best of all with speed play pedals and super record group set 7.3kg. That's with some old mavic krysium elites from 2009. Looking at new wheels in the future and saving another 200 grams.

I don't race but I love the bike, it's a keeper that's for sure.

Cheers jason